This Moist Cherry Cake recipe is a traditional, easy-to-make cake made with cherry pie filling.
This Cherry Cake recipe will save the day when everyone in your family just can’t agree on the same dessert. The holidays call for cinnamon-spiced baked goods or some chocolate ganache cakes and truffles. But what to do, when not everyone in your family is a fan of this season’s warm flavors? You turn to fruit.
Much like nature, everyone enjoys having some fruit all year round. Make fruit a topping on the cake, and you’ve got yourself a scrumptious dessert. That’s exactly what we have in mind with this easy Cherry Cake Recipe.
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Why does this recipe work?
It is a moist cake made with the goodness of rich, creamy butter and vanilla extract, topped with some sweet juicy cherries.
It is super easy to make, not to mention it is a lifesaver when you have lots of people with a sweet tooth to entertain. Moreover, most of the ingredients are already there in your kitchen. You might have to pick up some cherry pie filling, but probably nothing else.
This fluffy cake is an elegant dessert, and it is perfect for special occasions, especially valentine’s day.
To make this cherry pie filling cake recipe, you need a few simple ingredients, nothing complicated.
What is in the Moist Cherry Cake?
Butter: Just the best quality you can find
Granulated sugar: or whatever white sugar you have in your kitchen
Eggs: The rising agent of our recipe
Vanilla extract: Just what you have at home
All-purpose flour: Also called plain flour
Baking powder: our second rising agent
Milk: Just whatever you have at home
Cherries (cherry pie filling): The highlight of this recipe, I like to use cherry pie filling as it makes the cake extra delicious and moist. However, you may use canned cherries.
How to make the Moist Cherry Cake?
One: Before beginning the prep, preheat the move to 170 ° C or 350 °F. While you’re at it, line a 20x20 cm baking pan with some parchment paper as well.
Two: Now, take a large mixing bowl and add in the cream butter and sugar. Whisk the butter and sugar together until it is nice and fluffy.
Three: Next, one at a time, add in all the eggs. Once everything is combined, add some vanilla extract.
Four: Slowly add in the rest of the ingredients. So, that means the milk, flour, baking powder a tad bit of salt. Make sure you keep stirring and go slow with adding while adding all these ingredients. Mix well until the batter is a nice consistency.
Five: Now, scoop the batter into the baking pan that we had set aside earlier. Take out the canned cherries and spread them on top of the batter evenly. They will sink to the bottom a little, but don’t worry about that much.
Six: Bake for about 40-45 minutes, let the cake cool, then cut and serve.
That’s it, all your family is now happy with baking just one big wholesome dessert!
Top Tips
- If you are using fresh cherries and you’re afraid of the cherries sinking to the bottom, then toss the fruit in some flour before adding them to the batter. The flour coating on the cherries will ensure that they stick to the batter better, and don’t sink downward.
- Gather all ingredients and leave them out at room temperature an hour or so before you begin baking. That way, not only will you have all the ingredients in one place, but they will all be of the same temperature.
When all the ingredients are at room temperature, the ingredients will have an easier time baking and blending. - Don’t beat the batter too much, as it can cause the rising ingredients to over-expand in the oven and make the cake dry.
Recipe Variations
- If you are using fresh cherries, you may consider roasting them. Just place them in the oven, with some sugar if you prefer, and that’s it. These roasted cherries also sit great in the batter while adding an essence of deep flavour.
- Substituting vanilla extract with something nuttier, like almond extract, is a great alternative for this recipe.
- If you’re not a fan of cherries, you can make this cake with some other popular canned fruit. Even fresh fruit will work great. We love apricots, plums, peaches, blueberries, blackberries, etc., on the cake.
- You can replace milk with sour cream or greek yougurt.
- A tad bit of lemon zest in the batter will be an unexpected tangy twist you will surely love.
- You may top your cake with any homemade frosting you like or just sprinkle some powdered sugar on top of the cake.
- To make a chocolate cherry cake, Add some chocolate chips to the batter.
Serving Suggestions
This Cherry Cake is best served as a great holiday breakfast alongside a warm cup of tea or coffee on a cold winter morning. It would also be perfect as a high tea snack in the evening or even as a dessert right after dinner!
You can also top it with a dollop of ice cream of your choice or whipped cream.
Storage
Make ahead of time: The batter of this recipe is best mixed up right before it is about to be placed in the oven. That way, all the raising agents remain active, and you get the fluffiest moist cake possible.
Store: This cake can sit at room temperature for a good three days before it can begin to change the texture. Make sure to wrap it using cling film or keep it in an air-tight container, though. In the fridge, however, it can last for up to a week without any taste or temperature changes.
Freeze: This cake can last for up to 3 months in the freezer if wrapped up nicely. You can stretch it to 4 or 5 months, but we don’t guarantee how good that will taste. But definitely, don’t freeze it for more than 5 months, though.
To reheat: If you’re taking it out of the fridge, you can simply let it sit at room temperature for about an hour or so. If you’re taking it out of the freezer, then transfer it to the fridge a day before you plan on serving it. Once the cake is out of the fridge and is also at room temperature, you can serve or reheat it in the oven for a little while before consuming it.
Recipe FAQ
There are a lot of spices and condiments out there that enhance the flavour of cherries. Black pepper, sage, basil, thyme, mint, coriander, cilantro, nutmeg, saffron, allspice, and anise are all condiments that complement cherries. If we were to just talk about spicing up this cherry cake in particular, then nutmeg, cinnamon, and ginger are your best bet! Add these to your cherry cake, and let us know in the comments how it turned out.
There are a couple of factors that contribute to a moist cake. We know of some, which you should enact: You can opt for some rising flour (also known as cake flour) if you struggle to make perfect cakes. You should avoid over-mixing or over-baking the cake.
Never leave the cake uncovered. Finally, always have it wrapped up or stored in an air-tight container.
Yes, you can decorate this cake with some delectable frosting. We recommend you go for a cream cheese frosting. Some meringue buttercream or some plain chocolate and vanilla buttercream will also be a great finishing touch to this cake.
It is best to use cherry pie filling as it makes the cake moist. However, you can also use Use fresh pitted cherries, chopped maraschino cherries or glacé cherries; all will work fine in this recipe.
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Recipe
Moist Cherry Cake Recipe
Ingredients
- ½ cup unsalted butter , , room temperature
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 3 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoon milk
- 410 g cherry pie filling , canned
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 170C/350F and line a 20x20 cm baking pan with parchment paper.
- In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar together until fluffy; add the eggs (one at a time) and vanilla extract, and mix until combined.½ cup unsalted butter, ¾ cup granulated sugar, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, 3 large eggs
- Mix in the milk, then stir in flour, baking powder, and salt until incorporated.1 ½ cups all-purpose flour, 1 ½ teaspoon baking powder, 2 tablespoon milk, ¼ teaspoon salt
- Now, pour the batter into the baking pan and spread the cherries on top evenly.410 g cherry pie filling
- Bake for about 40-45 minutes, let the cake cool, then cut and serve.
Notes
- If you are using fresh cherries and you’re afraid of the cherries sinking to the bottom, then toss the fruit in some flour before adding them to the batter. The flour coating on the cherries will ensure that they stick to the batter better and don’t sink downward.
- Gather all ingredients and leave them out at room temperature an hour or so before you begin baking. That way, not only will you have all the ingredients in one place, but they will all be of the same temperature.
- When all the ingredients are at room temperature, the ingredients will have an easier time baking and blending.
- Don’t beat the batter too much, as it can cause the rising ingredients to over-expand in the oven and make the cake dry.
Variations
- If you are using fresh cherries, you may consider roasting them. Just place them in the oven, with some sugar if you prefer, and that’s it. These roasted cherries also sit great in the batter while adding an essence of deep flavour.
- Substituting vanilla extract with something nuttier, like almond extract, is a great alternative for this recipe.
- If you’re not a fan of cherries, you can make this cake with some other popular canned fruit. Even fresh fruit will work great. We love apricots, plums, peaches, blueberries, blackberries, etc., on the cake.
- You can replace milk with sour cream or greek yougurt.
- A tad bit of lemon zest in the batter will be an unexpected tangy twist you will surely love.
- You may top your cake with any homemade frosting you like or just sprinkle some powdered sugar on top of the cake.
- To make a chocolate cherry cake, Add some chocolate chips to the batter.
Nutrition
If you like this cherry cake recipe, please leave a comment and rate the recipe.
Anna
An easy Christmas cake. Thanks for sharing it.
Diana
Can I use almond milk?
Radwa
Yes, you can.