Chocolate Cherry Pie Cake

What do you get when you combine Black Forest Cake and Cherry Pie? My latest cake creation! Meet my Chocolate Cherry Pie Cake – layers of chocolate cake, chocolate ganache, pie crumbs, fresh cherry pie filling and mascarpone frosting. 

Brainstorming

I’ve been wanting to make a Black Forest Cake for some time, but I keep putting it off because I’ve been hoping to come up with an idea to make it a little more unique than most recipes. I hadn’t come up with anything.

I also had the idea recently to make a cherry pie cake for the Fourth of July. While I don’t love pie, there’s something so American about a classic cherry pie, that it seemed like the perfect cake to make for the coming holiday.

Then, as it usually happens, I was laying in bed thinking about cake when the idea hit me to combine these two classic desserts. Taking the chocolate cake and whipped frosting elements from a Black Forest Cake and combining them with a fresh cherry pie filling and pie crumbs seemed liked the perfect marriage! So off to the kitchen I went to whip it up.

Cake Prep

With all that I wanted to put into this cake, stacking it like a Milk Bar cake was the only way to go. I like to use the Milk Bar method of stacking cakes (using acetate strips to hold it all together during assembly) when I have softer fillings and frostings that won’t hold as well in a traditional layered cake.

For this cake, you’ll need a couple special items:

• Acetate strips
• Quarter sheet pan
• 6-inch cake ring

You’ll be baking your cake in a quarter sheet pan so that you can cut out the cake circles in perfect 6-inch rounds. This ensures your cake layers rest flat against the acetate strips as you stack, creating a beautiful naked look when you take the acetate off.

When you cut the cake rounds, you’ll be able to get two full circles and two half circles. The two half circles will be used for the bottom layer. Take a look at the next few pictures to help you visualize how stacking this cake works.

After you get the two half cake rounds in the acetate, you’ll then use cake scraps to fill in the center. I know this seems a bit messy, but no one will notice once you cut into the cake and start eating!

After the cake layer is assembled, you’ll then layer the chocolate ganache, pie crumbs, cherry pie filling and mascarpone frosting.

After the first round of all the elements are stacked, you’ll do it a second time before adding the final cake layer and decorating with frosting and fresh cherries.

Chocolate Cherry Pie Cake

The flavor combinations and textures in this cake are so satisfying! You get a bit of bittersweet chocolate, tart cherries, crunchy, salty pie crumbs and a sweet, tart frosting.

It’s like eating chocolate covered cherries wrapped in pie crust.

You’ll want to actually make this cake a day head of time or early in the morning of your party. It needs to be frozen for at least 8-12 hours and then stored in the refrigerator to thaw but stay chilled.

Enjoy!

Chocolate Cherry Pie Cake

5 from 6 votes

A combination of Black Forest Cake and Cherry Pie make up my new Chocolate Cherry Pie Cake: layers of chocolate cake, chocolate ganache, fresh cherry pie filling, pie crumbs and mascarpone frosting.

Servings 1 3 layer, 6-inch cake

Prep Time 1 hour hr

Cook Time 1 hour hr

Total Time 10 hours hrs

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Ingredients

 

US CustomaryMetric

 

1x2x3x

FOR THE CAKE

• 1 1/4 cups  plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 cup  minus 1 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 1/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons dark cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon ( 4 g) baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon (2 g) baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon (2.8 g) kosher salt
• 1/2 cup (120 g) buttermilk shaken
• 1/4 cup (54.5 g) vegetable oil
• 2 large eggs at room temperature
• 1/2 teaspoon (2.1 g) pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup (118 g) hot water

FOR THE GANACHE

• 1/2 cup (75 g) dark or semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1/4 cup (57.75 g) heavy cream

FOR THE PIE CRUMBS (recipe from Milk Bar)

• 1 1/2 cups (180 g) all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons (25 g) sugar
• 1 teaspoon (5.6 g) kosher salt
• 8 tablespoons 1 stick (113 g) unsalted butter, melted
• 1 1/2 tablespoons (22 g) water

FOR THE CHERRY PIE FILLING

• 1 lbs. fresh cherries pitted 
• 1/4 cup (50 g) sugar
• 2 teaspoons (16.8 g) corn starch sifted

FOR THE MASCARPONE FROSTING

• 8 oz. mascarpone
• 2 cups (250 g) powdered sugar measured and then sifted
• 1 cup (231 g) heavy whipping cream

GARNISH

• Fresh cherries

Instructions

 

FOR THE CAKE

• Preheat the oven to 360 degrees F. Spray a quarter sheet pan and line it with parchment and spray again. Set aside.
• In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Mix for about 30 seconds.
• In a separate bowl, combine all of the wet ingredients and whisk for a few seconds.
• With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients. Once all the wet ingredients are added, continue to mix on low speed for 30 seconds. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and mix for another 15 to 30 seconds. Don't over beat this batter.
• Pour the batter into a quarter sheet baking pan. Bake the cake for 16-18 minutes.
• Cool completely before using.
• Cake can be made up to two weeks ahead of time. After the cake cools completely, wrap the cake in the pan in plastic wrap twice and then once with tin foil.

FOR THE GANACHE

• In a microwave safe bowl, heat the cream for about 1 minute.
• Pour the cream over the chocolate chips and let sit for about 5 minute. Stir until all the chocolate is incorporated.
• Can be made ahead of time and stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to one week.

FOR THE PIE CRUMBS

• Head your oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside
• Combine the flour, sugar, and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on low speed for about 20 seconds.
• With the mixer on low speed add the butter and water and mix until the mixture starts to come together in small clusters. 
• Spread the pie crumbs on the parchment lined baking sheet. Bake for 25 minutes, until golden brown. Let cool completely before using.
• Crumbs can be made ahead of time and stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week or one month in the fridge or freezer. 

FOR THE CHERRY PIE FILLING

• Combine the pitted cherries, sugar and sifted cornstarch in a medium sized saucepan over medium heat.
• Bring to a boil and then reduce heat, stirring occasionally, until the mixture thickens.
• Let cool completely before using.
• Can be made ahead of time and stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a week. 

FOR THE MASCARPONE FROSTING

• In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whipped the heavy cream until stiff peaks form. Move to a separate bowl and refrigerate until next part is done.
• In the clean bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the mascarpone cheese and sifted powdered sugar until combined. 
• Fold the whipped cream into the mascarpone mixture until no streaks of cream remain. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator until you're ready to use. 

ASSEMBLY

• Put a piece of parchment on the counter. Invert the chocolate cake onto it and peel off the parchment from the bottom side of the cake. Use a 6-inch cake ring to stamp out 2 circles from the cake and then two half circles (as shown above in the pictures).
• Clean the cake ring and place it in the center of a sheet pan lined with clean parchment. Use 1 strip of acetate to line the inside of the cake ring. (This is essential, as it is going to support the cake as you layer all the amazing elements.)
• Place the two chocolate cake half circles inside the acetate and place them against the sides of the acetate. Fill in the center gap with cake scraps, as shown above. 
• Use the back of a spoon to spread ¼ cup of the chocolate ganache over the chocolate cake, making sure to spread up against the acetate.
• Spread sprinkle the chocolate ganache with pie crumbs, followed by ½ of the cherry pie filling and ⅓ of the mascarpone frosting.  
• With your index finger, gently tuck the second strip of acetate between the cake ring and the top ¼ inch of the first strip of acetate, so that you have a clear ring of acetate 5 to 6 inches tall - high enough to support the height of the finished cake.
• Set one of the full chocolate cake layers round on top of the mascarpone frosting and repeat the chocolate ganache, pie crumbs, cherry pie filling and mascarpone frosting. 
• Nestle the last chocolate cake layer on top of the mascarpone frosting and decorate with remaining mascarpone frosting, fresh cherries and leftover pie crumbs.
• Transfer the sheet pan to the freezer and freeze for a minimum of 12 hours to set the cake and the fillings. The cake will keep in the freezer for up to 2 weeks, covered in plastic wrap.
• At least three hours before you are ready to serve the cake, pull the sheet pan out of the freezer. Using your fingers and thumb, pop the cake out of the cake ring and gently peel off the acetate. Let it defrost in the refrigerator for a minimum of 3 hours. 

Author: Courtney Rich

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: Cake