Chocolate Covered Cherry Cake

Servings: 20 Total Time: 1 hr 10 mins Difficulty: Beginner
Cake heaven awaits with Chocolate Covered Cherry Cake, a deliciously satisfying, decadent cake that is surprisingly easy to make!
chocolate covered cherry cake pinit

Chocolate Covered Cherry Cake is delicious proof that you can’t judge a cake by its cover. This dessert may look unassuming, but don’t let that fool you. After just one bite, you’ll enter a world of elegant sweetness and be totally hooked! Its rich, chocolate-cherry flavor is truly scrumptious and out of this world amazing!

chocolate covered cherry cake in pan

Why We Love It

I never thought I could be wooed by a cake. Trust me: there’s been plenty of cake in my life. Some I have loved dearly and others I have thought of fondly over time. But when I first tried Chocolate Covered Cherry Cake, it was love at first bite–which quickly turned into infatuation. This is almost a little too embarrassing to admit, but when this chocolate wonderful is in the house, it’s pretty much all I can think of. This super-moist, chocolaty cherry, glaze-topped gem is absolutely one of my favorites of all time. And when it’s gone (as in devoured, yet loved)…well, let’s just say it’s not forgotten!

The really funny thing about this is that even though it tastes majestic, Chocolate Covered Cherry Cake is ridiculously simple to make. And the icing on top?–well, let’s just say I think the glaze on this came close to coining that expression!

chocolate covered cherry cake serving on plate

Why You’ll Love It

Now I’m going to let you in on a little secret: Chocolate Covered Cherry Cake is actually a box cake hack! That’s right–it’s even easier to make than you thought! There’s no flour or sugar to measure, and the really neat thing is that even though we use a cake mix, there’s no vegetable oil in this recipe because the cherry pie filling (and 2 eggs) give us all the moistness we need! Simply use your hand mixer to blend the cake ingredients and bake it. Then make a simple–yet decadent–chocolate glaze on your stovetop to top it with. Let the cake sit for 20 minutes and then you will be in heaven–absolute cake heaven.

And, I’m warning you now, if you take this to a social, be prepared for all the raves and recipe questions–because this just might be the most talked about dessert (dare I say food?) on the table!

For additional ideas with cherry pie filling, check out Cherry Crunch.

If you especially love chocolate glazed decadent treats (like this one), then you have to try Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake!

chocolate covered cherry cake ingredients

Chocolate Covered Cherry Cake Ingredients

For the cake:

  • 1 box devil’s food cake mix
  • 1 can (21 oz.) cherry pie filling
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 teaspoon pure almond extract

For the chocolate glaze:

  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1/3 cup butter
  • 1/3 cup whole milk
  • 1 & 1/3 cups semisweet chocolate chips
cherries and cake mix in bowl

How to make Chocolate Covered Cherry Cake

You’ll want to gather the following equipment:

  • 13×9 nonstick pan
  • hand mixer
  • large mixing bowl
  • scraping/rubber spatula
  • wire cooling rack
  • mixing spoons
  • measuring cups
  • measuring spoons
  • small pot
  • nonscratch serrated knife
  • serving spatula
chocolate covered cherry cake on plate

Kitchen Ready Betty tips:

Before starting…

  • Preheat your oven to 350 degrees
  • Grease pan

Make the Cake

In a large mixing bowl, add the dry cake mix and cherry pie filling.

Next, add the almond extract and eggs.

Blend with your hand mixer on low speed for 1 minute. Stop the mixer and scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula.

Increase the mixer’s speed to medium and beat 2 minutes more. Scrape the sides again, if necessary.

chocolate covered cherry cake batter being spreadd in pan with a spatula

Then pour the batter into your prepared pan, smoothing the top with the rubber spatula.

Place the cake in your 350 degree preheated oven and bake it for 30 to 35 minutes.

Kitchen Ready Betty tip: Bake the cake until it springs back when lightly pressed with your finger and just starts to pull away from the sides of the pan. Remove the pan from the oven and place it on a wire rack while you prepare the glaze.

chocolate covered cherry cake cooling off

Make the Glaze

In a medium saucepan, add sugar, butter and milk. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly until mixture comes to a boil. After it boils, stir constantly for 1 more minute.

melting chocolate chips in pan

Remove the pan from heat and stir in the chocolate chips.

pouring glaze over chocolate covered cherry cake

When the chips have melted and the glaze is smooth, pour it over the warm cake so that it covers the entire surface. Use a spatula as needed to spread the glaze evenly.

chocolate covered cherry cake

Cool the cake for 20 minutes, then cut the cake into squares before serving.

Kitchen Ready Betty tip: The glaze may be thin, but it will firm up as it sits!

cutting chocolate covered cherry cake

Chocolate Covered Cherry Cake Leftovers?

If you’re a chocolate lover like me, this cake won’t be around for long!

Store the cake, covered in aluminum foil, at room temperature for up to 5 days or in the fridge for up to 1 week. Or, freeze the cake, wrapped in foil, for up to 6 months. Thaw the cake overnight on the counter before serving.

slice of chocolate covered cherry cake

A special thank you to my aunt for sharing this amazing recipe with me!

Chocolate Covered Cherry Cake

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Prep Time 20 mins Cook Time 30 mins Rest Time 20 mins Total Time 1 hr 10 mins Difficulty: Beginner Cooking Temp: 350  °F Servings: 20 Best Season: Suitable throughout the year

Description

Chocolate Covered Cherry Cake is actually a box cake hack! Even though it's made with a cake mix, there's no vegetable oil used because the cherry pie filling (and 2 eggs) make it incredibly moist! Simply use your hand mixer to blend the cake ingredients and bake it. Then make a simple--yet decadent--chocolate glaze on your stovetop to top it with. Let the cake sit for 20 minutes and then you will be in heaven--absolute cake heaven.

Chocolate Covered Cherry Cake

Cooking Mode Disabled

Cake:

Chocolate Glaze:

How to Make Chocolate Covered Cherry Cake:

Cake:

  1. In a large mixing bowl, add the dry cake mix and cherry pie filling.

  2. Next, add the almond extract and eggs.

  3. Blend with your hand mixer on low speed for 1 minute. Stop the mixer and scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula.

  4. Increase the mixer's speed to medium and beat 2 minutes more. Scrape the sides again, if necessary.

  5. Then pour the batter into your prepared pan, smoothing the top with the rubber spatula.

  6. Place the cake in your 350 degree preheated oven and bake it for 30 to 35 minutes.

    Bake the cake until it springs back when lightly pressed with your finger and just starts to pull away from sides of the pan. Remove the pan from the oven and place it on a wire rack while you prepare the glaze.

Chocolate Glaze:

  1. In a medium saucepan, add sugar, butter and milk. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly until mixture comes to a boil. After it boils, stir constantly for 1 more minute.

  2. Remove the pan from heat and stir in the chocolate chips.

  3. When the chips have melted and the glaze is smooth, pour it over the warm cake so that it covers the entire surface.

    Use a spatula as needed to spread glaze evenly.
  4. Cool the cake for 20 minutes, then cut the cake into squares before serving.

    The glaze may be thin, but it will firm up as it sits!

Storage:

  1. Store the cake, covered in aluminum foil, at room temperature for up to 5 days or in the fridge for up to 1 week. Or, freeze the cake, wrapped in foil, for up to 6 months. Thaw the cake overnight on your counter before serving.

Note

You can substitute half and half for the whole milk.

Either devil's food plain cake mix or devil's food with pudding cake mix work well.

This cake tastes great at room temperature, but we think it tastes even better when served cold (just out of the fridge)!

Keywords: chocolate, cherry, cake, glaze, decadent, dessert

Some food for thought....

Expand All:
Why devil's food?

Devil's food cake mixes have a deeper chocolate flavor because they have more cocoa. They are also usually fluffier because they have more baking soda.

Have you ever made the glaze with milk chocolate chips?

I haven't. I think semi-sweet works well in the glaze and is a nice compliment to the cake's flavor.

Could I use real cherries in this instead of the canned pie filling?

Sorry, not for this recipe. One of the reasons this cake is so moist is because of the pie filling. If you really like fresh cherries, they could be garnish on top with a dollop of whip!

Did you make this recipe?

Tag #kitchenreadybetty if you made this recipe. Follow @kitchenreadybetty on Instagram for more recipes!

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Betty Weand

Food Blogger

Hi, I'm Betty! I live in Pennsylvania with my 2 human sons, 2 furry sons and my wonderful and supportive husband, who is my main cooking muse. When I'm not busy cooking or writing, I'm lifting a barbell, answering presidential trivia, thinking about the ocean, or going on long walks with my pups.

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