Cherry Chocolate Cake
This decadent chocolate cherry cake is made healthier with whole wheat flour and fresh cherries. It's vegan, too, but you don't have to tell!
Updated by Kathryne Taylor on October 22, 2024
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!
Vegan Cherry Chocolate Cake
This decadent chocolate cherry cake is made healthier with whole wheat flour and fresh cherries. It’s vegan, too, but you don’t have to tell!
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups whole wheat pastry flour
- ⅓ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 scant cup raw (turbinado) sugar
- ½ cup melted coconut oil or quality 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
- ½ teaspoon almond extract
- 2 tablespoons cider vinegar
- 1 ¼ pound dark cherries (roughly enough cherries to cover the bottom of your cake pan)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Pit the cherries. I invested in this cherry pitter and it makes pitting cherries about as easy as it can be.
- 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.
- Whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, salt, and sugar directly into the cake pan.
- In a measuring cup, measure and mix together the oil, cold coffee (or cold water and Starbucks VIA), almond extract and vanilla extract.
- Pour the liquid ingredients into the baking pan and mix the batter with a fork or a small whisk until it is smooth.
- 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.
- Mix in your cherries with minimal stirring. I poked the cherries down into the batter with my finger.
- Bake for 35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Set aside to cool.
Notes
Adapted from Moosewood Restaurant.
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice. See our full nutrition disclosure here.
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 boiler 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.
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!
This is such an amazing recipe thanks so much cookie! ;)
Do you think this would work well with raspberries instead of cherries? I’ve never baked them into a cake before.
I think that would work just fine, Olivia! Maybe watch to make sure it doesn’t get too watery, but it should bake the same.
Can I use frozen cherries?
This cake is sooo good! So moist and delicious, I can’t wait to make it again! We had a bunch of cherries and no eggs, so I searched for this recipe and we had most of the rest of the ingredients so I tried it. The coffee flavor is really delicious and the vinegar trick is something else! It adds a nice balance to the cake but isn’t pronounced. It mostly tastes like a rich cherry chocolate cake. Yum! I substituted Kaluha for the vanilla and almond extract (and added a touch more… we like our cakes boozy). We used coconut vinegar and butter because we didn’t have the coconut oil and apple cider vinegar, but I think these are all interchangeable ingredients. The cherries are the stars of this recipe.
Yum! That sounds like a rich, boozy version of this cake. Thanks for all the notes, Shelly!
So decadent! I finally found a recipe worth using my coveted frozen cherries that I had stored in the summer. After they thawed they did have a lot of moisture so the batter was a bit wetter – Ibaked for an extra 10 minutes. Since we aren’t vegan, I reduced the sugar to 2/3 cup and added a mix of semi sweet and milk chocolate chunks. One of the best cakes I’ve ever made. Thanks!!
Thanks for sharing, Erin!
Is it possible to use frozen cherries for this cake?
I used frozen and evenstraining them left a lot of extra liquid…..
I have used them, but I had let them thaw completely (at room temperature) and over a mesh strainer. I also squezeed them a little before putting in the batter, and it turned out great.
The taste is so good! But the cake does stay too moist inside, so it’s either in the oven too short, or its because I don’t use fresh cherry’s. Gonna give it another try tonight, but trust me when I say, it’s really amazing!
Hmm… could be either. I’m glad it still tastes good! Thanks for the review, Britt.
Brit, I had the same problem the first time I made the cake and used frozen cherries. The center was more like pudding. This time, I thawed and thoroughly dried the cherries (spread them out on a multiple layers of paper towels and let them sit for about an hour). I also added 5 minutes to the time and it came out perfect.
Mine did this too, but I liked the pudding-like consistency. It’s like a cake-lava cake hybrid. I figured it’s safe from a good safety perspective since no eggs and it’s been in the hot oven long enough to kill anything in the flour, right?
I absolutely love this recipe! I made it with Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free 1-To-1 Baking flour and it turned out perfect! I even used frozen cherries when they were out of season!
Fantastic! Thanks for sharing it worked well with the gluten free flour. I appreciate the review.
I made this twice for vegan friends of mine. I am not a vegan but this was absolutely delicious. Moist and moorish. Delighted I stumbled upon it.
I’m glad you stumbled on it too! Thanks for the review, Judy.
Made this tonight and it is excellent! I used frozen cherries, did not defrost first, and they worked perfectly! Will make this again and again for all my vegan family and friends. Thank you!
Oh, and I used a tube pan too, sprayed liberally with Pam baking spray and it worked perfectly!
Wonderful, Diane! Thanks so much for your review.
Made this over the weekend and absolutely loved how easy it was to put together. I used raspberries and it needed a good 10 extra minutes in the oven, which was fine. I have to say though, that when I took my first bite, I was super disappointed by how overwhelming the coffee flavor was. I love coffee, but I did not like the coffee flavor with the cake, especially combined with fruit. I am really surprised no-one else mentioned it, but maybe it’s just because I make crazy strong coffee, so it was more pronounced in my cake than other folks’? I will definitely try this again, but with water instead of coffee!
I’m sorry you weren’t excited about the flavor! But yes, you can use water next time.
It’s such a simple and lovely cake! I chose to make it for it’s simplicity but I must admit I’m loving the fact that it’s vegan too. I’ll definately be making it on a regular basis.
Thank you Kate!
And greetings from Southeastern Europe!
You’re welcome! Thanks so much for letting me know what you though, Jovana.
Such a simple and delicious cake! I chose it for it’s simplicity but I am happy that it’s vegan too. This recipe goes among favorites.
Thank you Kate!
And greetings from Southeastern Europe!
My husband and sons (ages 4 and 6) made this as my birthday cake. To simplify, they used frozen dark sweet cherries which they thawed. It was so delicious! Like, “tempting to sneak downstairs for middle-of-the-night seconds” delicious. We’re not vegan and we used regular chocolate chips, but I don’t think any non-vegans would miss the eggs and butter in the batter.
I can always count on you and your recipes!! This was wonderful!! Thank you so much, didn’t have the cherries but we didn’t miss them. Delicious
Thank you for your review, Christine!
This cake is magical: it had the perfect amount of moisture, pretty good structural integrity, and the coffee and cherries made it super-delicious. I didn’t have any almond extract soI skipped it and made a frosting out of melted baking chocolate, powdered sugar, vanilla, cocoa powder, and cashew milk. It might have been even better on the second day.
Magical, I love it! Thank you for you review, TN.
Hi Kate, this recipe looks amazing, can’t wait to try it. My partner is allergic to cherries, will the cake still be just as yummy without the cherries? Thank you!
Hi Kate! This was the perfect recipe to use up a bowl of cherries about to go bad! I didn’t use any instant coffee (didn’t have any), and it turned out great. I did have to cook it for about 45-50 minutes. I also went along with another readers recommendations about adding a little vegan butter into the icing (oh my goodness, yum) and only had almond extract for the icing which was awesome. I would definitely make this again!!
Thank you for sharing, Hannah!
Hi Kate,
Thats a sweet dog you have! I love reading your blogs. Could you please tell me if I store this cake outside will it spoil?
I made this cake for my daughter’s birthday with fresh sour cherries and it was delicious. It was quite rich with the chocolate icing but not complaining! A scoop of vanilla ice cream or whip cream compliments it nicely.
Thank you for another great recipe!
I should mention that I too had to leave it in the oven for quite a bit longer than the suggested time. Maybe depending on the cherries, some may add quite a bit of moisture?
This looks and sounds incredible and I plan to make it sometime soon. Can this recipe work in a Bundt pan? I have a full-size pan and a pan that can accommodate size “baby” Bundts. Something about Bundts makes me giddy-happy. Thank you in advance!
I used a 1 to 1 gluten free flour for this cake and thought it changed the consistency too much. It was also too dry and needed more oil to form a batter, which I attribute to the GF flour. As other commenters mentioned, I also found the step of stiring it in the cake pan to be cumbersome and interfered with the parchment paper. Next time I’ll just mix it like a regular cake and add the batter to the pan. Lastly, I used 2 cups frozen cherries and rhubarb that I defrosted and strained before adding.
The flavor is delicious and the fruit on top makes this very special.
Would using frozen cherries work?
I’m not sure without trying it. Thaw them first and get rid of any excess liquid. Let me know!
Can you use frozen cherries?
I haven’t tried it, but you could try. Just make sure to thaw them all the way. Sometimes the moisture of fresh vs frozen can throw off recipes like this.
The joy of making a cake without any eggs is definitely a dream come true, specially for my son who have allergies to eggs. This beats all other chocolate cake recipes out there, and the fresh cherries makes it phenomenal. Thanks Kate❤️
Had extra cherries and wow, this was a tasty way to use them. Our family with 3 teens loved it! Served ours with a little non-vegan whipping cream that we had on hand. Thank you for another winning recipe!
this looks amazing!!! We just moved into a new house and there is a cherry tree in the backyard, I’ve been looking for some good cherry recipes!
What are your thoughts for subbing buckwheat or spelt flour?
Hi Eve! Great question. I haven’t tried substitutions with this one. I do know spelt flour can work as a 1:1 replacement. But I can’t say for sure. If you try it, let me know! I love that you have a cherry tree.
Hi Kate! Is it possible to omit the cherries also the coffee? :)
Hi Dilara! I would suggest trying a different recipe as those ingredients really make this recipe and would require a new recipe since baking is pretty precise.
Any idea if jarred maraschino cherries would work since fresh ones are not in season?
Hi Dani! I’m not sure about making this one with jarred. I believe a reader used frozen pitted cherries and had a great result.
I can’t believe I haven’t made a comment on this recipe before now! I have been making this cake since 2012 and I absolutely love it! It is honestly impossible to get wrong, when I first used to make it, I’d always forget an ingredient but it still magically turned out fine? (Expect when you forget the vinegar!).
Over the years, I have used different fruit in the cake (strawberries, plums, raspberries, sometimes just chocolate pieces) and the only one that didn’t work was bananas (surprise, surprise was too dry lol).
I haven’t been vegan for like 6 years now, but this is still my favourite cake.
Thanks heaps!!!
That is a long time! Thank you for your support. Thank you for sharing how much you love this cake, Amara.
Has anyone made this with Bob’s Red Mill 1:1 gluten free flour? I would love to make this gluten free.
Hi! I haven’t tried it with this one, but I do find that works well as a replacement typically.
Tried this cake and boy, its delicious! So moist and perfect. We will make it often, thank you so much.
OMG.. good thing cookie is ok ..
Bonjour from winter wonderland here in Ontario, Canada. I should think frozen cherry will work fine too ?
ps. I have to apologize, been baking your banana bread weekly and never say thank you. Thank you!! ..
This looks amazing! Will definitely try this but cherries are so expensive where I live.
I always use coconut oil for cooking and baking. But I realized if I use that in cakes, the cakes tend to get hard and dense when it’s kept in the fridge. My guess is because coconut oil solidify in cold temperature.
What other oil would you recommend?
Thanks!
Hi! I don’t have that issue once it is melted, mixed well and bakes. If it is hard when mixed, you may run into that.
I have just started baking and I always follow your recipe because they are easy and turn out delicious. This cake was just like that. My family thinks I’m suddenly a baking goddess! Thank you Kate!
How does this turn out with frozen cherries?
Hi Elizabeth, I haven’t tried it but I believe others have. I would check the comments to see what worked for others!
Hello. The pastry flour is sold out and has been and I have cherries I’ve been saving for this recipe that really need to be used up.
Can I substitute white whole wheat flour? Will there be a markedly different texture or taste?
Thank you!
Hi Catherine, All purpose should work just fine or white whole wheat, It just won’t be quite as fluffy. Let me know what you think!
I just finished frosting this cake and omg it’s amazing!! This recipe is a keeper! The only things I changed was that I used raspberries because I couldn’t find cherries at the store, and used sifted all-purpose flour.
Thanks so much for sharing it Kate! I love your blog and your book! I tell all my friends about your recipes!
I’m glad you love it, Eliana! I appreciate your review.
I can’t seem to find cherries right now. Would you recommend using frozen cherries or substituting raspberries?
Hi, I do know some tried frozen cherries and recommended draining the excess liquid after thawing. Let me know what you think!
Hi! I absolutely love your recipes! You are my ‘go-to’!
I am not a cake baker ( I love savoury stuff!) but it is my grown sons birthday and I thought… if she has a cake recipe, I’ll give it try! I was wondering if this could be made with frozen cherries? I think cherry season is over here in Quebec!
Thanks! Michele
Hi Michele, I know others have tried it and it worked well. I haven’t personally, but I would be interested to hear how it works for you!
Great recipe! Worked perfectly! Big hit with my family who gobbled it down – none left for the next day. Will definitely make this again. Cookie and Kate are THE best.
This is so luscious. Everyone who ate the cake loved it. The icing was delectable and so easy. I made it with dark chocolate and the cake was perfect, not too sweet.