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Deep, rich chocolate flavour combines with sweet cherries in this delightfully decadent Chocolate Cherry Loaf Cake Recipe.
Chocolate and cherries are natural foodie friends. There’s just something magical about the deep, rich flavour of the chocolate and how it contrasts with the sweet cherries. My Chocolate Cherry Loaf Cake recipe is a celebration of this enduring partnership, a moist and delicious loaf, perfect for just about any occasion.
How My Chocolate Cherry Loaf Cake Recipe Came About
After I shared my Cherry Loaf Cake recipe, I got to thinking about other recipes I could make with all the wonderful late summer cherries we’ve bought from our local farm shop and farmer’s markets. Suddenly that classic dessert from the 1980’s, Black Forest Cake – or Black Forest Gateau as it was known over here in the UK – popped into my mind.
Black Forest Cake was a cherry studded chocolate cake with a rich frosting and lots of cream and there was generally some sort of cherry syrup as well. Tooth achingly sweet, it was a real restaurant classic. While Black Forest Cake has fallen out of fashion in recent years, nothing beats that wonderful chocolate cherry flavour combination. With my Cherry Loaf Cake in mind, I suddenly knew just what recipe I wanted to make next!
My Chocolate Cherry Loaf Cake recipe is so easy to make. The batter is enriched with yogurt, making it moist but with a delicious tang. It’s sweet, but not overly sweet, so it is perfect any time of day. I even had a sneaky piece for breakfast one morning. I love serving Chocolate Cherry Loaf Cake with a hot, steaming cup of coffee.
Love Loaf Cakes? Here are more recipes to enjoy!
My Chocolate Cherry Loaf Cake recipe is real comfort food. I like to keep the cake in one of those lovely domed cake stands on the kitchen counter so folks can just come in and help themselves to a slice whenever they want to. It keeps really well and is great to have on hand for unexpected guests.
Chocolate Cherry Loaf Cake Printable Recipe
Chocolate Cherry Loaf Cake Recipe
Ingredients
- a bit of butter for greasing the loaf pan
- 1¼ cups + 1 teaspoon all purpose plain flour
- ¼ cup cocoa
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¾ cup granulated or caster sugar
- 1 cup cherry yogurt
- 3 large eggs lightly beaten
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- ½ cup mild vegetable oil I use mild olive oil – not extra-virgin
- 1 cup cherries
- For the glaze
- 1 cup icing sugar confectioner’s sugar
- 2 tablespoons maraschino cherry juice
- about 1 tablespoon water
- a drop of pink food colouring optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C or 165° for fan ovens, Gas Mark 4).
- Grease a 2 lb (8½ x 4¼ x 2½ inch) loaf pan with some butter.
- Remove the pits from the cherries and cut each one in half.
- Put the cherries in a small bowl, sprinkle the 1 teaspoon flour over top and toss gently.
- Sift the 1¼ cups flour, the cocoa, baking powder and salt into a medium bowl.
- Stir in the sugar.
- Set the dry ingredients aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the yogurt, eggs, vanilla and oil.
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and beat with a wooden spoon until all the flour is mixed in and the batter is smooth.
- Gently fold in the flour-coated cherries.
- Pour the batter into the loaf pan and bake for 40 to 50 minutes or until a cake tester inserted in the centre of the cake comes out clean.
- Cool in the pan for 20 minutes before removing the cake and placing it on a wire rack to cool completely.
- When the cake is cold, prepare the glaze (if using) by putting the icing sugar in a small bowl and whisking in the maraschino cherry juice.
- Gradually whisk in the water, a bit at a time, until a smooth, drizzle-able consistency is reached.
- Whisk in the food colouring, if using.
- Place a piece of parchment or waxed paper underneath the rack the cake is sitting on and drizzle the glaze over the cake.
- Allow the glaze to set for at least half an hour before slicing.
did you make this recipe?
Make sure to tag #apriljharris on Instagram and follow @apriljharris for more.
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Surely, this can keep. Which means you get to send me one in the post? 🙂
I’d love to Bintu 🙂 It does keep well – I’m just not sure how well it would travel 😉
Have you tried using frozen cherries?
This sounds pretty yummy!!! I love anything with chocolate and cherries.
Thank you, Jacqui 🙂
What a neat project to be going through vintage recipes! I loved Black Forest Cake as a kid, but I haven’t seen it much recently. But chocolate and cherries – like in this cake! – is such a great combination.
I really am enjoying it, Tina 🙂 I must admit, Black Forest Cake is a tad too sweet for me – but as you say chocolate and cherries are a great combination!
I just moved to the Pacific Northwest where cherries are overly abundant. After a trip u-picking I’m always looking for recipes to use them up quickly! This looks marvelous, and you’re definitely right about chocolate and cherries being foodie friends! 🙂
What a gorgeous part of the world to live in, Mackenzie! I really love the Pacific Northwest. Thank you for the compliment – the cake really is a wonderful way to showcase fresh cherries.
I do agree with you that chocolate and cherries are a great combination of ingredients. The cake looks delicious and I am imaging a piece right now.
Thank you, Mark 🙂
Sometimes vintage recipes are the best – there’s a reason they’ve stuck around for so long 🙂 cherry and chocolate is such a good combination!
That’s so true, Becca! I really do love my vintage recipes 🙂
I’d have that with a hot cup of coffee for breakfast too. This looks really good!
Thank you, Rosey 🙂
That would make a splendid dessert for the upcoming holidays. Thanks for sharing your recipe with your readers!!
It really would, Kim! Thank you 🙂
This looks so incredibly delicious! I cannot wait to file this away for the holiday season. I bet my guests are going to LOVE it! Thank you for sharing.
Thank you, Nicole! I hope you and yours enjoy it as much as we do 🙂
This Looks So Very Yummy I Bet The Kids Will LOVE I Must Make Thank You!!
Thank you, Lisa! I hope they love it as much as we do 🙂
Chocolate and cherries are one of my favorite flavor combinations, and this loaf cake looks phenomenal!
Thank you so much, Elizabeth 🙂
Cherry and chocolate – a great combination, no doubt 🙂
And this loaf looks AMAZING!
Thank you so much, Winnie 🙂
Hi April,
Fab video to watch!
I wonder…when I am baking my old favourite, a chocolate chunk chocolate loaf, would it be an idea for me to coat the chocolate chunks in flour? Sometimes, but not all the time, I find they sink to the bottom – I’m wondering if your cherry/flour trick will work in this instance too?!
Andrea. 🙂
Hi Andrea, Thank you 🙂 I’ve never tried coating chocolate chunks in flour to be honest but in theory it should work. My only concern is that the flour might stick to the chocolate and be visible after baking. Another alternative might be to use slightly smaller chunks of chocolate, although as the recipe is called chocolate chunk loaf it might spoil the impact of the chocolate chunks – there’s nothing like a really lovely chocolate loaf cake 🙂
Maybe I’ll try coating them in baking cocoa?! I’ll let you know! ?
Actually, that sounds like a really good idea! Please do let me know how you get on, Andrea 🙂
I may or may not have drooled! YUM!
I would love for you to share this with my Facebook Group for recipes, crafts, tips, and tricks: https://www.facebook.com/groups/pluckyrecipescraftstips/
Thanks for joining Cooking and Crafting with J & J!
Thank you, Jess, and thank you for the invitation too 🙂
I so agree, April! Chocolate and cherries are great together! Your loaf cake looks marvelous! I enjoyed watching the video too. Pinning and tweeting!
Thank you so much, Hadia 🙂 Thank you for pinning and tweeting too!
Cheery loaf cake looks delicious april. I need to try it.
Thank you, Swathi 🙂
This looks so festive and delicious!
Thank you so much, Donna!
Chocolate is my middle name! Count me in!
Thank you, Katerina!
That looks so delicious and a perfect afternoon treat. I bet the cherry yoghurt keeps it moist.
Thank you so much, Elinor. It really does!
This looks so yummy April. I could just try some now 🙂 Thanks for stopping by the weekend blog hop.
Thank you, Claire 🙂
Thanks so much for sharing your wonderful post with us at Full Plate Thursday this week. Please keep our great state of Texas in your thoughts and prayers as we are struggling with the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey. Hope you have a good week.
Miz Helen
It’s a pleasure, Miz Helen. The state of Texas, and you all in particular, have definitely been in my thoughts and prayers recently. I hope you have a good week, and that you, your friends and family are not badly affected by this terrible storm. Thinking of you all!
That sounds amazing! Pinning to try for my family soon. 🙂
Thank you so much, Jamie, and thank you for pinning as well!
YUM! Sounds tasty! Pinned ♥ And I have to say, I watched your video and I expected to hear a British accent. Are you originally from the UK?
Thank you, Dee, and thank you for pinning too! I’m originally from Canada, but I’ve lived in the UK for 30 years. We travel so much though, I’ve never really lost my Canadian accent 🙂
Ah ha! Now we know 🙂
This looks delicious! In spring and early summer, I buy a lot of cherries, pit them, and freeze them. This will be wonderful now, but I bet it will taste like spring when I make some in winter too! Thank you for sharing!
It’s so lovely to have fruit on hand in the freezer to enjoy in the winter months. I hope you enjoy the recipe whenever you make it, Anne!
I just finished baking this recipe. I wanted to love it. It’s simple and fast, however, I didn’t love the texture and I don’t think it needs the powdered sugar glaze.
It took quite a bit longer to cook, it makes a very generous loaf.
I’ll make it one more time, but this loaf was only ok.
I’m sorry you were not pleased with the results, Diane. I have never had any complaints and the recipe has had great feedback both from people I know in real life and on Pinterest from people who have made it. Taste and texture are a very personal thing.
It will depend on exactly what size pan you used how long the cake takes to cook, and of course oven temperatures can vary radically. Timings can only ever be a guide in baking recipes – generally a cake is done when a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean.
If you prefer, make the cake in two smaller pans, but you will need to play with the amount of time they take to bake. Always err on the side of caution as you can always cook something for longer.
Whether you glaze the cake or not is entirely up to you. It’s definitely not obligatory.
If you really didn’t enjoy it first time round and you are sure you followed the recipe exactly I would pass and just try a different recipe. We cannot all like the same things.