Rich chocolate cherry cola cake, with maraschino cherries topped with creamy cherry frosting make up this Cherry Cola Layer Cake.
My husband has enjoyed a tall glass of Cherry Cola. He’s not picky on the brand. There is just something about the fizzy cherry flavor that draws him to a glass of Cherry Cola.
I couldn’t help but try to take his passion for Cherry Cola and turn it into a delicious sweet dessert. I try to treat my family to a nice dessert once a week. Adding something special to look forward to at the end of a long week seems to help everyone’s spirits.
My experiment turned into this scrumptious three layer cake.
Can I use any Cherry Cola in this cake?
Yes! I used Cherry Coca Cola in this recipe. However, you can use any brand that you prefer. It doesn’t matter if it’s a name brand or store brand. Whatever you have on hand or the one that your family prefers is perfectly fine.
What kind of cherries are in this cake?
This recipe calls for maraschino cherries. I do not recommend substituting them for anything else. Fresh cherries will change the taste of the cake, and you need the juice from the maraschino cherries for moisture and flavor.
What ingredients do I need?
To make this layer cake you will need flour, sugar, cocoa powder, salt, baking powder, baking salt, cherry cola, canola oil, sour cream, eggs, vanilla extract and maraschino cherry juice. These simple ingredients help make this moist and rich chocolate cherry cola cake.
Why use sour cream in this cake?
I used sour cream in this layer cake because sour cream adds moisture and richness to the cake. You don’t really taste the sour cream in the mix though. However, you can notice the difference in moisture. If you are really against sour cream you could substitute with plain greek yogurt to achieve the same moisture effect.
Cherry Cola Cake
Equipment
- 3 - 9 inch round baking pans
- 3 - 10 inch round cake board
- 1 cake leveler
- 1 Medium ice cream scooper
- 1 large piping bag fitted with a star tip
- 1 large squeeze bottle
Ingredients
Cherry Cola Cake Ingredients
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 2 cups sugar
- ¾ cup cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 cup Cherry Cola plus additional 3 tbsp
- ½ cup canola oil
- 1 cup sour cream
- 2 eggs large
- 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ cup maraschino cherry juice
Cherry Frosting Ingredients
- 3 cups unsalted butter softened
- 6 cups powdered sugar
- 5 tablespoon heavy whipping cream
- 1 teaspoon cherry extract
- ¼ cup Maraschino cherry juice
- 2 drop pink gel food coloring
- 1 cup stemless Maraschino cherries dried and cut in half
Chocolate Ganache Directions
- 1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips
- ½ cup heavy whipping cream
Instructions
Cherry Cola Cake Directions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and spray the baking pans with pam baking spray
- Using a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder and salt until combined
- Using another large bowl, whisk together the cherry coke, canola oil and sour cream until combined and smooth
- Whisk in the eggs, vanilla extract and maraschino cherry juice
- Gradually pour in the wet ingredients into the dry and whisk until combined
- Divide the batter into the 3 cake pans
- Bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean
- Allow to cool completely
- Remove the cake layers and place onto the cake boards
- Using the cake leveler, remove the domes of the cakes
Cherry Cola Frosting directions
- Using a standing mixer, cream together the butter, vanilla, powdered sugar, Cherry extract, Maraschino Cherry juice and heavy whipping cream until combined and creamy and stiff with peaks
- Scoop 1 C of frosting into the piping bag
- Directions to build the cake
- Place 1 layer of cake onto the cake board
- Using the ice cream scooper, scoop out 4-6 scoops of frosting and smooth evenly on one layer of cake
- Sprinkle about ¼ C of the chopped cherries on top of the frosting and lightly push down
- Place another layer of cake on top and spread more frosting
- Sprinkle another ¼ C of cherries on top of the frosting
- Place the last layer on top and frost the remaining cake with remaining frosting
Chocolate Ganache Directions
- Using a small pot, heat up the heavy whipping cream until steaming
- While heavy whipping cream is heating up, place chocolate chips into a heat-proof bowl
- Once the heavy whipping cream is heated, pour over the chocolate chips
- Allow to sit for 1 minute before whisking until smooth
- Pour ganache into the squeeze bottle
- Pipe dollops of ganache over the edge of the cake
- Pipe dollops of frosting onto the top of the cake
- Place a Maraschino Cherry with stem into the dollops of frosting
- Cut and serve and enjoy
Notes
Nutrition
Why does frosting in between layer looks like it is chocolate and not the cherry frosting?
I added some unsweetened cocoa powder to the cherry frosting for between the layers. Which is optional, I didn’t add it to the recipe because after I made it, I wished I would have just stuck with the cherry frosting. If you want to add the chocolate, set aside 1 cup of the frosting, and add 1/4 cup of unsweetened cocoa powder to it.