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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,
Course Dessert
Cuisine Australian
Prep Time 1 hour
Cook Time 35 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 35 minutes
Servings 8 people
Author Sally

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.