Easy Chocolate Cherry Cake

This easy chocolate cherry cake requires just a few ingredients and a little bit of active time, but it’s as delicious as can be. Soft chocolate cake, sweet-tart cherries, and chocolate whipped cream frosting make it impossible to resist!

This post was originally published in June of 2018. I’ve updated the post to add more information about how to make the cake but the recipe remains the same.

Is there anything sweetened condensed milk can’t do?

It probably can’t teach me to change a flat tire—I’m not mechanical. But when it comes to dessert, it adds so much.

This chocolate cherry cake is a case in point. Without the condensed milk, the cake is  still delicious. But with the condensed milk, it’s soft, sweet, and moist beyond belief. I dare you to stop at one slice!

Why you’ll love this chocolate cherry cake:

• It starts with a box of chocolate cake mix, so it’s easy to make and anyone can make it successfully
• Because the cherries are actually cherry pie filling, you can make this cake any time of year (and get your cherry fix in!)
• The cake needs to chill in the fridge overnight so it’s the perfect make-ahead dessert option

How to make your cake

• Combine cake ingredients
• Mix batter until smooth
• Pour into a 13- by 9-inch baking dish and bake

• Cool your cake for 20 minutes, then use the handle of a wooden spoon to poke holes all over the cake
• Pour sweetened condensed milk evenly over the cake
• Spread the cherry pie filling over the that

Then you’ll refrigerate your cake overnight.

Notes for making your cake:

• I used a Better Crocker cake mix but you can use whatever brand you prefer, you just want it to be roughly 15.25 ounces (a little more or less is fine as long as the box says you can bake your cake in a 13- by 9-inch pan)
• Take care not to poke holes all the way to the bottom of the cake, you just want to go about 3/4 of the way down
• Once your cake is ready to chill, cover it loosely with plastic wrap or aluminum foil

How to make the topping

When you’re ready to serve your cake, you’ll make the chocolate whipped cream topping

• Whip heavy cream until it thickens
• Add powdered sugar, cocoa powder, and vanilla and whip to stiff peaks
• Spread over the cake

Notes for making your topping:

• Be sure your heavy cream is cold when you start making your topping; cold cream beats up thicker than room temp cream
• “Stiff peaks” means that when you pull the beaters out of your whipped cream, the peaks hold their shape rather than falling over or collapsing in on themselves
• I strongly recommend using heavy cream rather than whipping cream because heavy cream whips up stiffer, making it better for frosting a cake

Storing your cake

Uneaten chocolate cherry cake can be stored, covered with plastic wrap or aluminum foil, in the fridge for up to 4 days.

You can also freeze slices, tightly wrapped, for up to 1 month.

I recommend freezing your slices on a parchment- or foil-lined baking sheet until the cake and topping are both pretty solid, about 30 to 60 minutes. Then you can wrap them tightly with plastic wrap and foil without smooshing your cake or whipped cream topping.

What is sweetened condensed milk?

Sweetened condensed milk is milk that has been cooked down (thickened), then sweetened with sugar.

It’s very sweet and adds a lot of moisture to desserts, which is why it’s such a common dessert ingredient—this Nutella fudge and these chocolate macaroons both call for it.

Condensed milk is not the same as evaporated milk and one cannot be substituted for the other. If you use evaporated milk here, your cake will just turn out soggy.

A few more easy cake recipes
White Texas Sheet Cake
Caramel Apple Dump Cake
Strawberry Dump Cake
Vanilla Crazy Cake

If you make this chocolate cherry poke cake, be sure to leave me a comment and a rating below–let me know what you think!  Post a pic over on Instagram too.  Tag @theitsybitsykitchen so I can see!

5 from 8 votes

Print

Easy Chocolate Cherry Cake

Prep Time

20 mins

Cook Time

32 mins

Chilling Time

8 hrs

Total Time

52 mins

 

This easy chocolate cherry cake will be your go-to dessert for picnics and barbecues this summer!

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Servings: 16

Author: Kelsie

Ingredients

Cake

• 1 15.25-ounce box chocolate cake mix + ingredients to make the cake*
• 1 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk
• 1 21-ounce can cherry pie filling

Topping

• 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• 1/4 cup cocoa powder sifted if it’s lumpy
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

Instructions

Cake

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 13- by 9-inch baking dish with cooking spray and set pan aside.
2. Mix cake mix according to directions the box. Pour into the prepared pan and smooth the top with an offset spatula. Bake as directed for a 13- by 9-inch cake. Cool on a wire rack for 20 minutes.
3. Use the handle of a wooden spoon to poke holes about 3/4 of the way into the cake (you don’t want to poke through to the bottom). The holes should be about 1 inch apart.
4. Pour sweetened condensed milk evenly over the cake, then allow the cake to cool to room temperature.
5. Once the cake has cooled, gently spread the cherry pie filling over the cake. Refrigerate overnight.

Topping

1. When ready to serve, whip the heavy cream until it thickens.
2. Add the powdered sugar, cocoa powder, and vanilla and whip to stiff peaks. Spread over the cake. Slice and serve.
3. Uneaten cake can be stored, covered, in the fridge for up to 4 days. You can also freeze slices, tightly wrapped, for up to 1 month.

Recipe Video

Recipe Notes

• *I used Betty Crocker Super Moist devil’s food cake but you can use any chocolate cake mix as long as it’s roughly 15.25 ounces
• Be sure you use sweetened condensed milk NOT evaporated milk
• To make this cake even easier, you can just frost it with a tub of Cool Whip
• I strongly recommend using heavy cream rather than whipping cream because heavy cream whips up stiffer, making it better for frosting a cake