Tags
baking soda, Bing cherries, cherry brandy, cocoa, coffee, espresso powder, flour, Greek-style yogurt, salt, sugar, vanilla extract, vegetable oil, vinegar
The Goddess likes cake. Yes, she does. She doesn’t have much of a sweet tooth, but chocolate cake is so good for breakfast. This recipe is a riff on that old Peg Bracken cake from her “I Hate to Cook” cookbook. In her recipe, you mix the cake right in the pan you’re going to bake it in. It was a drop-dead easy recipe and had such a good flavor, so naturally The Goddess tossed in some bing cherries…naturally. I have no pictures of the mixing process. Mixing this cake up was sort of an after thought. I really do have to think before I cook. But, you don’t really need to see this go together, because it’s just so simple to put together. I mix the batter in a bowl, as I like to grease and dust the pan with unsweetened cocoa. Dry ingredients in a bowl. Pour the liquid ingredients in, mix, and pour into the pan. Bake it, cool completely and either ice the cake or 
serve it with some good ice cream or whipped cream…or as is. Tonight I poured some Bourbon-Caramel Sauce (based on the Caramel Apple Sauce with Bourbon) over each piece. This cake isn’t a fluffy cake, but a moist, slightly dense cake. The cherry juice contributes to that moistness. This is just a sweet little cake to have in your repertoire. You’ll make it often and you’ll get asked for the recipe, too. Trust The Goddess…even if she didn’t take any prep pictures!
One Layer Chocolate-Cherry Cake
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon finely ground coffee beans (optional)
- 12 Bing cherries, pitted and cut in half
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract (or more to taste)
- 1 carton cherry Greek-style yogurt (I use Chobani™)
- 2 teaspoons apple cider, red or white wine vinegar
- 2 tablespoons cherry brandy, bourbon, rum or water
- Water or coffee to fill the cup
- 1/3 cup vegetable oil
- Vanilla ice cream or chocolate whipped cream, for service
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease and flour (or use cocoa) an 8 or 9-inch cake pan; set aside.
Put the flour, sugar, cocoa, salt, baking soda, and ground coffee beans in a largish bowl; stir with a whisk. Add the halved cherries; toss with the dry ingredients. Make a well in the center.
Place the yogurt, cherry brandy, vanilla extract in a cup measure. Fill to the one cup level with cold coffee (or water). Stir well to combine; pour into the dry ingredients; add the oil. Using a spatula, stir well until the batter is smooth. Pour into the prepared pan; smooth the top (this is a thick batter). Place the pan in the oven. Begin checking for doneness in 30 minutes; the cake should be done at around 45-50 minutes. Cool completely.
Serve with chocolate whipped cream or vanilla ice cream. You can ice the cake with chocolate icing, but we usually eat it as it. Wrapped tightly, the cake will keep for 24 hours at room temperature. For longer storage, store in the fridge. Keeps well.
NOTE: When cherries aren’t in season, you may substitute raspberries and raspberry yogurt. You can also simply omit the fruit and this makes a great plain chocolate cake (use plain or vanilla yogurt).
One Layer Chocolate-Cherry Cake Recipe©Marcia Lahens 2019. All rights reserved.
I have one of these silicone pan with a glass bottom. Has anyone tried one the these? I think I prefer old metal tins, as the edges on this pan are always a bit skewed, so you don’t end up with a perfectly round cake. It annoys me, but perhaps I’m just too easily annoyed. It is a possibility I must consider…self-examination is always a good thing, though uncomfortable.
Anyway, a wedge of chocolate-cherry cake for breakfast is a spectacular way to start your day! Yum!!!
Goddess Cooks 