Bake the best spicy chocolate cherry cake with this simple recipe. If you lean vegan, no problem, this cake is egg and dairy free. The inspiration for this recipe came from our travels in Mexico where we sampled several delicious chocolate desserts paired with the heat of peppers. Hot pepper and chocolate is a terrific combination.
Don’t worry, if you’re not a fan of spicy foods, the addition of heat in this recipe does not set your mouth on fire. But if the notion of pepper in your cake doesn’t thrill you, then just leave the pepper out, the cake is still moist and delicious.
Cherry Chocolate Cake Ingredients
1½ cups all-purpose FLOUR
1 cup white SUGAR
¼ cup COCOA powder …do not substitute hot chocolate mix, it’s not the same thing
1 tsp BAKING SODA
2 tsp CINNAMON
¾ tsp RED PEPPER POWDER or cayenne powder
1 tsp VANILLA
1 Tbsp WHITE VINEGAR
5 Tbsp refined COCONUT OIL …Using unrefined coconut oil will add a coconut taste
1 cup COLD WATER
Optional Toppings:
powdered sugar
cherry topping (recipe below)
crème fraîche (recipe below) Your favorite frosting or icing
Greek yogurt
whipped cream
cool whip
How to Bake a Cherry Chocolate Cake
- Place 1 cup of water in the fridge to cool.
- Lightly grease a 9-inch cake pan, or grease the pan sides, and place cut parchment paper in the bottom.
- Place rack is in the center of your oven and preheat oven to 350 F.
- In a large bowl, combine the dry ingredients: flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, cinnamon, and cayenne.
- Add the vanilla, vinegar, oil, and 1 cup of cold water and stir until just combined. Do NOT over stir.
- Pour batter into the cake pan and bake for 30 minutes, or until a knife or toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Remove cake pan from oven and allow to cool on cooking rack until you can safely handle the pan. Do not try to remove the cake from the pan hot out of the oven, because it might fall apart.
- Once cake pan can be handled, run a butter knife around the edges of the cake to loosen it from the pan, then turn the cake upside side on a cooling rack, tap the bottom of the pan and remove pan off of the cake. Need a cooling rack? Check current prices for cooking racks on Amazon.
- Allow the cake to cool before adding any topping.
The chocolate cake is moist and delicious all on it’s own. Just a sprinkling of powdered sugar on the top of the cake will transform it into a very appealing dessert. For the video recipe, we add a rich cherry topping, but you can use any fruit you wish. You can check out the cherry cake topping recipe below, or simply top the cake with your favorite frosting, icing, or cool whip.
Cherry Topping Recipe
You can purchase a can of cherry topping to go on your fresh chocolate cake, but we’re not a big fan of the overly goopy and sweet canned cherry options. A homemade cherry topping is easy to prepare.
Ingredients for Cherry Topping
4 cups PITTED SWEET CHERRIES …we use frozen cherries
1/4 cup WATER
1 Tbsp CORN STARCH
1 Tbsp LEMON JUICE
2 Tbsp SUGAR
How to make Cherry Topping
- In a medium saucepan, combine water, cornstarch, lemon juice, sugar.
- Place over medium heat and constantly stir until it begins to thicken.
- Add cherries and cook about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until sauce is lightly boiling across the surface.
- Remove pan from the burner and allow the sauce to cool to room temperature. The sauce will thicken more as it sits.
How to Make Crème Fraîche
This topping is basically a homemade, mild sour cream. And if you think ‘sour cream’ doesn’t belong on a dessert, give this recipe a try before you decide. But be forewarned, this stuff is addictive! Here’s our video for making a crème fraîche recipe.
Ingredients for Crème Fraîche
16 oz HEAVY CREAM, also called heavy whipping cream
2 Tbsp YOGURT with live cultures
You can halve or double the recipe, as needed.
The live cultures in the yogurt are key! We often use thicker Greek yogurt. Instead of YOGURT with live cultures, you can also use BUTTERMILK, but buttermilk will make a crème fraîche with a bit more tang, perhaps better suited as a savory foods topping.
How to make Homemade Crème Fraîche
- Stir the two ingredients together in a jar. Top the jar with a loose fitting lid or something that allows the mixture to ‘breathe’. A coffee filter or even a napkin works.
- Let jar sit at room temperature undisturbed for 12-24 hours.
- Stir again and place the crème fraîche in the refrigerator. It will continue to thicken.
- Your crème fraîche will keep 8 to 10 days in the refrigerator.
If hot pepper in your cake sounds interesting, what about beans? Here’s a gluten-free chocolate cake recipe that will shock you with deliciouness.
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