Follow this easy video recipe for chocolate cherry bundt cake with fresh cherries and dark chocolate chips. Watch the video and read on for lots of baking tips (including how to easily release a cake from a bundt pan), step-by-step photos, and FAQs for perfect bundt cakes every time.
(Love baking with cherries? Try mini puff pastry cherry galettes and easy cherry snacking cake.)
What’s On This Page
- Learn how to make a moist chocolate cherry bundt cake that releases cleanly from the pan, with tips to avoid sticking and dryness.
- Get step-by-step instructions and a how-to video for a perfect bundt cake every time.
- Can be made ahead, feeds at least 12, ideal for stress-free entertaining.
Cherries are one of my favorite things about summer.
We love eating them fresh and I especially enjoy baking with them. A tall, cold glass of sweet cherry vanilla milkshake is a special summer treat too.
I was a little late to hop onto the bundt cake train but since I got my first bundt pan (I have 3 now), I’ve been putting it to good use. And it’s become one of my favorite ways to bake cakes.
And this chocolate cherry bundt cake is a great addition to your recipe collection — not too sweet, crunchy outside, soft and fluffy inside, the perfect combination of cherries and dark chocolates.
Sometimes I make a simple drizzle to make the cake prettier but frankly, it really doesn’t need it. It’s great as it is!
Let’s get to it.
Why you’ll love this chocolate cherry bundt cake recipe
Even though we make this cake from scratch and don’t use a cake mix or cherry pie filling like other recipes, you’d still enjoy making it because the recipe is:
- Easy and fool-proof. The steps are simple and straightforward, even beginners will have success baking it!
- Moist and tender. The cake always comes out soft, tender and moist but with a nice slightly crunchy crumb.
- Pretty without frosting. Like all bundt cakes, this cherry chocolate chip bundt cake doesn’t need bells and whistles — or frosting — to look stunning. It looks great thanks to the ridges of the bundt cake pan. So that’s one less thing to prepare and worry about!
- Feeds a crowd. Sliced generously, this cake feeds 12 people; more if you slice them a little thinner. Perfect for all your celebrations.
How to make
This cake has simple steps and easy to find ingredients.
Ingredients
You’ll need pantry staples like all-purpose flour, baking soda, baking powder, sugar, butter and eggs. You can find the full ingredient list with measurements in the recipe card at the bottom of this page.
A few things to note:
- Greek yogurt — adds moisture and tenderness to the cake, and its tangy flavor provides a nice balance to the cake’s sweetness. You can substitute with regular yogurt and even sour cream. I prefer Greek yogurt for its lower fat and higher protein content.
- Dark chocolate chips — you can also take your favorite dark chocolate bar and roughly chop.
- Fresh cherries — I’ve only ever used fresh cherries in this recipe. If you want to use frozen cherries, I suggest to thaw and drain them well so as not to add extra liquid to the recipe. Maraschino cherries may work too.
- Confectioner’s sugar — needed if you’re making the optional glaze. Also called icing sugar or powdered sugar.
- Milk or cream — this is for the optional glaze as well. You can use any kind of milk you like.
Baking tools
I like using my stand mixer when making this recipe but you can certainly make this with a handheld electric mixer.
You’ll also need a standard-size bundt pan (holds about 10-12 cups).
Before we invested in a cherry pitter, we tried all kinds of hacks — from using a straw to using a paper clip. All of the hacks we tried were difficult and resulted in very sore, very red hands. The cherries were wrecked too!
I strongly recommend you save yourself the trouble and buy a cherry pitter (they’re not expensive). Your hands and fingers will thank you.
Step-by-step photos
Preheat your oven to 350F. Grease or coat your bundt pan and set aside (see notes).
In large bowl, combine all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
Using a handheld electric mixer or a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
Proceed to add eggs one at a time, making sure each addition is incorporated. Remember to scrape the sides of your bowl. Add vanilla extract and greek yogurt and continue to stir until combined
Add your flour mixture and stir just until combined.
Add cherries and chocolate chips.
Gently fold until evenly distributed. Your cake batter will be very thick at this point.
Scoop your cake batter into your prepped bundt pan and even out the top.
Bake for 30-40 minutes or until a toothpick or bamboo skewer inserted into the cake comes out with minimal dry crumbs. Take out of the oven and allow the cake to cool in the pan for about half an hour.
Gently loosen the sides (I like using an angled spatula for this) before turning over the cake on a cooling rack to cool completely.
To make the optional glaze, just mix confectioner’s sugar with milk or cream until the sugar dissolves and you achieve a runny, pourable consistency.
Expert baking tips
Easy, right? Here are more tips for perfect chocolate cherry bundt cake every time.
- Use room temperature ingredients. They’re easier to combine and incorporate and help you avoid over-mixing the batter.
- Weigh ingredients. Investing in an inexpensive kitchen scale improved my baking tenfold. And I encourage you to invest in one as well and use the weight measurements in this recipe (instead of volume measurements) where provided.
- Cream butter well. A famous baker said if you’re not sure you’ve creamed the butter enough, beat it some more. And scrape your bowl often.
- Do not over-mix. Once you mix all your ingredients into the cake batter, be careful with over-mixing. Stop just as soon as the flour mixture is incorporated.
- Bake at the correct temperature. An oven thermometer comes in handy especially if your oven tends to get too hot, or has potential hot spots.
- Cover with aluminium foil. If you see that the top of your cake is browning (especially the edges) but the rest your cake is still slightly underbaked (especially the middle), loosely cover the cake with aluminum foil and continue baking.
- Glaze consistency. You want your glaze to be thick, but still pourable. If it’s too thin, add more confectioner’s sugar about a teaspoon at a time. Similarly, if it gets too thick, add more milk or cream a little at a time as well.
How to prep a bundt pan so cake releases easily
Every baker has their own 100% guaranteed, no-fail way to grease a bundt pan. Some use butter with flour, some use just oil, others use ready-made cake release sprays.
There is really no right or wrong way. If a specific way has worked for you, continue doing that.
I use shortening + granulated sugar. Using sugar instead of flour gives my bundt cakes a nice crunch on the outside. It adds to the sweetness too but not by much.
- I melt about 2 tablespoons of shortening and coat my pan with it. I make sure to get to every nook and cranny. Especially the middle/tube, which a lot of bakers forget.
- Then I sprinkle enough granulated sugar to coat that. I add about a heaping tablespoon of sugar in there, cover the top of the pan with cling wrap or aluminum foil and shake. Over the sink so I don’t make a huge mess.
- If I see bald patches, I add more sugar and shake some more. I make sure the whole inside of the pan is coated.
- Once the cake is done baking, I allow it to cool in the pan placed on a cooling rack.
- After about 30 minutes, I carefully invert the cake onto the rack and lift pan. That’s it! If coated properly, the pan should slide up easily.
Recipe FAQs
Sometimes, and it happens to the best of the best, cakes just get stuck to the pan. There are a several things we can do to help it along like steaming or freezing.
You can still make this bundt cake with cherries using the following:
– One 9×13 inch rectangular pan
– Two 9-inch round pans
– A tube pan
– Loaf pans — either (2) 8.5×4.5 inch loaf pans or (2) 9.5×5.5 inch loaf pans
Don’t fill the pans to the brim to prevent the batter from overflowing.
Baking time will also differ for each type of pan. So you’ll need to watch for signs that the cake is done more carefully.
Dusting the cherries with a little bit of flour will help them from sinking to the bottom of the batter.
You can make this recipe up to 2 days ahead of when you’re planning to serve it. You can store the cake on your counter.
Keep leftovers covered in the fridge. They should last about a week.
More recipes for bundt cakes
Want to put your bundt pans to good use? Check these out:
Chocolate cherry bundt cake is a crowd-pleasing dessert that’s so easy to make and always comes out so good. Hope you enjoy making and sharing it, too!
Happy baking!
Did you make this cherry chocolate bundt cake recipe? I’d love to hear all about it! Leave a comment or a star rating below. You can also tag me on Instagram or Facebook. I’d love to see your creations!
You can also find me on Pinterest and YouTube.
And check out my Amazon Store to see the exact brands and tools I use for baking.
Chocolate Cherry Bundt Cake (Video Recipe)
Ingredients
Chocolate Cherry Bundt Cake
- 2 ½ cup all-purpose flour
- ½ tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ cup unsalted butter room temperature
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs room temperature
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup Greek yogurt
- 12.5 oz dark chocolate chips
- 10.5 oz fresh cherries pitted and halved
Optional Glaze
- ¼ cup confectioner's sugar
- 1 tbsp milk or cream
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350F. Grease or coat your bundt pan and set aside (see notes).
- In large bowl, combine all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.2 ½ cup all-purpose flour, ½ tsp baking soda, 1 tsp baking powder, ½ tsp salt
- Using a handheld electric mixer or a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.½ cup unsalted butter, ½ cup granulated sugar
- Proceed to add eggs one at a time, making sure each addition is incorporated. Remember to scrape the sides of your bowl.2 large eggs
- Add vanilla extract and greek yogurt and continue to stir until combined1 tsp vanilla extract, 1 cup Greek yogurt
- Add your flour mixture and stir just until combined.
- Add cherries and chocolate chips and gently fold until evenly distributed. Your cake batter will be very thick at this point.12.5 oz dark chocolate chips, 10.5 oz fresh cherries
- Scoop your cake batter into your prepped bundt pan, even out the top, and bake for 30-40 minutes or until a toothpick or bamboo skewer inserted into the cake comes out with minimal dry crumbs.
- Take out of the oven and allow the cake to cool in the pan for about half an hour.
- Then gently loosen the sides (I like using an angled spatula for this) before turning over the cake on a cooling rack to cool completely.
- To make the optional glaze, just mix confectioner’s sugar with milk or cream until the sugar dissolves and you achieve a runny, pourable consistency.¼ cup confectioner's sugar, 1 tbsp milk or cream
Video
Notes
- The yield would depend on how thick or thin you slice your cake. The estimated nutritional information is based on 12 servings.
- There is no right or wrong way to coat or grease a bundt pan. Every baker has a favorite way and if that way has always worked for you, stick to that. I share how I do mine in the post above.
- Click the video to watch how easily this cake comes together!
- And see the post for more baking tips, FAQs and step-by-step photos.
Nutrition
Nutritional information are estimates only.
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