Chocolate Cherry Loaf Cake
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Decadent and rich, but not too sweet, this fudgy Chocolate Cherry Loaf Cake is loaded with dark, sweet cherries and topped with a delicious mocha glaze. This yummy cherry dessert can be made with either fresh or frozen sweet Bing cherries and is a proven crowd pleaser!
Chocolate and cherries naturally make a great flavor combo, but add coffee (yes, coffee!) to the mix and you’ve got something really spectacular!
Don’t be fooled by the fact that this recipe is made in a loaf pan. This loaf cake is nothing like my Cherry Chocolate Chunk Quick Bread which is a bit airier, nor is it dense like a pound cake.
Instead, the texture of today’s Chocolate Cherry Loaf Cake is melt-in-your-mouth moist, tender, and just … delightful. 🙂
Chocolate Cherry Loaf Cake
Anytime I’m given a dessert choice and one of them is something chocolatey, it’s always a no-brainer for me. Yes, I’m a confessed chocoholic, a sucker for gooey chocolate desserts. Surely, I’m not the only one, right?
Last week. I was on a mission to make the perfect chocolate cherry dessert to use up a partial bag of cherries in my freezer. If you weren’t aware, chocolate and cherries are a match made in heaven.
We were headed over to our daughter’s house for pizza night, so it was the perfect opportunity to bake a cake. With just the two of us here, a whole cake in the house is dangerous!
Anyway, I can report that there were plenty of “ohs” and “yums” after people tried a piece of Chocolate Cherry Loaf Cake. So much so that this will be a repeat dessert for sure!
How do you make Chocolate Cherry Loaf Cake from scratch?
This recipe is really easy to put together, but you want to make sure you’ve read all the instructions before you get started so there are no surprises. Here are a few things to note:
- This cake is made with a cup of brewed coffee which enhances the chocolate flavor, but if you’re not a coffee drinker you can substitute hot water and skip the coffee. If you don’t want to brew a pot, instant coffee in hot water works, too.
- Also, you can use either fresh or frozen cherries in this loaf cake recipe. If using fresh cherries, remove the pits and roughly chop the cherries. If using frozen cherries, DO NOT thaw them first, but still roughly chop them before adding to the batter.
- With either fresh or frozen cherries, you’ll want to toss them with a couple teaspoons of flour before adding them to the batter. This will help them float and not sink to the bottom of the loaf pan.
- Prepare a loaf pan by lightly coating it with cooking spray. Cut a piece of parchment paper the size of the bottom of the pan and lay it inside the pan. This is recommended for ease in removing the cake from the pan.
Instructions
- Combine the hot brewed coffee with cocoa powder and stir until dissolved. Let the mixture cool slightly before adding it to the batter, but you want it to still be warm.
- In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.
- In another bowl, whisk together the oil, egg, and vanilla extract.
- Pour the coffee mixture into the dry ingredients and stir until just combined, then add the other wet ingredients and stir again.
- Toss the cherries in flour (the chocolate chips, too, if you want) and then gently fold into the batter with the chocolate chips. The batter will be THIN.
- Pour into the prepared loaf pan and bake for about an hour. Leave the cake in the pan for 15 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.
How do you make a mocha glaze?
This glaze is the EASIEST, fool-proof chocolate glaze I’ve ever made. It is smooth and chocolatey and sets up quickly. It’s perfect for dipping donuts, too!
Simply combine powdered sugar and cocoa powder and then stir in COLD brewed coffee a tablespoon at a time until you have a smooth consistency that is suitable for pouring.
Pour the glaze all over the top of the cooled cake and let it drizzle over the edge.
To make this recipe, you may need…
I love my OXO baking sheet with the wire rack that fits inside for recipes that require glazing. Not only is the wire rack perfect for cooling, placing it in the pan catches any chocolate glaze drips for easy clean-up. I use it all the time!
Related recipes
You may enjoy checking out some of my other yummy chocolate desserts, like:
- German Chocolate Pecan Pie dessert bars are baked with layers of deliciousness! Chocolate shortbread crust, creamy chocolate & coconut pecan pie filling.
- Moist dark chocolate cupcakes with rich fudge frosting have mint cream filled center made with marshmallow fluff and flavored with Crème De Menthe!
- Chocolate Soufflés for Two. Light and luscious, serve warm with fresh Kahlua whipped cream and garnish with fresh raspberries for a romantic dessert.
Let’s bake!
Chocolate Cherry Loaf Cake should bake for about an hour, but you may want to start checking it for doneness after 50 to 55 minutes.
To test the cake, insert a wooden pick into the center. If it comes out clean with just a few moist crumbs, the cake is done. If the pick is wet, try again in another spot to verify that you didn’t hit a cherry. If it’s still wet, then continue baking for a few more minutes.
Chocolate Cherry Loaf Cake
Ingredients
- 1 cup strong brewed coffee hot
- ¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 cup all-purpose flour plus 2 teaspoons
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup sweet bing cherries fresh or frozen, pitted and roughly chopped
- ⅓ cup chocolate chips
Coffee Chocolate Glaze
- 1 cup sifted powdered sugar
- 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 to 3 tablespoons brewed coffee cooled
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9×5 loaf pan with cooking spray and line the bottom with parchment paper.
- In a glass measuring cup or bowl, whisk together the hot coffee and cocoa powder until smooth. Cool slightly, but keep warm.
- In a large bowl, whisk together 1 cup all-purpose flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.
- In a smaller bowl, whisk together the oil, egg, and vanilla.
- Pour the coffee mixture into the bowl with the dry ingredients and stir until just combined. Add the other wet ingredients and stir.
- Toss the cherries with 2 teaspoons of flour and gently fold into the cake batter along with the chocolate chips.
- Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan and bake for 55 – 60 minutes, or until a wooden pick comes out clean.
- Cool the cake in the loaf pan on a rack for 15 minutes, then remove the cake from the pan to finish cooling.
GLAZE:
- Combine the powdered sugar and cocoa powder in a small bowl. Add the coffee one tablespoon at a time, stirring until the desired consistency is reached and the mixture is smooth.
- Pour the glaze over the top of the cooled cake and let it drizzle over the sides. The glaze will set up within a few minutes.
Notes
- Don’t skip using parchment paper in the bottom of the loaf pan as this cake bakes up moist and dense and parchment ensures the cake doesn’t get stuck to the bottom.
- If using frozen cherries, do not thaw.
- Chocolate Cherry Loaf Cake should bake for about an hour, but you may want to start checking it for doneness after 50 to 55 minutes. To test the cake, insert a wooden pick into the center. If it comes out clean with just a few moist crumbs, the cake is done. If the pick is wet, try again in another spot to verify that you didn’t hit a cherry. If it’s still wet, then continue baking for a few more minutes.
Nutrition
Life Love and Good Food does not claim to be a registered dietician or nutritionist. Nutritional information shared on this site is only an estimate. We recommend running the ingredients through an online nutritional calculator if you need to verify any information.
This cake turned out absolutely delicious! However I am taking 1 star off because the flour to liquid ratio was off. To make a good batter consistency I had to add 1 1/2 cups of flour. This made a nice rich and dense cake, which in turn required more time to bake. Overall, it is a scrumptious cake.
With only 1c of flour, the batter was c extremely thin. I ended up baking at least 70m. At 60m the cake was still giggling and noticeably wet on the top crack. Something I did wrong?
After creating a nice bark, the extra 2 hours allow the ribs to fully cook and become fall off the bone tender because of the steaming process. Good idea about using any excess mop sauce in the bottom of the pan. Get creative, that’s a lot of the fun with smoking and outdoor cooking.