Three Layer Chocolate Cherry Cake
Whether you use fresh or frozen cherries, this three-layer Chocolate Cherry Cake is packed full of delicious cherry flavor! The very best moist chocolate cake, a homemade cherry filling, fresh cherry buttercream, and a drizzle of ganache make a cake worthy of any celebration!
Is there anything more summery than cherry desserts? I just cannot get enough fresh cherries all summer long – both to eat and for baking. (These two things are often contradictory, as I buy cherries for baking and wind up eating them all instead!)
Fortunately, I managed to save enough cherries to make July’s Layer Cake of the Month – a beautiful three-layer decadently rich chocolate cake with cherry filling, cherry buttercream, and covered with ganache drips.
It’s beautiful and, if you love cherries as much as I do, absolutely delicious!
But what if it’s the middle of winter and you’re in the mood for cherry cake? 😱 Fear not, we can use frozen cherries here as well, making this a perfect year-round cake.
And that beautiful pink buttercream? No food coloring necessary – it’s all the result of naturally released cherry juice.
The Very Best Chocolate Cake
You’ve seen this chocolate cake base before. It’s in my Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup Cake and my Chocolate Rasberry Cake and my Mint Chocolate Chip Cake and of course my Best Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Frosting. And now, it’s also in this Chocolate Cherry Cake.
What can I say – you don’t mess with near perfection, and according to my mother, husband, and children, this is the chocolate cake to top all chocolate cakes.
It’s moist and super chocolatey and also easy to make. No creaming butter and sugar together, which means you can even whisk it together by hand (although a stand mixer makes it even quicker!). The cake has a tight crumb, which makes it easy to decorate (no loose crumbs all over your frosting).
And despite its light texture, it’s still supportive enough to hold lots of filling, like our…
Homemade Cherry Filling
Sandwiched between layers of the best chocolate cake, homemade cherry filling adds lots of cherry flavor to the cake!
If you’re using fresh cherries, pit and roughly chop the cherries. Add the cherries to a saucepan with the sugar, cornstarch, lemon juice, and water. Bring to a boil and cook to soften the cherries and thicken the sauce.
This homemade cherry filling can be made in advance and stored in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. It can even be frozen for a few months – make the cherry filling with fresh cherries and save for the fall of winter!).
If you want to use frozen cherries instead of fresh ones, the process is almost the same. You’ll just need to add some additional cornstarch to thicken the extra juice released by the frozen cherries.
Why do frozen cherries release more juice? It’s time for my favorite subject… kitchen chemistry!
Kitchen Chemistry
Fresh fruit contains a lot of water, contained within the cells of the fruit. When fruit is frozen, the water freezes into ice and expands in size, breaking open the cell walls. As the fruit thaws, this excess water is released.
Even though we’re bringing the cherry mixture to a boil to activate the cornstarch, the cell walls of the fresh cherries stay intact, keeping the juice inside the fruit itself. The frozen cherries, however, will release this juice. Therefore, we need to add a little extra cornstarch to make sure our filling isn’t too runny.
A good rule is to add an extra 1/4 teaspoon of cornstarch per cup of fruit when switching from fresh to frozen. In this case, we’re using 2 cups of cherries, so we need to add an extra 1/2 teaspoon of cornstarch.
Cherry Buttercream Frosting
The perfect pairing for our chocolate cake and homemade cherry filling is of course a beautifully pink buttercream frosting!
To make this frosting, we’re adding finely chopped cherries and their juices to a standard American buttercream. I chop the cherries by hand, but you can even use a food processor or blender for a smoother texture.
If you’re using frozen cherries, just make sure to thaw them before chopping finely! If the resulting frosting is thinner or softer than desired, add additional confectioners’ sugar to achieve the desired frosting texture.
One of the reasons I prefer to chop the cherries by hand is because I love the little flecks of cherries in the frosting! It also makes decorating the cake even easier. Since there are little flecks of fruit, the frosting won’t be perfectly smooth. No need to stress about little flaws while trying to get perfectly smooth frosting!
Once frosted and chilled to set, add some easy homemade ganache on top and dripping down the sides. Use any extra frosting to pipe swirls on top of the cake and decorate with any remaining fresh cherries!
Tips and Tricks for the Best Cherry Chocolate Cake
- Either fresh or frozen cherries can be used for the filling and the frosting. If using frozen cherries, add an extra 1/2 teaspoon of cornstarch to the filling mixture before boiling. Extra confectioners’ sugar may be needed for the frosting – add more to preference to achieve desired texture.
- To keep cake layers perfectly flat, use Bake Even Strips (or wet cloth soaked in water and wrapped tightly around the outside of the cake pan).
- Cake components can be made ahead of time to make assembly even easier! The cake layers can be baked 2 days ahead of time and stored at room temperature, or frozen for up to 3 months. The cherry filling can be made 3 to 4 days ahead of time and refrigerated or frozen for up to 3 months. The buttercream frosting can be made 2 days ahead of time and stored at room temperature. The fully assembled cake can be stored at room temperature for up to 3 days or frozen fully decorated for up to 3 months.
- Adjust the ingredients to make a different size cake! This recipe is written for 3 8-inch cake pans. To bake in 6-inch pans, halve the ingredients. To bake in 9-inch pans, multiply each ingredient by 1.5.
More Cherry Desserts:
- Chocolate Cherry Cheesecake
- Cherry Pie Bars
- Chocolate Chip Cherry Pound Cake
- Chocolate Cherry Bundt Cake
- Cherry Almond Pie
- All Cherry Recipes »
2021 Layer Cake of the Month Series
-
- Homemade Funfetti Cake
-
- Chocolate Raspberry Cake
-
- Mint Chocolate Chip Cake
-
- Carrot Cake Cheesecake Cake
-
- Chocolate Chip Layer Cake
-
- Lemon Meringue Layer Cake
-
- Chocolate Cherry Cake
-
- Three Layer S’mores Cake
-
- Caramel Apple Cake
-
- M&M Candy Cake
-
- Chocolate Ombre Cake
-
- Coconut Layer Cake
Three Layer Chocolate Cherry Cake
Whether you use fresh or frozen cherries, this three-layer Chocolate Cherry Cake is packed full of delicious cherry flavor!
Ingredients
For the Cherry Filling:
- 2 cups (320 grams) fresh cherries, pitted and roughly chopped
- 1/2 cup (99 grams) granulated sugar
- 1 1/2 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1/3 cup water
For the Chocolate Cake:
- 2 3/4 cups (330 grams) all-purpose flour
- 3 cups (594 grams) granulated sugar
- 1 cup (84 grams) natural unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 tablespoon baking soda
- 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3 large eggs, room temperature
- 1 1/2 cups (340.5 grams) buttermilk
- 1 1/2 cups (340.5 grams) hot coffee
- 3/4 cup (148.5 grams) vegetable oil
- 1 tablespoons vanilla extract
For the Cherry Frosting:
- 1 1/2 cups (339 grams) unsalted butter
- 7-8 cups (795-908 grams) confectioners' sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups (240 grams) cherries, pitted and finely chopped
For the Ganache:
- 7 ounces (198 grams) dark chocolate, chopped
- 2/3 cup (151 grams) heavy cream
- pinch of salt
Instructions
- Make the cherry filling. Place the cherries, sugar, cornstarch, lemon juice, and water in a large saucepan and bring to a boil. Boil for 5 minutes, stirring frequently, until the cherries soften and the liquid is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Set aside to cool; refrigerate while making the rest of the cake.
- Make the chocolate cake. Preheat the oven to 350 °F. Grease and flour three 8-inch round cake pans. Line the pans with parchment paper, then grease and flour the parchment paper.
- Make the cake batter. Using a mixer, combine together the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. In a separate smaller bowl, whisk together the eggs, buttermilk, coffee, oil, and vanilla extract. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix on low speed until combined, about 2 minutes. The batter will be thin.
- Bake the cake batter. Divide the batter evenly among the three pans. Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out with a moist crumb. Cool the cakes in the pan for 20 minutes, then turn them out on cooling racks to cool completely before frosting.
- Make the frosting. In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the butter until light and fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes. Add in the confectioners' sugar, 1/2 cup at a time, up to 7 cups total. Beat in the salt and the vanilla extract, followed by the chopped cherries and any released cherry juice. Turn the mixer to medium-high speed and beat until light and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. If the frosting is too thin, add additional confectioners' sugar until the desired texture is achieved.
- Assemble the cake. Level the cakes if necessary. Cover the bottom layer of cake with 3/4 cup of the frosting. Pipe a border of frosting along the outer edge of the cake and refrigerate for 10-15 minutes. Spread half the cooled cherry filling inside the piped frosting border. Top with a second cake layer and repeat. Place the final layer on top of the cake, face down, and frost the sides and top of the cake. Refrigerate to set the frosting.
- Make the chocolate ganache. Microwave the heavy cream on 50% power for 30-second increments or heat on the stovetop in a small saucepan until it just comes to a boil. Place the chopped chocolate in a glass mixing bowl and pour the cream over the chocolate. Allow this mixture to sit for 2 minutes to melt the chocolate, then whisk from the center outside until the ganache is smooth. Set aside to cool, whisking occasionally, until the ganache has thickened but is still pourable, 10 to 15 minutes. Transfer the ganache into a piping bag, snip off the corner, and drip the ganache along the edge of the cake, encouraging the ganache to run down the sides. Pour the remaining ganache into the center of the cake and spread it to the sides. Decorate with swirls of additional cherry frosting and whole fresh cherries. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes to set the ganache.
Notes
- Either fresh or frozen cherries can be used for the filling and the frosting. If using frozen cherries, add an extra 1/2 teaspoon of cornstarch to the filling mixture before boiling.
- For perfectly flat, even cakes, weigh the batter to ensure the same amount is in each pan, and use Bake Even strips while baking.
- This recipe makes 3 thick 8-inch layers. To use 9-inch pans, multiply each ingredient by 1.25. To use 6-inch cake pans, divide the recipe in half.
- The cake can be kept in the refrigerator for up to 5 days or frozen for up to 3 months.
Recommended Products
As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Do you have any suggestions on how to make the cake Vegan and still be nice and sturdy. I made this into cupcakes for my kiddos school. I made vegan substitutions for buttermilk (soy milk with apple cider vinegar) and eggs (flax meal and water). The cupcakes were delicious, but very light. Any suggestions would be awesome! Such a good recipe!
The cake was amazing!! Followed the directions and it turned out delicious.
Amazing recipe! The chocolate cake was amazing, so tasty and moist. I did a couple of changes. I used only frozen cherries for in the cherry filling and the buttercream because it was a lot cheaper and easier than cutting up fresh and it tasted great!
For the cherry filling I actually used less than half the sugar stated because the frozen cherries I bought were fairly sweet already, and I wanted a more sour filling to contrast with the buttercream
For the buttercream instead of chopping them I just blended the cherries as I wanted it smooth but I reduced the cherry juice in a pan for a few minutes to remove some water.
I also had a lot of ganache left over, so unless you’re going to add ganache in between the layers as well, I would recommend halving the quantity if it’s just for the drip and topping.
Made this for my gf for her birthday. Absolutely excellent cake…
I used way less sugar (about 300 grams) and it was plenty sweet. I think the full 600 g would have been overkill tbh.
I love this cake but my icing has gone lumpy both times I have made it. It still tastes amazing, but it looks weird. Any tips on avoiding this?
Hi Becky! I’d be happy to help you troubleshoot this. What do you mean by lumpy? Is the butter forming big clumps? The chopped cherries will prevent this from being completely smooth, but it should still be easily spreadable. A couple of thoughts: are your chopped cherries/cherry juice chilled when you add it? This could cause the butter to harden and form lumps, so try making sure the cherries have been out of the fridge for a little. You can also whip together the frosting for a good 3 to 4 minutes on high speed before adding the cherries to make sure the frosting is silky smooth, then add the cherries/juice and whip again. If the frosting is smooth before adding the cherries but lumpy after, it probably means the cherries pieces are too big or too cold. If you’re finding it’s lumpy as you try to smooth the cake, dip an offset spatula in hot water, wipe it off, and then use it to smooth the icing – I do this a lot when I’m making cakes in the winter and it’s cold enough in my kitchen that the frosting gets stiff which makes it hard to smooth out really well.
I made this cake for my son’s birthday. I followed the instructions exactly and it turned out very well! The instructions were super helpful. We enjoyed the cake but we felt that it was overly sweet. We used sweet cherries, just like the ones pictured. I wonder if using sour cherries would add more of a tart taste to add depth and interest to the overall flavor. Thank you very much for the fun recipe! It was a delight to make and it turned out perfectly!
I have made quite a few of your cakes this year. My family loved them all but this chocolate cherry was the biggest hit! I am hoping to make cupcakes using this recipe for our final milestone birthday this weekend-my mom’s 70th. Are there any changes needed and could you recommend cook time for cupcakes?
I had trouble with the buttercream when I made the cake. I had a beautiful creamy buttercream and when I added the cherries the buttercream broke. I started over and same thing happened. I used frozen cherries that were about room temp and drained some of the juice. The buttercream tasted fabulous just didn’t look pretty. Any tips to keep it creamy after adding the cherries would be greatly appreciated. I have so enjoyed your site and the chem lessons are a huge help!!
Hi Tina! First, thanks for the kind words on the cakes – I’m so glad your family has been enjoying them! I haven’t made this exact cake as cupcakes, but it should make 24-28ish cupcakes as written, if you’re filing the muffin tins 3/4 to 4/5th of the way full. I’d start checking for doneness around 20 minutes. Regarding the butercream, even if the cherries felt about room temperature, I wonder if there were a few that were still a little colder than the butter and caused some of the butter to seize up. I usually find that when buttercream breaks and gets clumpy, warming the buttercream very slightly helps – you can try wrapping the bowl with a warm towel and letting it sit for a few minutes. As you’ll see from my photos, the buttercream isn’t completely smooth thanks to the cherry pieces, but it should still have a soft and creamy consistency!
Hi, this was a wonderful cake. However the cake felt a bit more like a brownie gooey texture at the top, but the middle and bottom was cake like, the cake was definitely cooked and I felt this happened after I cooled the cakes. Could it be condensation? I would also like some advice on the ‘hot coffee’ component as I assume this is mixing the coffee with water like we would drink and then measuring it, however it’s measurement is in grams not ml. How many teaspoons of coffee does this require?
Hi Sally – You’re probably right that this relates to condensation if it happened after cooling the cakes. How did you cool and store the cakes aftewards? Regarding coffee, you are correct that it should be hot coffe premade. I always measure liquids in grams as well instead of mL – it’s the scientist coming out in me, since liquid measuring cups aren’t accurate in the same way a graduated cylinder is accurate! I just put the mixing bowl on the scale, tare it, and then pour in the hot coffee. I don’t actually know how many teaspoons of coffee this would be – I make a cup of hot coffee and pour it into the batter, but if you’re using instant coffee, I’d just use the recommended coffee to water ratio per the instructions!