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.
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!).
Allow to cool before removing from the baking pan.
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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