A moist chocolate cherry cake, layered with sour cherries and topped with a whipped cream frosting. This cake is called Cherries in Snow (Veshne Na Cnegoo) because the crumbles resemble snowflakes. It’s also the time to open canned sour cherries in syrup and enjoy them in a dessert.

chocolate-cherry-cake

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This chocolate cake with cherries is so moist and yummy! For a healthier take on cake, try this Whole Wheat Chocolate Cake Recipe.

Cherry Chocolate Cake

This chocolate cherry cake is scrumptious! The perfect balance of sweet and sour, complemented by a chocolate concoction and caramel drizzle.

As a Ukrainian, I can say our cakes tend to be more on the “less sweet” side. Many older folks struggle to adapt to American-style buttercream cakes. Instead, our cakes often feature a sour cream or light whipped cream topping.

This chocolate cherry cake recipe is a popular one in the Russian and Ukrainian communities. There is a lady who bakes this cake for orders, and it sells very well. I’ve seen this chocolate cherry cake at weddings, special occasions, and now I can make it at home for a fraction of the price it would cost.

Equipment:

10x15 jelly roll pan or two 9-inch cake pans
Fine sieve
Electric Mixer
Piping bag (or quart-sized freezer bag)
Mixing bowls

Ingredients For Chocolate Cherry Cake:

Chocolate Cake Layers- For the chocolate cake mix, you will need all-purpose flour, cocoa, sweetened condensed milk, sour cream, baking soda, eggs, and granulated sugar.
Cream Frosting- is a whipped cream frosting made of heavy cream, caster sugar, sour cream, and whipped topping like Cool Whip.
Sour Cherries- are sold in glass jars at Aldi (seasonally in the fall) or at European supermarkets. Amazon sells sour cherries, too. You’ll need the dark, pitted sour cherries in juice, not the pie filling or maraschino cherries.
Dulce De Leche- takes this chocolate cake over the top! It adds a caramel-like sweetness to balance out all the tart flavors. You can find dulce de leche in the Mexican aisle of supermarkets or make your own.

How To Make Cherry Chocolate Cake:

Make the chocolate cake layers: Beat the eggs and sugar until thick and pale, and then add the remaining ingredients (sweetened condensed milk, sour cream, and baking soda). Mix well, then add sifted all-purpose flour and cocoa powder. Bake in a greased 10×15 jelly pan for 25 minutes.
To make the cream frosting, beat the heavy cream and caster sugar until soft peaks form. Mix in the sour cream and then add the Cool Whip just until combined. Set aside.
Trim the cake edges and reserve those for crumbs later.
Cut the cake in half horizontally.
Assemble the cake: Place the halved cake layer onto a serving plate. Brush the cake with a little of the juice from the canned sour cherries to soak it. Spread some pitted sour cherries over the cake and top it with 1/3 to 1/2 of the cream frosting. Drizzle with the dulce de leche and top with the remaining cake layer. Soak, top with cherries, drizzle with dulce de leche, and top with the frosting. Frost the sides and garnish with the reserved cake crumbs.
Serve.

Chocolate Cherry Cake for a Crowd:

I’ve found that the most efficient way to make this cake is to double the recipe and pour it into a 21×15 pan. Then, trim the edges (for the crumb decoration) and cut into four equal pieces. This will yield two, two-layered cakes that you can freeze for later. It’s an easy way to feed a crowd or keep some cake layers stashed for those unexpected guests. The single frosting recipe is enough for the doubled version or makes a generous amount of frosting for one cake. Baking this way makes it easy for cake sellers who take lots of orders;)

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