Chocolate & Cherry Cake (Dairy-Free)

A rich, chocolate cake soaked in sweet cherry syrup and covered with a velvety smooth chocolate buttercream. Finished off with fresh cherries, chopped dark chocolate and a light dusting of icing sugar, this cake is the showstopper you need on your Christmas table.

I first published this recipe in January of 2017 after having served it for my family Christmas dessert and it remains one of my favourite cakes to this day so I thought it was about time this post deserved a little freshen up with some shiny new photos.

This cake was created out of a way to enjoy the abundance of cherries that are in season around Christmas. They are usually such an expensive little fruit, but around Christmas the price drops and I try to eat as many as I can.

This cake celebrates the cherry and pairs it with its soulmate, dark chocolate for a decedent and delicious cake perfect for the holiday season.

The cake is a version of a chocolate victoria sponge that’s been soaked in sweet cherry sugar syrup to keep it soft and moist and then finished with fudgy chocolate buttercream. You can serve it on it’s own, or with cream or ice-cream and an extra drizzle of leftover cherry syrup.

How to make this chocolate and cherry cake

One of the reasons I love this cake for Christmas is that a lot of the work can be done in advance meaning less time in the kitchen on Christmas day.

Start by making the chocolate cake. Beat the butter and caster sugar together until creamy and add in the eggs one at a time mixing completely between each addition. Finally add in the flour and cocoa powder until the batter just forms.

Split the batter between two 20 cm round cake pans that have been greased and lined with baking paper and bake for 30 minutes or until the tops are firm and spring back when lightly touched.

Let cool in the pans for 10 minutes before turning out on a wire rack to cool completely. Set the cakes aside covered until ready to use.

While I’m making the cakes the night before assembling and serving, I also make the cherry syrup.

Cut the fresh cherries in half and discard the pit and the stem. Place the cherries with the sugar and water in a small saucepan over medium heat and stir until the sugar dissolves.

Let the syrup come to a boil before turning down the heat to let it simmer for 5-10 minutes or until the syrup has started to coat the back of the spoon and the colour is rich and vibrant. Strain and discard the cherries as we won’t be needing them in this recipe, and set the syrup aside in a glass jar to cool until you’re ready to use it.

Assemble the cake!

You can complete this the night before serving as well, but I always like to do it the morning before I serve it.

Start by making your frosting. This recipe uses a small batch of my favourite vegan chocolate buttercream which tastes super rich and fudgy and is the perfect thing to bring our cake together.

Place a small amount of buttercream on the plate or cake stand and place your first cake layer upside down on top. Spoon over the cooled cherry syrup and let it soak into the cake. Add a layer of more buttercream and then the second cake layer, again upside down, on top. Repeat the step with the cherry syrup.

Finally top the cake with more buttercream and spread the remaining around the sides with a flat, metal knife. I like that this cake has a rustic look to it, however if you want super smooth sides, refrigerate the cake first before frosting which will make it much easier to work with.

Then come my favourite part – accessorising the cake for the party. I like to add some roughly chopped dark chocolate, fresh cherries and a dusting of icing sugar to give it that little extra special Christmas feel.

If it’s a Queensland summer day, you will want to store the cake in the fridge so the buttercream doesn’t melt, otherwise if you have the AC on or live in a cooler climate, it will be fine to leave at room temperature until ready to serve.

If you’re looking for an easy cake that’s got some serious good looks to impress guests, then this cake topped with cherries is going to be perfect. Plus it’s not a giant cake, meaning if you have a smaller guest list or this isn’t going to be the only dessert than there isn’t going to be too much left over.

And if there are left overs, just wrap the cake in plastic wrap and store in the fridge for up to five days.

If you do make this recipe, please be sure to leave a comment and rating below! And tag any of your creations on Instagram with #eightforestlane as I would love to see.

Chocolate and Cherry Cake (Dairy-Free)

A rich, chocolate cake soaked in sweet cherry syrup and covered with a velvety smooth chocolate buttercream. Finished off with fresh cherries, chopped dark chocolate and a light dusting of icing sugar,

5 from 1 vote

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Course: Dessert

Cuisine: Australian

Prep Time: 1 hour hour

Cook Time: 35 minutes minutes

Total Time: 1 hour hour 35 minutes minutes

Servings: 8 people

Author: Sally

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Ingredients

For the cake

• ¾ cup self-raising flour
• 1 cup caster sugar
• ¼ cup cocoa
• ¾ cup (185 grams) dairy-free butter
• 4 eggs

For the syrup

• 1 cup caster sugar
• 1 cup water
• 1 cup fresh cherries ,pitted

For the buttercream

• ¼ cup (60 grams) dairy-free butter
• 2 ¼ cups icing mixture
• ¼ cup cocoa
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 tablespoon dairy-free milk

Instructions

For the cake

• Preheat oven to 180 and grease 2 x 20cm round cake pans with dairy-free butter and flour.
• In a large mixing bowl, cream together caster sugar and dairy-free butter using an electric beater until it just comes together smoothly.
• Add in eggs, one at a time, and continue mixing until each has been completely combined within the mixture before adding in the next.
• Sift flour and cocoa powder and add slowly to the mixture, again mixing until completely combined.
• Pour the mixture evenly into the 2 pans and bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes or until the top is firm to touch. Leave in the pan to cool for 10 minutes before turning onto a cooling rack to cool completely before icing.

For the syrup

• Place sugar, water and pitted & halved cherries into a small saucepan and place on a high heat. Stir until all sugar dissolves.
• As mixture comes to a boil, turn heat down and simmer for 5 minutes. Syrup will thicken slightly and the cherries will soften. Strain and set aside to cool.

For the buttercream

• Beat dairy-free butter in a large mixing bowl with an electric beater, slowly adding in sifted icing sugar ¼ cup at a time ensuring it is completely mixed in before adding more.
• Add sifted cocoa powder, vanilla, and dairy-free milk a little at a time and continue to beat until smooth and creamy.

To assemble the cake

• Place one of the cakes on a serving plate. Drizzle with sugar syrup, a little bit at a time letting it soak in before adding more until cake is covered.
• Place a layer of the buttercream over the cake and sit the second cake on top, upside down so you have a flat surface on top.
• Again, drizzle sugar syrup onto cake allowing it to soak it up. You will not use all of the syrup you made, just use what you need.
• Spread the remainder of the buttercream over the top and sides of the cake until covered, smoothing carefully with a knife. Top the cake as you wish with chopped dark chocolate, fresh cherries, and a light dusting of icing sugar.

Notes

I use Nuttelex Buttery to replace butter in most of my recipes as it is vegan and gives a 'buttery' flavour without being greasy. As this is an Australian product, the closest US alternative I believe is Earth Balance. Otherwise any dairy-free butter will work.

Not from Australia? Check out my US Conversion Guide.

Nutritional information is provided as a guide only and is calculated using automated online tools, therefore we cannot guarantee the accuracy. We encourage you to make your own calculations based on the actual ingredients used in your recipe.

Have you made this recipe?Leave a comment and a rating below and tag your creations with #eightforestlane on Instagram!

Not fom Australia? Check out my US Conversion Guide

More chocolate cake recipes:

Chocolate Torte (Gluten-Free)
Chocolate and Coconut Layer Cake (Dairy-Free)
Chocolate Honeycomb Cake
One Bowl Vegan Chocolate Cake

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