Chocolate and cherry are a natural flavor combination.  This is a lovely little recipe to have in your recipe repertoire.  It goes together in a flash, it can be a loaf, a cake, bars…whatever you want and oh yes…and it’s delicious.  It’s true confession time.  I always have a couple of boxes of cake mixes in my cupboard.  And you do, too, don’t you?  I always have at least a chocolate and a yellow mix.  You just never know.  This recipe, right here…this is reason enough to keep a mix on hand.  I suspect the original recipe for this was probably in a Pillsbury™ Bake-Off cookbook.  There are some little gems in those books.  But, of course, I’ve made a couple of changes to my original recipe.  You stir this up, no mixer.  It goes together in moments, so set the oven to 350°F before you begin the prep, or you’ll have to wait, tapping your fingers on the counter.  I don’t wait well.  It’s a character flaw I’m working on.

You put everything in a large bowl, using a spatula, stir/fold everything together until thoroughly combined.

Scrape the batter (it will be very thick) into the buttered and floured pan(s) and bake.  I baked 2 loaf-pans for 22 minutes, but it will depend on your oven and what shape/type pan you use.  When the cake tests done, remove it/them from the oven and cool to room temperature before icing.  A hint—I think is much better the next day.  I ice it, cover it with plastic wrap and let it sit on the counter.  The consistency and flavor are both better the next day.  I also like to gently “bathe” the cake with ruby Port, rum or bourbon, but this is completely optional.