This Cherry Chocolate Chip Cake is so fun and filled with cherry and chocolate flavor. I’m totally in love with the naturally pink color, too!
Cherry Chocolate Chip Cake
So this past weekend, I tried to throw a legit virtual baby shower. Like for reals.
If you are a regular blog reader, you may have seen bloggers celebrate a virtual baby shower for another blog. It’s totally a thing (a couple examples – Pina Colada Pie and Pineapple Upside Down Trifles).
Well, one of my best and oldest friends (since we were 9) is pregnant and due in August. Our little group of friends has all known each other forever, but as time has gone on, we’ve moved away – even to different countries. So we weren’t going to be able to celebrate with her in person. 🙁
So inspired by blogger virtual showers where we all post on the same day about a blogger and her new addition, I decided to take it literally. I emailed our friends and arranged a day and time for us to all “get together” online in a google hangout. With a google hangout (free) you can all join using a link and “hangout”. Sort of like a group FaceTime.
We all mailed our gifts ahead of time to her house so that she’d have them to open during the virtual shower. I thought it’d be a fun way for us all to still get a chance to celebrate with her and give her some things for the new baby girl.
Unfortunately, at the last minute she scheduled birthing classes and that was the only day and time she could do before the baby’s arrival, so we had to move it to another day. It ended up not working out for everyone, so it was really just us two hanging out, which was bummer for the shower, but still fun to catch up.
So if you have a group of friends but you’re all in different locations, that could totally be a fun thing to do. Just be sure birthing classes are already scheduled. 😉
This cake would’ve been perfect for celebrating a baby girl shower, actually. So pink! And I love me some pink!
I’d been wanting to do a cherry chocolate chip cake for a while. I started off using fresh cherries because they are so in season and on sale, but they just didn’t lend the kind of flavor I wanted. It was also much more subtle and I really do prefer a stronger flavor.
So I ended up going with maraschino cherries. I think it was a good call. The cake is delicious! The cherry and chocolate chips go great together. I used mini chocolate chips and would definitely recommend them. I think regular sized chocolate chips might be a little too much and overpower the cherry.
It also worked well because the cherry juice gave the icing the beautiful pink color – no need at all for coloring icing. My arm was really glad about that. 🙂
This Cherry Chocolate Chip Cake is moist and delicious and makes a really fun presentation! Enjoy!
For help with how to add the mini chocolate chips to the sides of the cake, visit this tutorial – Sparkly Pom Pom Cake. The method is the same.
More Cherry Dessert Recipes
- Mini Cherry Almond Cheesecakes
- Cherry Almond Layer Cake
- Chocolate Cherry Ice Cream Pie
- Cherry Almond Amaretto Ice Cream Cake
- Cherry Blossom Cookies
Cherry Chocolate Chip Cake
save this recipe
Enter your email & we’ll send it to your inbox. Plus get new recipes from us every week!
Ingredients
Cake
- 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 3/4 cup salted butter
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 3/4 cup sour cream
- 4 large egg whites
- 1 large egg
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 4 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 cup milk
- 1/2 cup maraschino cherry juice
- 3/4 cup mini chocolate chips (plus more for decorating the outside of the cake)
Icing
- 1 1/2 cups butter
- 1 1/2 cups shortening
- 12 cups powdered sugar
- 5-6 tbsp cherry juice
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees (F) and line three 8 inch cake pans with parchment rounds and grease the sides.
- Cream butter and sugar in a large bowl on medium speed until light in color and fluffy.
- Add vanilla extract and sour cream and beat until well combined.
- Add the egg whites and egg in two batches, stirring until well combined after each addition.
- In a separate bowl, combine flour and baking powder.
- Add about half of the flour mixture to the batter and mix until combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.
- Add milk and cherry juice and mix until combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl.
- Add remaining flour mixture and mix until smooth and well combined.
- Fold in mini chocolate chips
- Divide batter evenly between cake pans and bake for 24-26 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out with a few crumbs.
- Allow cakes to cool for about 5 minutes, then remove cakes to cooling rack to finish cooling.
- To make icing, combine butter and shortening in a large and beat on medium speed until smooth.
- Add 4 cups of powdered sugar and mix until smooth.
- Add 3 tbsp of cherry juice and mix until smooth.
- Add another 4 cups of powdered sugar and mix until smooth.
- Add another 2 tbsp of cherry juice and mix until smooth.
- Add remaining powdered sugar and mix until smooth.
- Add additional cherry juice if needed to get the right consistency of icing. Icing should be thick, but slightly sticky to the touch.
- To assemble the cake, first remove the cake domes from each cake layer.
- Place the first cake layer on a cake plate or cardboard cake round. Top with 1 1/2 cups icing, spread into an even layer.
- Repeat step 20 with the next layer of cake.
- Top with remaining layer of cake.
- Ice the outside of the cake with remaining icing.
- Before the icing has a chance to crust and firm, add additional mini chocolate chips around the bottom.
- Pipe icing around the top edge of the cake and top with cherries.
Notes
Nutrition
The nutrition facts provided are calculated using a third-party tool and are estimates only. Actual nutritional content may vary based on the ingredients and brands you use, as well as portion sizes. For accurate results, please consult a registered dietitian or nutritionist.
Enjoy!
This cake is absolutely STUNNING! I just adore cherries and chocolate paired together 🙂 I am going to be making it for a birthday celebration this weekend – I can hardly wait! One quick question for you, why do you use shortening in the frosting? And did you have leftover frosting? 12 cups of icing sugar seems like so much!
Hi Daphne, I wrote a post about my buttercream and why I use shortening here. However, you can always replace it with butter if preferred. There may have been a little bit of icing left, but not much. Of course I’m pretty generous with my icing. 🙂
This looks amazing! My 10 year old daughter decided to make this for her submission to the county fair! Question for you – the recipe calls for 4 tsp. of baking POWDER, but in the recipe you call for adding baking SODA. I’m assuming the baking powder is the correct ingredient, right? 🙂
How fun! Yes, the baking powder is correct. I’ll update the instructions. Thanks for letting me know!
This cake is gorgeous! Can you bake me one….pretty please.
My daughter’s mother in law loves chocolate and cherries and she would die for this for her birthday.
I might attempt it but I know it won’t be anywhere nearly as beautiful as yours.
Love the Strawberry Sundae Cupcakes, The cherry chocolate cake looks amazing for every party, especially for wedding
Such a beautiful cake! Love the pink 🙂
This is such a beautiful cake! It looks like it could be in a bakery window 🙂
Beautiful recipe… excuse me for asking this but I live in a part of the world where we can’t find all ingredients. By maraschino cherry juice do you mean to say the same juice the maraschino cherry is soaked in? just asking and sorry if this looked like a stupid question.
Thank you.
Not a stupid question. Sorry if that wasn’t clear. Yes, I used the juice from the jar that the cherries sit in.
What a beautiful layer cake! It looks like it stepped out of a fancy bakery! The pretty pink colour is brilliant too. Bummer about your virtual baby shower but that is really really lovely of you to tried so hard to celebrate with your friend!
Absolutely stunning cake. Love it.
Your cakes are always just so perfect! I really love this one. The light pink is just too pretty! That’s a great idea for a virtual baby shower. So sorry it didn’t work out!
Thanks Beth! Even though it didn’t work out, it was good to test it out. Maybe we’ll try again one day. 🙂
This cake is GORGEOUS! Man, I wish you lived close because I would be begging you to make this for my birthday!
Every time I see your cakes I have cake envy!
Thanks girl!
I absolutely ADORE cherry + chocolate. This cake is just gorgeous! Love that you planned a google baby shower too- such a fun idea!
Thanks Allie! 🙂
Whatever the logistics happen to be of being near or far from friends, yours is really lucky. This is a beautiful cake. I never got a baby shower, so I can imagine that she’s thrilled!
Thanks Mir! 🙂
What a gorgeous cake. It literally makes my stomach growl when I look at it! 🙂 Pinned!
I love the idea of a virtual baby shower and this gorgeous pink cake would be great for a girl! Chocolate chip and Cherry ooh delicious. This cake though looks amazing, it is soo beautiful. Pinned! Sammie https://www.feastingisfun.com