Chocolate Cherry Bundt Cake

Chocolate Cherry Bundt Cake with chocolate ganache is a super soft, moist chocolate cake filled with chocolate chips and cherry pie filling and topped with decadent chocolate ganache. It's the fastest, easiest shortcut black forest cake you'll ever make -- perfect dessert for Christmas and Valentine's Day. 

For more decadent desserts, try Banana Strawberry Pudding and White Chocolate Raspberry Blondies next. 

This chocolate cherry cake is so soft, so moist, ridiculously chocolatey, and couldn't possibly be easier to make. 

🍒Ingredients

See recipe card at the bottom of the post for the full list of ingredients and exact amounts.

Cherry Chocolate Bundt Cake

• Chocolate cake mix. I use a 13.25 oz. box of Betty Crocker Triple Chocolate Fudge Cake Mix. Any kind of chocolate cake or devil's food cake mix will work here -- the chocolatey-er, the better! If your cake mix is a different size, I recommend adding or subtracting enough cake mix to get to 13.25 oz. 
• Almond extract. Almond extract is a natural pairing with cherries. You can also add vanilla extract, if you like. 
• Cherry pie filling. You'll use the whole can of cherry filling -- cherries, goo, everything! 
• Mini chocolate chips. Mini chocolate chips amp up the rich, chocolatey flavor -- and the mini size keeps them from sinking. You can also chop up a chocolate bar into small pieces. 

Chocolate Ganache

• Dark chocolate chips. For best results, use premium chocolate chips, such as Ghirardelli, or a chopped chocolate bar. 

🍰Substitutions or Variations

• Cake mix. Try different cake mixes -- yellow, white, or lemon would all be delicious! Or, ooh ... what about spice cake or carrot cake! 
• Pie filling. Switch up the pie filling with blueberry, strawberry, or apple pie filling. 
• Frosting. Instead of chocolate ganache, top the cake with White Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting or a simple dusting of powdered sugar. For a super quick grocery store shortcut chocolate glaze, warm up a can of chocolate frosting and pour it over the cake. 
• Cake pan. Instead of a Bundt pan, you can definitely make this in a 9 x 13 pan. 

🥣How to Make Chocolate Cherry Bundt Cake

Step 1: In a large bowl, stir the dry cake mix, eggs, and almond extract together with a sturdy wooden spoon. It will be dry and clumpy -- do the best you can. Fold in the can of cherry pie filling until combined. Stir in the mini chocolate chips. The batter will be very thick. 

Step 2: Spray a Bundt cake pan with baking spray (the kind with flour). Spoon or pour batter into the Bundt pan and smooth out the top with a knife. Bake in a preheated oven at 350 for 35-37 minutes or until the top springs back when pressed and a toothpick inserted into the cake (not a chocolate chip!) comes back clean.

Cool cake in the pan on a wire rack for 10-15 minutes, then turn it out of the pan onto a wire rack to cool completely. 

Step 3: Place the chocolate chips in a heat-proof bowl. Warm the cream in the microwave in a microwave-safe bowl for 45-60 seconds, until hot. Pour the cream over the chocolate and let it stand for 4 minutes. Gently stir the cream and melted chocolate together until smooth and creamy. Set aside to cool until thickened enough to drizzle or spoon over the cake. To speed this up, place the ganache in the refrigerator and stir every 10 minutes or so for 30 minutes.

Step 4: Pour or spoon the chocolate ganache on top of the cake. If desired, top the ganche with chocolate shavings or more mini chocolate chips before it dries. Serve room temperature or cold. It's plenty delicious just the way it is -- or serve with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream and fresh cherries or maraschino cherries. 

👉Top Tip: Wait to spray the Bundt pan until just before you fill it. If you spray it too early, the spray can settle into the grooves of the pan and cause the cake to stick. 

🎁Storage

• Store leftover chocolate cherry bundt cake in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3-4 days. 
• To freeze the frosted cake, refrigerate the cake until firm. Wrap the entire or pieces of the cooled cake in plastic wrap and foil, then freeze. Before thawing, remove the foil and plastic wrap, then place it on a plate and cover with tented plastic wrap or in an airtight container and thaw in the fridge. 

📅Make Ahead

• ​Ganache can be made ahead of time and stored in the refrigerator for a few days. Bring it back to room temperature when ready to frost the cake. 
• Bake and freeze the unfrosted cake wrapped tightly in plastic wrap and again in foil. Freeze for up to 3 months. 

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