Ultimate Chocolate Covered Cherry Bundt Cake: A Decadent & Easy Recipe
Prepare to fall in love with this truly decadent Chocolate Covered Cherry Bundt Cake. What started as a delightful Valentine’s Day inspiration has evolved into an even richer, more luxurious dessert, perfect for any occasion that calls for a touch of elegance and incredible flavor. My journey to perfecting this cake led me to significantly adapt an original recipe from Texas Co-op Power, transforming it into a cake that’s not just delicious, but truly unforgettable.
The Evolution of a Classic: From Simple to Sublime
The original recipe for Chocolate Covered Cherry Cake was a gem in its own right, calling for oil, more eggs, and slightly less sugar. It delivered a perfectly lovely cake, but I envisioned something more. My goal was to create a cake that mirrored the deep, moist richness of my Nana’s Devil’s Food Cake – a true benchmark for chocolate indulgence. This meant making a few strategic adjustments to the ingredient ratios, most notably swapping oil for butter, which contributes an unparalleled depth of flavor and tender crumb that oil simply cannot match. The result? A cake that is incredibly moist, intensely chocolatey, and wonderfully satisfying.
Here’s a look back at an earlier iteration of the cake, which was made with oil. While tasty, the updated version offers a superior richness and texture that truly elevates it to a new level. The subtle changes in fat and sugar content, combined with careful preparation, create a cake that feels gourmet yet remains delightfully simple to bake.
Crafting Your Decadent Chocolate Cherry Bundt Cake Batter
Despite its rich flavor and impressive appearance, this Chocolate Covered Cherry Cake is essentially a “dump and stir” recipe, making it wonderfully accessible for bakers of all skill levels. While you *can* mix everything by hand, I highly recommend using an electric mixer for just a minute or so. This ensures that all the ingredients are thoroughly blended, creating a smooth, cohesive batter that bakes up perfectly even. The secret ingredient that makes this cake so special is the cherry pie filling. Half a can is gently folded directly into the batter, infusing every bite with sweet cherry flavor and moisture. The other half is strategically spread in a ring in the center of the pan, ensuring a delightful pocket of fruit in the middle of your cake. For an extra layer of chocolatey goodness, I always advocate for adding dark or semisweet chocolate chips. They weren’t in the original version, but believe me, they are a worthwhile addition that truly enhances the “chocolate covered” experience.
The Luxurious Chocolate Ganache Glaze: An Indulgent Upgrade
One of the most significant upgrades to this Chocolate Covered Cherry Bundt Cake is the addition of a rich chocolate ganache glaze. The original Texas Co-op Power recipe featured a simple vanilla glaze, which was drizzled on while the cake was warm, allowing it to soak in and add moisture and flavor. That vanilla glaze was a must for the original cake, providing essential moisture. However, with the switch to butter and a slightly adjusted recipe, our new and improved Bundt cake is inherently moist enough to be served with just a dusting of powdered sugar. But why stop there when you can make it even more irresistible? Adding a silky smooth ganache glaze transforms this already delicious cake into a showstopper, truly embodying the “chocolate covered cherry” concept. The deep, intense chocolate flavor of the ganache perfectly complements the sweet cherry notes and the rich chocolate cake itself, creating a harmonious symphony of flavors and textures that will tantalize your taste buds. It’s an optional step, but one that adds immense visual appeal and an extra layer of decadent flavor.
Garnishing Your Chocolate Covered Cherry Cake Masterpiece
Presentation is key to making any dessert truly special, and our Chocolate Covered Cherry Bundt Cake is no exception. Ideally, a cake like this would be garnished with fresh, vibrant cherries, perhaps with their stems still attached, for a pop of color and a nod to the cake’s namesake. However, life in the kitchen is often a dynamic and bustling affair! On the day I baked this particular cake, I was simultaneously preparing our family’s dinner, so fresh cherries were regrettably not on hand. I decided to let the cake’s natural beauty, enhanced by the rich ganache, speak for itself. That said, I did attempt to capture an “artsy” photo to showcase its elegance. It served as a good reminder that great photography often requires a dedicated setup – perhaps a shorter vase of flowers, more strategic lighting, and certainly more commitment to the art of food photography for next time! Don’t let a lack of fresh garnishes deter you; even a simple dusting of powdered sugar or a few chocolate shavings can make your cake look exquisite. But if you have them, fresh cherries truly make it shine.
This Chocolate Covered Cherry Bundt Cake is more than just a dessert; it’s a testament to how simple tweaks can elevate a good recipe to a great one. Whether you’re making it for a special holiday like Valentine’s Day, a birthday, or simply to treat yourself and your loved ones, its rich chocolate flavor, moist texture, and the delightful surprise of cherry filling are sure to impress. It’s a comforting, classic flavor combination presented in a sophisticated Bundt form.
Related Delights
If you’re a fan of the classic chocolate and cherry pairing, you’ll love exploring these other delicious recipes:
- Chocolate Covered Cherry Pie
- Cherry Cookies
- Banana Cookies
- Chocolate Covered Marshmallows
Recipe: Decadent Chocolate Covered Cherry Bundt Cake
Chocolate Covered Cherry Bundt Cake
Anna
Pin Recipe
10 minutes
45 minutes
55 minutes
Dessert
American
12
Ingredients
-
2
cups
all-purpose flour
(270 grams) -
1 ½
teaspoons
baking soda -
1
teaspoon
salt -
⅔
cup
unsweetened cocoa powder, natural -
1 ¼
cups
sugar
(225 grams) -
2
large
eggs -
1
cup
buttermilk -
8
tablespoons
unsalted butter, melted and cooled -
2
teaspoons
almond extract or 1 teaspoon each vanilla & almond -
1
can
cherry pie filling (21 oz) -
⅔
cup
dark or semisweet chocolate chips
use more if desired
Glaze — Optional
-
2
ounces
semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, chopped
(56 grams) -
1
teaspoon
corn syrup -
¼
teaspoon
vanilla extract (optional), I sometimes leave it out -
1
teaspoon
butter -
¼
cup
heavy cream
Instructions
-
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 C). Grease and flour a Bundt pan thoroughly, or use a cooking spray specifically designed with flour added for non-stick baking.
-
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients: all-purpose flour, baking soda, salt, natural unsweetened cocoa powder, and sugar. Ensure they are well combined.
-
To the dry mixture, add the wet ingredients: large eggs, buttermilk, melted and cooled unsalted butter, and the almond extract (or vanilla and almond extract combination). Stir initially until all dry ingredients are just moistened. Then, beat with a handheld electric mixer on medium speed for about one minute until the batter is smooth and well blended, being careful not to overmix. By hand, gently fold in half of the cherry pie filling.
-
Pour approximately half of the prepared cake batter into your greased and floured Bundt pan. Carefully spoon the remaining cherry pie filling in a ring around the center of the batter, ensuring it doesn’t touch the sides of the pan. Evenly scatter the dark or semisweet chocolate chips over the cherry filling. Finally, top with the remaining cake batter, spreading it gently to cover the filling and chips.
-
Bake for 50-60 minutes, or until a wooden skewer inserted into the thickest part of the cake comes out clean, and the cake gently pulls away from the sides of the pan. Allow the cake to cool on a wire rack in the pan for 10 minutes before carefully inverting it onto the rack. If applying the ganache glaze, do so while the cake is still slightly warm but not hot, or after it has completely cooled, as per ganache instructions below.
Ganache Glaze — Cake is already pretty moist, but if you love glaze…
-
In a medium-sized heatproof bowl or a 2-cup Pyrex measuring cup, combine the 2 ounces of chopped semisweet or bittersweet chocolate with the corn syrup and butter. In a small saucepan over the stove or in the microwave, heat the heavy cream just until it begins to boil (be careful not to scorch it). Pour the hot cream directly over the chocolate mixture. Let it stand undisturbed for about 5 minutes to allow the chocolate to melt. Then, whisk gently until the mixture is completely smooth and glossy.
-
Allow the ganache glaze to cool for about 5 to 10 minutes, or until it reaches a thick but still pourable consistency. If it’s too warm, it will be too thin; if too cool, it will be too stiff. Pour the ganache evenly over the cooled (or slightly warm) Bundt cake, letting it drip down the sides. Allow the cake to stand at room temperature until the glaze is completely set, which will take at least 30 minutes, before slicing and serving your magnificent Chocolate Covered Cherry Bundt Cake.
Cherry Pie Filling, Chocolate Covered Cherry
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