Cherry Chocolate Cake

vegan cherry chocolate cake
On July 4th, I took a few bites of a scrumptious cherry chocolate cake made by one of my favorite relatives. I asked for the recipe, and my heart sunk a little when I found out that her secret ingredients were a box of devil’s food cake mix and canned cherry pie filling.

A month and a half later, I bought a massive bag of dark red cherries, made a couple of amazing cherry arugula salads, and wanted to make a dessert with the rest. Memories of my cousin’s cherry chocolate cake came back to me and wondered if I could make a healthier version. I was sort of buttered out after eating this entire blackberry peach galette, so I searched around for a vegan chocolate cake recipe. The first page of google results contained several references to Moosewood Restaurant’s recipe, and lots of raving reviews. The recipe has a lot going for it: it’s vegan, easy to make, and doesn’t require any unusual ingredients. I was sold.

I swapped whole wheat pastry flour for the all-purpose flour, added a bit of almond extract in place of some of the vanilla extract and mixed in over a pound of cherries. Pouring in the apple cider vinegar felt like performing a chemistry experiment. The batter foams up! Once the cake cooled, I iced it with pure semi-sweet chocolate and sprinkled it with powdered sugar. I brought the cake to breakfast club and my friends loved it!

carton of fresh cherries

pitted bing cherries

vegan chocolate cake dry ingredients

cherry chocolate cake mix

cherries in chocolate cake
baked vegan cherry chocolate cake

cherries on cake

slice of vegan cherry chocolate cake

slice of cherry chocolate cake

5.0 from 1 reviews

Vegan Cherry Chocolate Cake
Author: 
Recipe type: Dessert
 

Ingredients
  • 1 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
  • 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 scant cup raw (turbinado) sugar
  • 1/2 cup vegetable oil
  • 1 cup coffee (I mixed one packet of Starbucks VIA instant coffee with cold filtered water, you could also just use 1 cup of cold water)
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
  • 2 tablespoons cider vinegar
  • 1 1/4 pound dark cherries (roughly enough cherries to cover the bottom of your cake pan)

Instructions
  1. Preheat the oven to 375º.
  2. Pit the cherries. I invested in this cherry pitter and it makes pitting cherries about as easy as it can be.
  3. Line the bottom of your pan with parchment paper. I used a 9 inch non-stick springform pan, which made removing the cake a cinch.
  4. Whisk together the flour, cocoa, soda, salt, and sugar directly into the cake pan.
  5. In a measuring cup, measure and mix together the oil, cold coffee (or cold water and Starbucks VIA), almond extract and vanilla extract.
  6. Pour the liquid ingredients into the baking pan and mix the batter with a fork or a small whisk until it is smooth.
  7. Add the vinegar and stir quickly. You will see pale swirls in the batter as the vinegar reacts with the baking soda. Stir just until the vinegar is evenly distributed throughout the batter.
  8. Mix in your cherries with minimal stirring. I poked the cherries down into the batter with my finger.
  9. Bake for 35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Set aside to cool.

Notes
Adapted from Moosewood Restaurant.


Chocolate Icing Ingredients:

  • 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (I used Ghirardelli 60% cacao dark chocolate chips but seek out dairy-free if you want the cake to be totally vegan)
  • 1 to 2 tablespoons hot water
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Notes on the chocolate icing:
Moosewood’s glaze calls for 3/4 cup water, but I found that to be way too much. Instead of using a double broiler and diluting the chocolate with so much water, I microwaved the chocolate chips in twenty second intervals, stirring after each. I thinned the chocolate with just a little bit of very hot water, and mixed in 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract. It’s as easy as icing gets, and the dense chocolate flavor suits the cherry chocolate cake nicely. Top with a dusting of powdered sugar for a pretty effect.

my dog ate my cherry chocolate cake

WARNING: Don’t let your dog near this cake! I stepped outside for one hot minute and came back inside to find Cookie nose deep in chocolate cake. A very nice woman in poison control told me to feed Cookie a tablespoon and a half of hydrogen peroxide. Let’s just say that this cake didn’t look so appetizing the second time around. Fortunately, Cookie was just fine. Bad dog!

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33 Comments

  1. Posted August 25, 2011 at 3:52 PM | Permalink

    oh my the dog! but the cake looks so good! Hugh is a big breakfast sweets guy, and I think this would go over quite well. I have a tough time baking with no egg at all, as I always end up with a mess of crumbles, but I’ll consider it ;)

    • Posted August 27, 2011 at 4:43 PM | Permalink

      Please do consider it, Sara! I’ve made two of these cakes and neither was crumbly. My friends had no idea it was vegan. :)

  2. Posted August 25, 2011 at 4:09 PM | Permalink

    This cake looks and sounds absolutely phenomenal!! I love chocolate and cherries together, and Moosewood recipes are always a great basis on which to put your own spin. I’m glad to hear/read that Cookie was alright after eating some of the cake – it’s good to know that hydrogen peroxide is a safe and effective remedy for canines who consume chocolate.

  3. Claudia
    Posted August 25, 2011 at 8:03 PM | Permalink

    Hello from TX! I just found your blog a few weeks ago and have enjoyed reading your posts! This cake looks amazing and it has jumped to the top of my baking to do list :)

    P.S. I feel your pain when it comes to the heat.

    • Posted August 27, 2011 at 4:45 PM | Permalink

      Hi Claudia, thanks so much for commenting! Please let me know how your cake turns out if you get around to baking it. I’m so ready for cooler weather, aren’t you?

      • Claudia
        Posted September 5, 2011 at 11:42 AM | Permalink

        Hi Kate! I did baked the cake yesterday for a BBQ and it was a hit! Thanks for a great recipe. Oh and yes, I am definitely ready for some cooler temps. Even the low 90s would be welcome :)

  4. Posted August 25, 2011 at 10:09 PM | Permalink

    I don’t know much about vegan baking but I sure do know that chocolate and cherries are a perfect combination :)

  5. Posted August 26, 2011 at 2:03 AM | Permalink

    Great photos! This cake looks awesome.

  6. Posted August 26, 2011 at 4:01 AM | Permalink

    Oh wowwww, this is the most gorgeous cake ive seen in a while. Its just stunning and i bet taste FABULOUS. Massive thumbs up on healthifying the box-mix recipe, it really looks just perfect! :)

    • Posted August 27, 2011 at 4:56 PM | Permalink

      Thanks, Sasha! It’s truly a delicious cake. You should try it!

  7. Posted August 26, 2011 at 4:16 AM | Permalink

    what a beautiful cake! i have baked similar vegan cakes before and love them! will have to try chocolate and cherry :)

  8. Posted August 26, 2011 at 8:43 AM | Permalink

    this cake looks so moist and perfect. i’m not a fan of chocolate cake, but i might try this one with those juicy cherries if i can find some time before they go out of season. beautiful photos.

  9. Posted August 27, 2011 at 2:37 PM | Permalink

    Wow, this looks amazing! Is Cookie okay after her chocolate experience?

    • Posted August 27, 2011 at 4:49 PM | Permalink

      Yes, she’s fine! Thank you for asking. I acted quickly so I think she got it out of her system before the chocolate could affect her. I’m thankful that she’s such a healthy little dog!

  10. Posted August 28, 2011 at 1:20 PM | Permalink

    Such a gorgeous cake! I can imagine how delicious cherries and chocolates would be ;-)

  11. Posted August 28, 2011 at 10:54 PM | Permalink

    That cake looks like a pudding. How I wish I could just get it from the photograph and have some of it rightaway.

  12. Posted August 29, 2011 at 4:52 AM | Permalink

    OMG, that made me laugh, I know its not funny but it reminded me of when our dog discovered the easter eggs the night before easter and ate 12 of them, cardboard & tin foil included! Lovely Photos

    • Posted August 29, 2011 at 8:40 AM | Permalink

      Oh no! That’s a lot of eggs and tinfoil for one dog. They’re ornery creatures, aren’t they?

  13. Posted August 29, 2011 at 7:35 AM | Permalink

    This looks so delicious!

  14. Posted September 7, 2011 at 9:43 PM | Permalink

    Chocolate & cherries is always a very happy combo. Love the cake Kate!
    Please join me to bake & remember lives lost in 9/11. I am hosting a link up called *Remembrance Cakes* Would love to have you. We are baking cakes, muffins, cupcakes. Anything is great! You can also share posts you have all ready published like this one. Just add the badge to show your support.
    http://su.pr/2j5eSB

  15. Posted September 10, 2011 at 2:30 AM | Permalink

    This looks so good :)

  16. Posted September 11, 2011 at 2:34 PM | Permalink

    I’ve loved cherries this summer. This cake looks like a great way to use some of them

  17. Posted June 27, 2012 at 8:11 PM | Permalink

    That cake looks SO GOOD, and the photos are beautiful!

    I once made a chocolate beet cake, also from a Moosewood recipe, left it to cool on the counter, and returned to find it mauled by my housemate’s German shepherd! Now I’m more careful about where I leave my baked goods. (The dog was fine, though!)

    • Posted June 28, 2012 at 8:01 AM | Permalink

      Poor cake! Glad the dog was ok. Dogs are not to be trusted around homemade cake… neither am I.

  18. Sachi
    Posted July 28, 2012 at 12:13 PM | Permalink

    Amazing recipe. Made this cake twice in a week already. For an even healthier variation, I modifed the 1/2 cup oil with 1/4 cup oil and 1/4 cup unsweetened apple sauce. Turned out fabulous.

    • Posted August 6, 2012 at 8:29 PM | Permalink

      Glad to know it works with those substitutions, Sachi. Thank you for sharing!

  19. Rachel
    Posted July 29, 2012 at 7:20 PM | Permalink

    Kate, I made this last Sunday and it was so delicious! My husband and I ate half the cake the first night (I probably could’ve finished it off, ha!). I’ve never made a vegan cake and was so surprised at how easy this was… loved that everything was mixed right in the pan! This was so good and such a cinch to make that we made another one this evening. It is in the oven RIGHT NOW. Can’t wait. :)

    Thanks for the fantastic recipe!

    (P.S. No joke, my dog tried to eat this cake… he got one lick of the frosting, but I was able to wrestle him away from the counter after that. Thanks for the fair warning, haha!!)

    • Posted August 6, 2012 at 8:28 PM | Permalink

      Glad you two enjoyed the cake, Rachel, and that you caught your dog before he got any more of it! I was in a total panic today because I realized I left a brownie within reach of my Cookie, but I made it home before she found it! Whew.

  20. Wanda
    Posted September 8, 2012 at 11:29 PM | Permalink

    Made this for my son’s seventh birthday. It was a big hit, nice and moist. I made 1 1/2 times and used an 8 inch pan for the top layer. Greased my pans too, just to be sure. Used about a tbsp of non-dairy margarine in the divinely easy icing as well as water to make it a little creamier. Decorated with some fresh cherries and those tiny silver sugar balls that look like ball bearings. Thanks so much for sharing, and our vegan friends were grateful.

    • Posted September 12, 2012 at 8:21 AM | Permalink

      I’m so glad the cake turned out well for your son’s birthday party! Thank you for sharing your substitutions, too.

  21. Skye Campbell
    Posted January 8, 2013 at 4:22 AM | Permalink

    This cake was absolutely delicious and the recipe was great.
    Made it for my great grandma’s 90th birthday and everyone enjoyed it. Really moist and the flavour of the cherries wasn’t to over powering, just perfect.

    Thanks for sharing!

    • Posted January 10, 2013 at 8:30 AM | Permalink

      Thanks for commenting, Skye. I’m so glad you and your family enjoyed the cherry chocolate cake. Wishing your great grandmother a happy (belated) birthday!

9 Trackbacks

  • By Vegan Chocolate Cake | hungrygnomes on August 28, 2011 at 4:46 AM

    [...] Adapted from Cookie and Kate [...]

  • [...] law is making this for me for my birthday (oh…this isn't diet friendly lol so dieters beware!): http://cookieandkate.com/2011/health…hocolate-cake/ Moral of the story, if you like cooking, you can make loads of diet not friendly foods. [...]

  • By Seasonal Fruit Friday: The Cherry on May 11, 2012 at 7:01 AM

    [...] Vegan Cherry Chocolate Cake ShareTweet cherries fruit recipes seasonal [...]

  • By Cherries | The Vegan Minimalist on June 18, 2012 at 11:04 PM

    [...] The next two recommendations come from Cookie and Kate. If you like cooking, this is a beautifully put together site you’ll enjoy. (Cookie is the dog). Not all of her recipes are vegan, you’ll have to adapt from time to time as in the Cherry, Arugula, Quinoa Salad. She adds goat cheese which vegans of course would omit. Personally, I think a cheese or cheese substitute takes away from the cherry and arugula combo. I like sweet cherries with the peppery arugula and think it’s best on its own without competition from a creamy or salty cheese or cheese alternative. But check it out on the site and be creative. I’d pair this with a light but crisp wine like a Chenin Blanc. The second recommendation is her adaptation of Moosewood’s chocolate and cherry cake. I use a good quality italian instant espresso instead of the Starbucks she lists. Very yummy and impressive looking cake.  Find the vegan version here: http://cookieandkate.com/2011/healthy-cherry-chocolate-cake/ [...]

  • By Toasted Coconut Butter Recipe - Cookie and Kate on June 22, 2012 at 11:29 AM

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    [...] New Years Eve I wanted to make a rich chocolate dessert. I already had my eyes on this dessert from Cookie and Kate for a while. So no difficult decision to make [...]

  • By 30 Healthy Valentine’s Day Desserts on February 13, 2013 at 9:58 AM

    [...] Kate’s Chocolate Cherry Cake [...]

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