by Victoria Tiegert

Created on: September 06, 2008

Chocolate cherry cake is more than just a decadent dessert, it is a beautiful work of art to grace your dinner table. This cake is not difficult to make, but gives the impression that you worked all day on it. I make mine with a devil's food cake, but you can substitute that for your preferred chocolate, if you'd like.

DEVIL'S FOOD CAKE

*Ingredients:
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa

1 1/3 cups granulated sugar
1 1/4 cups milk, scalded
2 cups cake flour
1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup shortening
3 eggs
1 1/4 teaspoons vanilla extract

*Instructions
Grease two 9-inch layer cake pans and line bottoms with wax paper. Grease wax paper. Sift the cocoa with 1/3 cup sugar; pour into the milk gradually; stir until well blended. Set aside to cool. Sift together flour, remaining 1 cup sugar, soda, and salt. Add shortening and half of the cooled cocoa and milk mixture. Beat at medium speed of an electric hand-held mixer. Add eggs, vanilla, and remaining cocoa and milk mixture. continue beating for about 2 minutes, scraping bowl with a spatula occasionally. Pour into prepared pans. Bake at 350 for 25 to 30 minutes. Cool in the pans for 5 minutes; turn out on racks and peel off paper. Cool.

While cake is cooling, prepare cherry gelee' as follows:

CHERRY GELEE'

*Ingredients
1 1/2 pounds Cherry pure
7 1/2 ounces Granulated sugar
7/8 ounce Sheet gelatin, softened

*Instructions
Combine the pure and sugar in a saucepan and heat the mixture until it reaches 110F. Add the softened sheet gelatin to the cherry pure. Stir until the gelatin dissolves completely. Immediately pour the mixture in the appropriate mold required as indicated in the formula. Chill until firm.

Spread a layer of cherry gelee' between cakes and all over the outside. Garnish with fresh or maraschino cherries, pitted. Serve and enjoy!

Learn more about this author, Victoria Tiegert.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.