I love chocolate covered cherries. It is one of my favorite candies.
So why not a chocolate covered cherry cake? YES? YES!
This Easy Chocolate Cherry Sheet Cake is moist and delicious filled with cherries and topped with a crispy, fudge frosting.
This Easy Chocolate Cherry Sheet Cake is so delicious.
Maraschino cherries are mixed in with the batter.
A homemade chocolate fudge topping finishes it off! If you are feeling really indulgent, serve it with a side of cherry ice cream!
Everyone loves a good chocolate cake, but not everyone has had a chocolate cherry cake.
You can make this for parties, cookouts, and family gatherings. It will disappear quick.
Watch how to make
Now, this is a semi homemade recipe.... Meaning the cake comes out of a box and the cherry filling comes from a can.
I make alot of recipes from scratch. But if you can save a couple of steps and you have a winner for a dessert, why not?
I have found the box mixes really offer a moist cake, often more than the completely-from-scratch versions.
And if you don't have a lot of time, why bother with unnecessary complications.
Sometimes it is okay to skip a few corners.
However if you feel you must make a chocolate cake from scratch, Taste of Home has a classic chocolate cake recipe. You can follow their recipe for the cake, add in the cherries, and follow my recipe for frosting.
Ingredients
This is the list of ingredients you will need to make chocolate cherry sheet cake:
- Devil's Food Cake Mix- You can substitute with chocolate cake, but this mix works best.
- jar of maraschino cherries with out stems and the juice- You can use the ones with the stems, but you will need to remove the stems. Do not use canned cherries in pie filling.
- vegetable oil
- milk
- almond extract- This makes it taste like the center cherry filling in the chocolate covered cherry candy.
- sugar
- cocoa
- evaporated milk- Do not substitute with regular milk.
- butter
Steps
Follow these steps to make the chocolate cherry cake:
- In a mixing bowl, mix cake mix, eggs, oil, milk, and almond extract until well blended.
- Mix in maraschino cherries and juice.
- In a greased and floured 9x13 baking dish, pour batter. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 to 35 min.
- In the last 5 minutes of baking cake, begin to make frosting.
- In a medium saucepan, combine milk, sugar, and cocoa and bring to a boil stirring continuously.
- Boil frosting for one minute stirring and remove from heat.
- Remove from the heat. Add in butter, salt, and almond extract until smooth.
- Quickly spread frosting over warm cake. Frosting will harden as it cools, so spread frosting on cake right away.
- Allow cake to completely cool on wire rack to allow frosting to harden.
Frosting is everything!
My husband says, "You can't win friends with salad."
Let me tell you; you can win friends with this chocolate cherry cake topped with this home made fudge frosting.
The frosting really makes the cake.
Share the love... Share some cake... Share this chocolate cherry sheet cake. xoxo
If you like this recipe, check out: Chocolate Eclair Cake, Mexican Fried Ice Cream, Banana Bread Bars with Brown Butter, and Chocolate Fudge Brownies.
Easy Chocolate Cherry Sheet Cake
Ingredients
Cake
- 1 box devil's food cake mix
- 10 ounces jars maraschino cherries with out stems and the juice (If they have stems, remove them.)
- 2 eggs
- ¼ cup vegetable oil
- ¼ cup milk
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
Frosting
- 1 cup sugar
- ⅓ cup cocoa
- ¼ cup evaporated milk
- ⅕ teaspoon salt
- 1 stick butter
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350.
- In a mixing bowl, mix 1 box cake mix, 2 eggs, ¼ cup vegetable oil, ¼ cup milk, and 1 teaspoon of almond extract until well blended.
- Mix in 10 ounce jar of maraschino cherries and juice.
- In a greased and floured 9x13 baking dish, pour batter.
- Bake 30 to 35 min.
- In the last 5 minutes of baking cake, begin to make frosting.
Frosting
- In a medium saucepan, combine ¼ cup evaporated milk, 1 cup sugar, and ⅓ cup cocoa and bring to a boil stirring continuously.
- Boil for one minute stirring and remove from heat.
- Remove from the heat. Add in 1 stick butter, ⅛ teaspoon salt, and 1 teaspoon almond extract until smooth.
- Quickly spread over warm cake. Frosting will harden as it cools, so spread frosting on cake right away.
- Allow cake to completely cool on wire rack to allow frosting to harden.
Agness of Run Agness Run
What a succulent treat you prepared, Katie! I love the creamy and chocolate texture, plus the cherry on the top! Yummy!
Kim | Low Carb Maven
What a fantastic dessert, Katie. I have an old fashioned recipe for a marashino cake, but it was NOT chocolate. Wow! That fudge frosting makes it. How wonderful.
Elaine @ Dishes Delish
Mmmm. I love chocolate with cherries!! And in cake form, delish!!
Michael
Sweet! Thanks!
Tammy
Could you make this without the almond extract? My son loves chocolate covered cherries and I think he'd like this cake, but he's allergic to all nuts.
Katie
Yes. The extract just gives it a kick, but it would still be good.
Courtney
This cake turns out wonderful. I made it for Christmas.Loved it.
Katie
That was a typo. I am sorry. It is a 10oz jar of cherries. I hope you like it.
SANDRA M. PESCATRICE-CORBIN
want to make this recipe...sounds delish. BUT I need clarification. Ingredients say "reserve juice" but directions say "add cherries and juice". ??? Do I add Juice?
Thanks a bunch
Sandy
Katie Crenshaw
You add both the cherries and juice at the same time. I put "reserve the juice" in the ingredients, because some people will drain the juice before reading the directions. But I will reword it to make better sense. Hope you like it.