Chocolate Cherry Cake

This Chocolate Cherry Cake is packed with fresh cherries and chocolate chips (and chunks!). Made with Greek yogurt, it has a light and fluffy texture—perfect for summer! Just 20 minutes of prep and about 1 hour of baking time. Serve it for breakfast, brunch, or as a dessert with vanilla ice cream!

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Keyword chocolate cherry cake

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 50

Total Time 1 10

Servings

Calories 428kcal

Author Julia

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour or baking flour, sifted or aerated (see note below)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 cup granulated sugar
4 oz salted butter melted (½ cup)
2 eggs
1 cup plain Greek yogurt low-fat
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 cups fresh cherries cleaned, pitted, halved (total of 40 cherries)
1.5 cups chocolate chips or chunks

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C). If your oven has a convection setting, use a convection bake setting. Line both the bottom AND the sides of the 9x3-inch springform pan with a single, large piece of parchment paper (with parchment paper hanging outside of the pan - see photos above for reference). This way, you don't need to grease the springform pan or parchment paper.
In a medium bowl, mix flour and baking powder.
In a large bowl, combine granulated sugar, melted butter, and eggs, and beat using a whisk for about 1 or 2 minutes until the mixture turns light in color, smooth (not grainy), and fluffy.
Mix in Greek yogurt and vanilla extract, and whisk just until combined.
Add the flour mixture gradually, whisking 1 cup of flour at a time with the wet ingredients until combined. Do not over-mix.
Carefully fold 1 cup of halved cherries and 1 cup of chocolate chips (or chunks) into the cake batter.
Pour the cake batter into the parchment paper-lined springform pan. Arrange the remaining 1 cup of pitted cherries on top of the cake. Scatter ½ cup of chocolate chips in between the cherries on top of the cake batter.
Place the springform baking pan with the cake batter on the middle rack (this is especially important for non-convection ovens). Bake for about 45 or 50 minutes - the tester (or toothpick) inserted in the center of the cake should come out clean. If not, bake 5 or 10 more minutes longer, checking the cake every 5 minutes for doneness. I baked this cake on a convection bake setting for exactly 45 minutes at 350 F - it was completely done and nicely browned by that time. If you use a regular oven, the cake could take longer (up to about 1 hour) to bake at 350 F.
Remove the cake from the oven. Let it cool in a springform pan on a wire rack for about 40 or 60 minutes, then release it from the springform pan. At this point, if the cake is cool enough, you can slide your hand (or a large, wide spatula) under the cake, between the parchment paper and the cake, and transfer the cake without the parchment paper onto a cake plate.
When serving, dust with powdered sugar.
I provide helpful step-by-step photos above the recipe card (scroll up).

Notes

High-altitude baking notes

I've also baked this cake at around 9,000 feet elevation without any recipe adjustments. However, it took me significantly longer to bake it—about 1 hour to 1 hour and 10 minutes—in a regular oven at 350°F on the middle rack. By comparison, it took me 45 minutes at sea level to bake the same kind of cake at 350°F using the convection oven setting on the middle rack.

How to properly measure flour using cups

When using measuring cups to measure flour, it's crucial to sift or aerate the flour first. This is done either by sifting flour (using a fine-mesh sieve) or aerating it. Aerate the flour by fluffing it up and whisking it well with a spoon or a fork, then spooning it into the measuring cup using a large spoon and carefully removing any excess flour with a knife. Don't just stick that measuring cup in the bag of flour and scoop some out - that will result in overpacking the flour into a cup and a dense cake.

Baking tips

If you have a convection setting in your oven, use that to bake this cake.
If you don't have a convection setting, bake the cake on the middle rack or above the middle one.
Ensure the oven is fully preheated to 350 F before placing the cake.

What baking pans can you use?

I used a 9x3-inch round springform baking pan. I prefer to line the bottom and sides of the springform pan with a single large piece of parchment paper, which eliminates the need to grease the pan or the parchment paper.
9x13 rectangular baking pan. Pour the cake batter into the prepared cake pan and bake for approximately 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Use a 12-cup muffin pan. To turn this cake into muffins or cupcakes, fold all of the cherries and chocolate chips into the cake batter. Then, fill the muffin pan ⅔ of the way and bake for about 20 or 30 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted in the middle of the muffin.
10-inch or 12-inch round high-sided cast-iron skillet. It will create crispy, golden-brown edges with a soft and moist center.

Other notes

Make it gluten-free. This recipe has been tested with Bob's Red Mill Gluten-Free 1-to-1 Baking Flour. You can also use King Arthur gluten-free measure-for-measure flour. If using these flours, you might have to add ¼ cup more of Greek yogurt (if the cake batter is too thick).
Greek yogurt can be replaced with plain Kefir, regular yogurt, buttermilk, or sour cream. I highly recommend using plain Kefir or Greek yogurt - they are light and provide a nice tang.

Nutrition