Easy Chocolate Cake With Cherry Pie Filling Recipe

Chocolate fudge cherry cake on a plate

The Spruce

Prep: 15 mins
Cook: 30 mins
Total: 45 mins
Servings: 12 to 16 servings

This great-tasting chocolate fudge cherry cake is made with a boxed cake mix and cherry pie filling. It looks more complicated than it is, but the prepared storebought ingredients make quick work of putting the cake together. The sweet-tart nature of cherries adds brightness to the depth of chocolate; they complement each other well.

You don't really need an excuse to make a cake, because cake, especially one like this, makes every day feel special. This one, however, is rich and festive yet incredibly easy to prepare. It works really well as a birthday cake too. You can make your own frosting as the recipe indicates here, try a cream cheese-based frosting, or save time with a store-bought frosting.

Ingredients

For the Chocolate Cake

  • 1 (15 1/4-ounce) box devil's food cake mix

  • (21-ounce) can cherry pie filling, or homemade version

  • 2 large eggs

  • 1 teaspoon almond extract, optional

For the Frosting

  • 1 cup granulated sugar

  • 5 tablespoons unsalted butter

  • 1/3 cup milk

  • 6 ounces semisweet chocolate chips

Steps to Make It

  1. Gather the ingredients.

    Ingredients for chocolate fudge cherry cake
    The Spruce
  2. Heat the oven to 350 F. Grease and flour a 9 x 13 x 2-inch baking pan.

    Grease baking sheet
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  3. In a mixing bowl, mix the cake mix, cherry pie filling, eggs, and almond extract by hand.

    Cake mix with cherry filling and eggs in a bowl with a wooden spoon
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  4. Pour the batter into the prepared pan.

    Chocolate cherry cake batter in a pan
    The Spruce 
  5. Bake in the preheated oven for about 30 minutes, or until a wooden pick or cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean.

    Chocolate cherry cake baked in a pan
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  6. For the frosting, place sugar, butter, and milk in a saucepan.

    Butter melting in a pan with milk and sugar
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  7. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Boil for 1 minute.

    Bring to a boil
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  8. Remove from the heat and stir in chocolate chips until smooth.

    Chocolate chips melted into milk, sugar, and butter for frosting
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  9. Pour the frosting over the warm cake.

    Chocolate cherry cake frosted with warm chocolate frosting
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  10. Let cool, then serve and enjoy.

Variations

  • Feel free to experiment with different kinds of chocolate cake mixes, such as dark chocolate or red velvet. Cherry is great with all of those flavors.
  • Vary the cake flavor altogether, and use coconut, vanilla, or a yellow cake mix. Cherry filling and chocolate frosting would still work with those cake bases.
  • You can also substitute canned raspberry, strawberry, or blueberry pie filling instead of cherry.
  • You can easily make this gluten-free by using a gluten-free cake mix instead.

How to Store and Freeze Chocolate Cherry Cake

This cake will keep well if covered at room temperature for four to five days. If you'd like to keep it for longer, you can freeze it, wrapped, for up to three months. Just defrost in the fridge and then let it come to room temperature before serving. (Hint: Freezing cakes in slices is really helpful.)

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
210 Calories
8g Fat
35g Carbs
2g Protein
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 12 to 16
Amount per serving
Calories 210
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 8g 10%
Saturated Fat 5g 23%
Cholesterol 33mg 11%
Sodium 68mg 3%
Total Carbohydrate 35g 13%
Dietary Fiber 1g 3%
Total Sugars 21g
Protein 2g
Vitamin C 1mg 7%
Calcium 32mg 2%
Iron 1mg 4%
Potassium 98mg 2%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)