This seriously decadent and flavorful Pink Cherry Cake with Fudge frosting is a showstopper! So delicious and always a hit with friends and family!
Cherry Cake
One thing you will love about this cake is the addition of cherries to the batter. There are not many so you can play with the amount depending on your preference, but I love how subtle it is. Every now and then a perfect little burst of cherry flavor delights your taste buds.
I kid you not, every single page was better than the next. Her recipes are creative and oh so whimsical! I earmarked almost every page and can’t wait to try out all her fantastic recipes.
Chocolate Fudge Frosting
You’ll notice that this recipe has a lot more ingredients than your average chocolate buttercream, but it’s worth it! One of the most powerful ingredients is hot coffee. If you do not have coffee or prefer to not use it, you can substitute with hot water.
I also recommend adding milk chocolate and dark chocolate that you like to eat. These beautiful chocolate flavors will shine through so you will want to use good quality chocolate.
Rosette Cake
Everything about this cake was perfection.
The Fudge Frosting was a dream to work with; its silky texture seemed to glide effortlessly over the cake.
And just look at those rosettes! They piped out superbly. I think that is the first time I have used that word on my blog, but it definitely fits.
To make this cake I simply piped out rosettes around the top of the cake. I then went back and piped out another layer of rosettes directly on top of the original layer.
TIP: Make sure to end the rose on the inside of the cake so the outer edge is seamless and stunning!
I used Rosie’s Chocolate Fudge Frosting for in-between the layers and the exterior of the cake.
Let’s talk about the recipe for a moment. The cold butter is genius. As Rosie instructs in her recipe, you should not overmix the batter once the chilled butter has been added. If your butter is too warm, it could make the cake too dense.
Both techniques ended up working beautifully and the texture of the cake batter seemed almost like silk. The way it folded over itself in ribbons of pink was mesmerizing!
This cake is darling, divine and delish!! I cannot recommend it highly enough.
As well as Rosie’s book! You simply must get one. I promise you (seriously promise) you will not be disappointed. It is wonderful!
Cherry Cake with Chocolate Fudge Frosting
Ingredients
Pink Cherry Cake
- 3 1/4 cup (375g) cake flour
- 2 1/4 cup (450g) superfine sugar
- 1 tbsp. plus 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 3/4 cup (170g) cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
- 1 1/3 cup (320ml) milk, room temperature
- 2 tbsp. Maraschino cherry juice
- 1 tsp. fresh lemon juice
- 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
- 7 large egg whites, room temperature
- 1 drops AmeriColor gel paste food coloring in Soft Pink
- About 20 Maraschino cherries halved
Fudge Frosting
- 1 1/2 cup (340g) unsalted butter, softened
- 1 cup confectioners sugar sifted
- 1/2 cup (60g) dark cocoa powder sifted
- 1/3 cup (80ml) freshly brewed hot coffee
- 1/4 cup (60ml) sour cream room temperature
- 1 tsp. pure McCormick vanilla extract
- 1/8 tsp. salt
- 10 oz (290g) milk chocolate, chopped, melted and cooled slightly
- 5 oz (150g) dark chocolate, chopped, melted and cooled slightly
Instructions
Pink Cherry Cake
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease the bottoms of three 8-inch round cake pans and line with parchment.
- In the bowl of stand mixer with paddle attachment, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt on low speed. (You can also use a hand-held mixer)
- Add in the butter one piece at a time. Beat on low speed until all the butter has been incorporated, about 3 minutes. The mixture should have a fine crumbly, cornmeal-like texture.
- In a medium measuring glass with a spout, combine half the milk, the cherry juice, lemon juice, and vanilla.
- In a separate measuring cup, gently whisk the egg whites and remaining milk.
- With the stand mixer on low speed, gradually add the cherry juice mixture, followed by pink food color and beat for five minutes. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula.
- Put the mixer back on low speed and add the egg white mixture in three parts, scraping down the sides of the bowl after each addition. Beat for 1 minute.
- Toss the cherry bits in a little flour and gently fold them into the batter by hand.
- Divide the batter evenly among the prepared pans.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center is removed with few crumbs.
- Let layers cool in their pans on wire racks for 10 minutes. Using a knife, loosen the sides of the cakes and carefully turn them out onto wire racks. Peel off parchment layers and cool completely.
- The cake layers will keep wrapped tightly in plastic wrap at room temperature for up to 2 days.
Fudge Frosting
- In a bowl of stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium speed until pale and fluffy, about 5 minutes.
- With speed on low, and add the confectioners' sugar, cocoa powder, coffee, sour cream, vanilla, and salt and beat until incorporated, about 30 seconds.
- Increase the speed to medium-high and beat for 2 more minutes.
- Add the melted chocolate and beat on medium speed until smooth, about 1 minute.
Did you make this recipe?
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Absolutely stunning!!! Love Rosie’s recipes!
SO pretty! I love Rosie’s new book!
Made this today. I too didn’t see the amount of salt needed in the ingredient list so I just took a wild guess. The cake was good with a fine crumb. I think next time I will add more cherry juice and/or cherry flavoring. I wanted it more “cherrier”. The frosting was a big hit. Don’t be like me and add a little more powdered sugar cause you think it’s too thin. Let it set for just a little while and it will firm up. This one has great presentation. It’s a keeper.
Would this work with some kind of white chocolate fudge icing? How would I make it? Thanks 🙂
I made this cake today, well actually cupcakes, and they turned out great! It yielded 32 standard sized cupcakes, tins filled about 2/3rds full, that domed nicely. I chopped the cherries up into smaller pieces instead of halving like the recipe calls for. I used 20 like the recipe called for, and would probably just use the whole jar next time as there were only 6-7 left after I counted out the 20. I frosted them with a buttercream and chopped up the remaining cherries into the dressing, as well as put about 1 tsp of the cherry juice into the frosting which gave it a nice light pink tint. One omission I noted was the ingredient list didnt have salt in it, but it was called for in the directions, so I added 1 tsp of salt in with the dry ingredients. I will definitely make this cake again, and will try it with the fudge frosting next time.
I saw she put salt in the frosting but wasn’t sure about the cake. Did you add salt to the cake batter?
I just made this fudge frosting but it’s runny. Is the 1/2C powered sugar correct? Maybe I should add more? Help please.
Thanks
Up in the ingredients it’s a cup and half of sugar not only half 😊
Its beautiful.. I m just loving it..
What a fabulous cake! Sounds like a cookbook I need.
I made this cake and it turned out beautifully. I would, in the future, add more maraschino cherry juice and probably add almond extract as well as more cherries . Something to pump the cherry flavor. The chocolate frosting was amazing to work with but I felt it over-powered the flavor of the cake. Both are excellent recipes, but I think I would just go with a lighter frosting to bring out the cake’s flavor. That frosting could be a stand alone meal in itself, so velvety and delicious!! I may or may not have saved some practice roses for snacking 🙂
Hi. The cake and frosting look super delicious and I m looking forward to making it soon.
I was just wondering whether the hot coffee would make the frosting runny. Should it be cooled and then put in??