Chocolate Cherry Garcia Cake
An incredibly rich, moist chocolate cake made with juicy cherries. Topped with a whipped mascarpone cherry frosting and garnished with fresh cherries.
Ingredients
Chocolate Cherry Cake
- 1 cup (240 ml) hot water or coffee
- ⅓ cup (30g) cocoa powder
- 1 ¼ cup (150g) all-purpose flour, sifted
- 1 cup (200g) granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 2 large eggs
- ½ cup vegetable/canola oil**
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 ½ cups (230g/8 oz) fresh cherries, pitted and halved (for other options, see notes)***
- 2 teaspoons all-purpose flour
- ½ cup chocolate chips or chunks (dairy-free)
Cherry Mascarpone Whipped Cream Frosting
- ½ cup (113g / 4 oz) mascarpone cheese, very cold (or block-style cream cheese)
- ½ cup (120ml) heavy cream, very cold
- 1 ½ Tablespoons (23ml) cherry juice or cherry syrup**** see notes
- 1 ½ Tablespoons (20g) powdered sugar
- ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Instructions
Make the cake
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Preheat oven to 350°F/180°C and grease an 8x8-inch square pan or 9-inch round.
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In a small bowl, whisk together hot water (or coffee) and cocoa powder until smooth. Set aside to let cool slightly until warm.
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In a large bowl, mix together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.
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In another medium bowl, mix together eggs, oil, vanilla extract, and liquid-cocoa mixture. Add egg mixture into flour mixture and mix with a rubber spatula just until combined. Do not overmix—the less you mix, the lighter the cake will be. It will be a slightly runny batter.
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In a small bowl, toss cherries with 2 teaspoons flour in order to prevent cherries from sinking during baking. Add cherries and chocolate chips to cake batter and stir just until combined.
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Scrape batter into prepared pan and smooth the top. Bake for 30-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean (repeat testing if your toothpick runs into a cherry). The internal temperature of the cake should be 205℉ / 96℃ if using an internal thermometer. Allow cake to cool completely on a wire rack.
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Serve at room temperature. Cake can be kept in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
Make the frosting
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In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, combine the mascarpone and heavy cream, and mix until well combined, about 30 seconds. Scrape the sides of the bowl as needed. Cold ingredients will whip better together.
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Add cherry juice or syrup, vanilla extract and powdered sugar to the mixture and turn it on high speed until well combined and the cream starts to whip (thicken), about 1-2 minutes. You should see a change in consistency from smooth and creamy to a texture that is very sturdy in structure & hold its shape well. Stop mixing when soft to medium peaks form. Medium to stiff peaks are easier if you plan on piping frosting.
Recipe Notes
*To make a bigger cake, multiply the recipe by 1.5 and use a 13x9-inch pan. You may need to bake the cake a few minutes longer. To make a 9-inch 2-layer cake, double the recipe.
**I used oil to keep the cake moist for longer, but you can replace half of it with 50g melted butter for flavor if you prefer. However, this cake is already so flavorful that I don’t find it necessary.
***Fresh sour cherries are my favorite option, but you can use any type of fresh cherries you like as well as frozen or canned. If using frozen, use them straight from the freezer, without thawing, mixing them with some flour and then immediately folding them into the batter. Canned cherries can also be used as long as you make sure to drain them well and dry them with paper towels, or else the juices will seep into the cake and affect its texture and taste.
****Cherry juice or cherry syrup: To make fresh cherry juice, I used 20 cherries (180g / 6.3oz), pitted with stems removed. Place them in a small sauce pan over medium heat to reduce. Add a pinch of salt and a splash of water if needed. Smash them with a potato masher and stir constantly. After 15-20 minutes, strain the juice out into a bowl. I had enough cherry juice to yield 1.5 Tablespoons for the frosting. Discard or repurpose the remaining cherries.
Cherry syrup can be used from any jar of cherries you have. I prefer the dark Italian cherries in syrup used for cocktails - either Trader Joe's brand or Amarena Fabbri. Alternately, you can make your own cherry simple syrup too!