Drunken Cherry Cake Recipe

Today I would like to share another marvelous cake from my childhood. And no, I don’t mean there were some questionable practices in the sticks of Ukraine, as the title may imply. At least not at my house. This cake is completely untainted and innocent, I assure you. Traditionally, people have soaked cherries in liquor, but the name also comes from the style of the cake: the muddled-up sponge design.

My mom used to make this cake sporadically because we had limited access to a large variety of ingredients in those days. Fancier and more complex recipes such as this one were usually reserved for the holidays. Since cherries are one of my favorite fruit to bake with, I’ve loved this cake steadily up to this day. Plus – it’s chocolate! Need I say more?

Loaded with two pounds of lightly cooked cherries, topped with a pound of fresh cherries, caramel cream, and fluffy chocolate cake sponge, and finally sprinkled with shaved best-tasting organic chocolate, it’s fair to say that self-control takes a little more effort around this exquisite goodness. Ah, my mouth waters just by glancing at the pictures, and the cake is long gone! This rich and delicious stunner will definitely not disappoint. Give it one try and you’ll love it as well!

Chunky Cherry Syrup:

2 lbs. (1 kg.) – fresh cherries
½ cup (100 g) – organic sugar (not pictured)
PS. If you have canned cherries in the juice, that works best. Otherwise, make this chunky cherry syrup.

Chocolate Sponge Ingredients:

5 large – eggs (room temperature)
1 cup (200 g) – organic sugar
1 tsp. (5 ml) – baking powder
½ tsp. (2.5 ml) – baking soda
3 tbsp. (45 ml) – cocoa powder
1 cup (125 g) – organic all-purpose flour

Cream Ingredients:

5 cups (1200 ml) – heavy cream
½ can (165 g) – Dulce de Leche
1 lb. (454 g) – fresh cherries to top the cake

1/2 Chocolate bar

Chunky Cherry Syrup Instructions:

Cut each cherry in half, remove cherry pits, and place them into a small pot. Add sugar and bring to a boil on high, stirring constantly. Reduce heat to low and let it simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from the stove top and cool completely.

Chocolate Sponge Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F (180 C). Sift dry ingredients: flour, cocoa, baking powder and baking soda into a small bowl. Combine and set aside.

2. Beat eggs and sugar on high speed for 5 minutes.

3. Add dry ingredients into egg mixture in two separate additions, stirring very carefully not to deflate too many air bubbles.

4. Bake the sponge for 25 minutes. Remove from the oven, then spring pan and cool completely.

5. Slice cooled sponge in half. (See HERE how I precut the sponge with a knife and finish with thread.)

6. Remove the softness of the sponge in chunks, leaving the crisp outer shell intact.

7. Set the sponge pieces aside until ready for use.

Cream Instructions:

1. Beat heavy cream just until it thickens. Add ½ can Dulce de Leche and beat just until combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and mix again for about 15-20 seconds (do not over mix). Reserve 1/3 of the cream and place it in a separate bowl for the outer coating.

2. Strain the chunky cherry syrup. Set aside until ready for use.

3. Add sponge pieces into the cream and mix them in until just combined (try to keep the sponge pieces not mashed). Then add strained cherries and mix just until combined. Do not over mix to keep sponge pieces and cherries large and visible in the end-result.

Cake Assembling Instructions:

1. Soak the top and bottom cake crusts with the reserved strained cherry syrup.

2. Place the bottom of the sponge cake onto a cake platter. Pack all of the cream/sponge/cherry fillings and cover with the top crust of the cake sponge. Ice the top and sides of the cake with the reserved cream.

3. Grace the cake a with the one-pound pile of fresh cherries. Sprinkle the top and sides of the cake with chocolate shavings. (I use a potato peeler to shave the chocolate bar.) Refrigerate for 6 hours or overnight for best results.

5 from 6 votes

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Drunken Cherry Cake Recipe

Loaded with two pounds of lightly cooked cherries, topped with a pound of fresh cherries, caramel cream, and fluffy chocolate cake sponge, and finally sprinkled with shaved best-tasting organic chocolate, it’s fair to say that self-control takes a little more effort around this exquisite goodness.

Course: Dessert

Servings: 12

Author: Valya at Valya's Taste of Home

Ingredients

• Chunky Cherry Syrup:
• 2 lbs. 1 kg. – fresh cherries
• ½ cup 100 g – organic sugar
• Tip: If you have canned cherries in the juice that works best. Otherwise, make this chunky cherry syrup.
• Chocolate Sponge Ingredients:
• 5 large – eggs room temperature
• 1 cup 200 g – organic sugar
• 1 <g class="gr_ gr_253 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling ins-del" id="253" data-gr-id="253">tsp</g>. 5 ml – baking powder
• ½ <g class="gr_ gr_254 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling ins-del" id="254" data-gr-id="254">tsp</g>. 2.5 ml – baking soda
• 3 <g class="gr_ gr_255 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling ins-del" id="255" data-gr-id="255">tbsp</g>. 45 ml – cocoa powder
• 1 cup 125 g – organic all-purpose flour
• Cream Ingredients:
• 5 cups 1200 ml – heavy cream
• ½ can 165 g – Dulce de Leche
• 1 lb. 454 g - fresh cherries to top the cake
• 1/2 Chocolate bar

Instructions

1. Chunky Cherry Syrup Instructions:
2. Cut each cherry in half, remove cherry pits, and place them into a small pot. Add sugar and bring to a boil on high, stirring constantly. Reduce heat to low and let it simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from the stove top and cool completely.
3. Chocolate Sponge Instructions:
4. Preheat the oven to 350 F (180 C). Sift dry ingredients: flour, cocoa, baking powder and baking soda into a small bowl. Combine and set aside.
5. Beat eggs and sugar on high-speed for 5 minutes.
6. Add dry ingredients into egg mixture in two separate additions, stirring very carefully not to deflate too many air bubbles.
7. Bake the sponge for 25 minutes. Remove from the oven, then spring pan and cool completely.
8. Slice cooled sponge in half.
9. Remove the softness of the sponge in chunks, leaving the crisp outer shell intact.
10. Set the sponge pieces aside until ready for use.
11. Cream Instructions:
12. Beat heavy cream just until it thickens. Add ½ can Dulce de Leche and beat just until combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and mix again for about 15-20 seconds (do not over mix). Reserve 1/3 of the cream and place it in a separate bowl for the outer coating.
13. Strain the chunky cherry syrup. Set aside until ready for use.
14. Add sponge pieces into the cream and mix them in until just combined (try to keep the sponge pieces not mashed). Then add strained cherries and mix just until combined. Do not over mix to keep sponge pieces and cherries large and visible in the end-result.
15. Cake Assembling Instructions:
16. Soak the top and bottom cake crusts with the reserved strained cherry syrup.
17. Place the bottom of the sponge cake onto a cake platter. Pack all of the cream/sponge/cherry fillings and cover with the top crust of the cake sponge. Ice the top and sides of the cake with the reserved cream.
18. Grace the cake a with the one-pound pile of fresh cherries. Sprinkle the top and sides of the cake with chocolate shavings. (I use a potato peeler to shave the chocolate bar.) Refrigerate for 6 hours or overnight for best results.
19. Enjoy!

If you make this  Drunken Cherry Cake Recipe please share a picture with me on Snapchat, Facebook, Instagram or Pinterest. Tag with #valyastasteofhome. I’d love to see your creations! ?

Enjoy with a cup of hot tea or coffee!

If you liked this recipe, please share it with your family and loved ones. Thank you for your support! 😀

Check out these delicious cake recipes as well:
CAKE “CHERRY LAKE”
CAKE “CURLY BOY”
CAKE “BROKEN GLASS”
CAKE “STRAWBERRY”
“APPLE” CAKE
CAKE “DAY AND NIGHT”
KOROLEVSKY CAKE (KINGS CAKE)
HONEY CHOCOLATE AND STRAWBERRY CAKE
CHOCOLATE CHERRY CAKE
MINT CHOCOLATE CAKE
STRAWBERRY BISKVIT CAKE WITH GREEK YOGURT CREAM (And many more under the DESSERT category.)

Kitchen items I used in making this recipe:
(If you need any of these items, simply click on the picture to order. Thank you for your support!)

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