Roasted Cherry Chocolate Cake

in Cakes & Cupcakes, Cherries, Cherries & Berries, Chocolate, Fruit, Project Pastry Queen

Roasted Cherry Chocolate Cake

This week’s Project Pastry Queen recipe was selected by Amanda of Homekeeping Adventures: Mahogany Cake.

What you’re looking at up there, that’s not really a Mahogany Cake. Mahogany cakes usually have coffee or espresso and I skipped on the coffee this week. Because I was excited that I could afford fresh cherries! And I got that wrinkled brow-squinty eye look when I mentioned that dessert this week would be a chocolate + coffee combo.

Roasted Cherry Chocolate Cake

Cherries showed up in my grocery store two weeks ago at (gulp) $10/lb. I sadly pushed my cart passed, determined not to let a $15 bag of cherries land me in divorce court. Then last week, they were $8/lb. This week – a more affordable $4/lb. Knowing they wouldn’t get much cheaper, I pulled the trigger.

The chocolate cake is moist and just dense enough to warrant using a bundt pan. I did make a few changes to the recipe since I wasn’t using coffee:
– Eliminated coffee/espresso from the cake
– Substituted the candy for 1/2 lb of roasted cherries: I tossed 1 small spoonful of sugar with 1/2 lb of cherries (pits removed and cherries halved or quartered, depending on cherry size) and baked for 20 minutes at 450. Then I tossed the cherries, accumulated juices and all, into the mixer bowl after adding all the other ingredients, mixing for just a few seconds to distribute.
– Replaced the boiling water with 3 Tbsp blackberry liqueur (I was out of cherry) and 2 Tbsp milk (feel free to use all milk if you don’t have a reason to keep blackberry or cherry liqueur around)
– Whipped up a simple chocolate ganache (recipe from Annie’s Eats) for the icing.

Roasted Cherry Chocolate Cake

Rather than getting a layer of chocolate-coffee candies on top of the cake, you get bites of juicy roasted cherries. And it sets up as a beautiful cake.

You can get the full recipe over at Amanda’s blog and see how everyone else tackled the Mahogany Cake here.

24 comments… add one
  • Yummy!! At this moment, I’m baking a cherry cake, but no chocolate!!

    I have to try this one, it’s really cute, and we must use all the cherrys now we can, after all year waiting for!!

    I’ll save search the cake recipe at Amanda’s web, but I want try it with your modifications, sounds good!!

  • You have awesome ganache dripping skills. 🙂 We don’t even have cherries in the stores yet but when we do, I’ll have to try baking them with. I’ve never done it before but it sounds good. And this cake is just beautiful. Good call with the cherries instead of candy!

  • This cake looks awesome!

  • This cake looks absolutely gorgeous. And, kudos to you for actually making a cake before the whole bag was schoffed!

  • This is an absolutely stunning dessert! I never got around to trying the roasted cherry and chocolate brownies that were popular in the blogosphere last summer, but this looks even better – I’ll have to try it (hoping I can find a decent price on cherries too)!

    • Thanks, Natalie! I actually *just* made a pan of those last night for a bbq today. I roasted the cherries for longer in some of our port. They’re pretty terrific.

  • Amanda

    What a good idea using the cherries instead of coffee! I’ll have to try this modification when cherries become affordable here. Your photography is beautiful as always! 🙂

  • I am so, so excited to try this cake. These are also some of my favorite photos you’ve taken, which is saying a lot. Beautiful as always.

  • These photos are beautiful. I love them!

  • Jennifer

    Looks great!

    Why in the world are cherries $10/lbs??

  • You make a beautiful cake. It looks delicious.

  • No cherries here in New Zealand right now. I know which slice of that cake I would have – the bit with that heavy drape of chocolate down the side.

  • Looks wonderful! I would love to try some. I reckon I would polish the lot off in 10 minutes flat.

  • Your cake is beautiful! I really like the glaze you used.

  • This cake looks mouthwatering and gorgeous, Shawnda! What a great use for all the big, beautiful crops of cherries coming in lately! Thanks for sharing. Hope you have had a happy Memorial Day weekend!

  • Can I abashedly admit to you that I bought the $10/lb cherries? Thank god I have no spouse to answer to…otherwise I’d be in trouble. And lots of it. Hopefully they’ll be cheaper this week! Gorgeous cake.

  • This cake means that i need to get a cherry pitter, and fast!

  • the gorgeous cherries completely make this cake. WOW! just gorgeous

  • I finally bought cherries this week, too. Hooray for cherries!

  • Oh my, you devil of a girl! That looks amazing!!!!!

  • Wow! why are these pictures sooo good? Luv it.

  • Yum! I can’t think of anything that sounds better than cherries or chocolate right now and what better way to enjoy than to combine them?!

    Shame we are 30mins from the nearest store, else I’d be on my way to grab the ingredients. I’m sure my boyfriend is glad for the distance now since he’s not big on sweets.

    Thanks for the recipe, it’s definitely on my list of things to try!

  • Your cake is beautiful!!

  • Debra Kapellakis

    Yum! Mouthwatering photo’s!

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