I don’t recall the first time that my mom baked this cake for our family, but I loved it so much that it became the cake I asked for every childhood birthday afterward. It’s the perfect amount of chocolate (not too rich, but still a strong chocolate flavor) and the hint of cherry makes a great pairing.
This Chocolate Cherry Cake is a variation of the original Duncan Hines “Fast Fixin’ Chocolate Chip Cake” recipe (found here) and it’s incredibly easy to make… I mean seriously foolproof (if I can make it, so can you 🤣). This super easy cake recipe only calls for 5 ingredients and no fancy techniques. In fact, the original recipe even recommends using the baking vessel as your mixing bowl(!), but I prefer to use a separate mixing bowl before adding to the baking dish.
My mom always baked this cake for us in a Bundt pan (which were incredibly popular in the 50’s and 60’s) so that’s what I use too, but you can use any pan that has similar measurements to the pan required in the recipe (13” x 9” x 2”).
I use a whisk to mix everything together and then a spatula to fold the cherries into the cake batter. I also use PAM baking spray on my pan instead of using the oil that the recipe calls for (which I just add to my batter instead 🤷🏼♀️). I’ve always had success making it this way and it creates a perfectly moist, sponge-y cake. (I hate the descriptor word “moist” 😖 and I’d like to petition that we replace it with “luscious” when it comes to discussing baked goods! 😂).
INGREDIENTS
1 box of Devil’s Food Cake Mix
1 (20-23oz) can of cherry pie filling
2 large eggs
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup water
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DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350°F.
Grease a 13” x 9” x 2” (or bundt) pan with Crisco or PAM baking spray.
In a medium mixing bowl, empty contents of box of Devil’s Food Cake Mix and add in the eggs, oil, and water. Combine ingredients until smooth and then slowly fold in a can of cherry pie filling (including the “goo”); mix gently until well incorporated.
Allow to cool before removing from the baking pan.
Pour everything evenly into your greased baking pan and place in the oven to bake for 35-45 minutes (until cake tester comes out clean!).
Once the cake has cooled, transfer to cake base / stand and apply frosting. Place a dome lid over the cake to keep it and frosting from drying out.
I would estimate that this yields about 16 servings, but I guess that depends on how generous your slices are. 😉
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Regarding amount of frosting, it’s up to you and your preference! My husband is a HUGE frosting fiend so he insists on way too much frosting (in my opinion), but if it’s his birthday he gets what he wants! When I bake the cake for my birthday I only use one can of frosting, but I use two for his. 🫣
Additionally, we prefer the darker chocolate frosting option whenever possible (adding a richer flavor than milk chocolate) — this was the only option at our local grocery store and it worked great!
Random tip, but I would also advise to use a shorter knife when frosting a cake, especially with a bundt cake because it has so many curves and nooks & crannies! 😂 I don’t have a proper offset spatula so I used one of my (rounded) cheese knives and it worked really well in a pinch. If I find myself baking more often I might snag an actual spatula, but this works for now.
This cake feels special without having to do a ton of work.
I hope you enjoy this luscious cake as much as our family does!
Sending hugs —
xx, Natalie
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