Moist Chocolate Cherry Cake
This Moist Chocolate Cherry Cake is the ultimate showstopper! Four layers of decadent chocolate cake are brushed with cocoa milk for an extra moist and tender crumb. Each layer is filled with silky chocolate custard cream and tangy cherry jam. The cake is then finished with more luscious frosting and topped with fresh cherries, making it both visually stunning and nothing short of magical. But the real surprise? How deceptively simple it is to make!
Ingredients
Chocolate Cake
- 50 g unsweetened cocoa powder I highly recommend Rodelle or Valrhona
- 2 tsp instant coffee powder or granules I use Moccona
- 240 ml very hot water (or use 240 ml freshly brewed coffee instead, and omit the instant coffee powder)
- 200 g (1 cup) granulated sugar
- 50 g (½ cup) brown sugar
- 256 g (2 cups) all purpose plain flour
- 20 g cornstarch (cornflour in Australia)
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp salt
- 120 ml vegetable oil or avocado oil
- 2 tsp apple cider vinegar
- 2 tsp pure vanilla bean paste or extract
- 200 g sour cream
- 2 eggs at room temperature
Cocoa Milk Soak
- 200 ml whole milk warmed
- 1 tsp cocoa powder I highly recommend Rodelle or Valrhona
Cherry Jam
- 250 g cherry jam (your favourite store-bought option, or homemade compote - see FAQ)
Chocolate Custard Cream Frosting
- 300 g dark chocolate chips or your favorite dark chocolate bar, I use high quality couverture callets (Callebaut 811)
- 4 eggs at room temperature
- 15 g (1 tbsp) sugar
- 300 ml whole milk
- 300 ml heavy cream (thickened cream in Australia)
- pinch salt
To Decorate
- 10-15 fresh cherries
- few mint leaves or gold leaf optional
Instructions
Chocolate Cake
- Preheat oven to 170℃ / 340℉ (conventional, no fan). Adjust rack to the middle position.
- Grease the base and sides of two 20 cm / 8-inch pans with butter. Line bases only with parchment paper.
- Bloom cocoa powder and coffee: In a large bowl, combine cocoa powder, coffee, and very hot water. Set aside for 5 minutes to intensify the flavor.
- Whisk dry ingredients: In a large bowl, combine granulated sugar, brown sugar, and salt. Sift in flour, cornstarch, baking powder, and baking soda, then whisk everything together until well combined.
- Add wet ingredients: To the bloomed cocoa mixture, whisk in oil, vinegar, vanilla, sour cream, and eggs until just combined.
- Combine: Pour wet mixture into dry ingredients and whisk until just combined - don’t overmix.
- Bake: Divide batter evenly between pans. Bake 28-30 minutes, until a skewer inserted comes out mostly clean (a few crumbs are fine).
- Cool: Let cakes cool in the pans for 30 minutes. Run a knife around edges, invert onto a wire rack, and tap bases if needed to release.
Cocoa Milk Soak
- Make cocoa milk soak: Heat the milk until warm, then stir in cocoa powder until fully dissolved.
Chocolate Custard Cream Frosting
- Prepare chocolate: Place chocolate in a large bowl with a sieve resting on top. Set aside.
- Whisk custard base: In another bowl, beat eggs. Then add sugar, milk, and heavy cream.
- Heat gently: Place the bowl over a pot of simmering water (double boiler method), whisking constantly until the mixture reaches 75℃ (use a kitchen thermometer for accuracy).
- Combine: Pour the hot mixture through the sieve over the chocolate. Whisk or hand-blend until smooth, then stir in a pinch of salt.
- Cover the surface with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 6 hours or overnight. Use straight from the fridge, no re-whisking needed! If you plan to serve the cake the same day, be sure to make the frosting the day before.
Assembly
- Level cakes: Once cooled and the cakes have been removed from the pans. Use a cake leveller (or a serrated bread knife) to slice each cake in half horizontally, creating four even layers. (Tip: An inexpensive leveller works best for neat, even cuts.)
- Prepare base: Carefully place one cake layer onto a cake stand or serving plate - handle gently so it doesn’t break. Brush generously with the cocoa milk soak.
- Pipe frosting dam: Using a piping bag, pipe one or two rings of frosting, angled slightly inward toward the centre (not upward), to create a dam.
- Fill with jam: Spread a thin, even layer of cherry jam inside the frosting dam.
- Repeat layers: Continue stacking cake layers carefully, brushing with cocoa milk, piping frosting dams, and filling with jam until all layers are assembled.
- Frost top: Pipe or spread the remaining custard cream frosting over the top of the cake only.
- Decorate: For a finishing touch, pipe swirls or patterns on top, sprinkle with chocolate shavings or cocoa powder, and crown the cake with fresh cherries.
Notes
If you plan to serve the cake the same day, be sure to make the frosting the day before as it requires at least 6 hours to set in the fridge before assembling the cake.