When I went to the Betty Crocker Cake Picnic last year, they gave away Cherry Chip Betty Crocker cake mix, and a recipe for a “Cake Doctor” style cake. I didn’t make it right away, because there was no immediate occasion for cake, and I had other things to bake. But I kept it in my pantry, waiting to be used. And I have now finally found the perfect occasion and the perfect recipe!
I’ve tried to do some cherry-related baking before, but it’s a hard flavor to use, it seems. However, I recently discovered that Trader Joe’s has freeze dried cherries! Freeze dried fruits are the key to fruit-flavored buttercreams. So, I figured, cherry buttercream, here we go!
It was the perfect pairing for the cherry chip cake. Add in some chocolate fillings, and voila! Cherry chocolate cake.
I always like to do a fun, slightly fancier dessert for the Oscar’s every year. It is maybe… vaguely silly. But it feels like there should be hooplah! How many occasions do we get for hooplah, really? Even if the hooplah is just an industry charade put on by the richest, most out-of-touch people in America, that has no bearing on our actual lives?
To recap, two years ago, I made chocolate popcorn cake. And last year, I made a triple chocolate tarte.
I just wanted an occasion to bake what felt like a very classy dessert! Who cares if we eat it on the couch while we talk over pretentious acceptance speeches and cringey jokes. We can feel like we’re at a gala but without all the small talk and uncomfortable clothes.
And chocolate covered cherries feel classy to me. I’m not sure why. I don’t really have chocolate covered cherries ever. But especially as a fancy layer cake, it seemed the right flavor profile. Something simultaneously fit for a gala but also far better than anything a random caterer is going to put together. (No offense to random caterers. I have never catered a gala.)
And it’s just as well this didn’t actually get served at a gala, because it looked awful. It tasted great, but the frosting job was some of the worst I’ve ever done. Truly, new levels of bad. Best to just eat it and not look at it.
I said it before the Grammy’s, but now that I’m not on social media, these television awards shows are my chance to be #PluggedIn. I always hope to laugh at Conan and try not to roll my eyes too far back in my head when celebrities give their speeches. I always wonder whether anyone will punch each other on live TV. I wonder which decision the Academy will make that will somehow be the “wrong one” according to the Internet. I wonder who will be the worst dressed.
Mainly, the Oscar’s can feed my pop culture appetite, but at a farther removed distance than on social media. I’ll take it.
This cake obviously doesn’t need to be made just for the Oscar’s. It can be an anytime cake too. Delicious in any circumstance. But in honor of the occasion, my Dad spent some time thinking up some clever names for bakes based on this year’s Best Picture nominees:
- “One Layer After Another”
- “Tarty Supreme” (You’ll want this to be a tarte, not a cake)
- “The Secret (Rising) Agent”
- “(F)1 More Bite”
- “Caloric Value”
- “Weight Gain Dreams”
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For the Chocolate Crumbs
- ⅓ cup all-purpose flour
- ⅓ cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder, sifted if necessary
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 3 Tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
For the Cherry Chip Cake
- 1 package Betty Crocker cherry chip cake mix and required ingredients according to package instructions
- Alternatively, your favorite white cake with chopped maraschino cherries mixed in
For the Chocolate Ganache
- 4-ounces semi-sweet chocolate
- 1/2 cup (4 ounces) heavy cream
For the Cherry Frosting
- 2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 3 to 4 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1.2 oz bag of freeze dried cherries
- 1-2 tablespoons heavy cream
Ingredients
First, make the crumb (can be done a day in advance).
- Prep the oven and pan. Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 300°F. Line a half sheet pan with parchment paper.
- Mix the dry ingredients, then add the butter. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the flour, cocoa powder, sugar, cornstarch, and salt. Mix on low speed until combined, 30 seconds.
- With the mixer on low, slowly pour in the butter. Beat on low for 1 to 2 minutes, or until the dough starts to come together in small clusters and crumbs.
- Bake the crumbs. Use a rubber spatula to spread the clusters on a parchment-lined sheet pan. Bake for 20 minutes, using a bench scraper to break them up every 4 to 5 minutes. After 20 minutes, the crumbs should still be slightly most to the touch at that point. They will harden and dry as they cool.
- Store for assembling the layer cake. Cool the crumbs in the pan on a wire rack completely before storing or using in the recipe. The crumbs will keep, in an airtight container at room temperature, for up to 1 week. The crumbs will also keep, in an airtight container in the refrigerator, for up to 1 month.
Next, make the cake.
- Prepare according to package directions, and bake in a 9×13 pan or sheet pan. Allow to cool before assembly.
While the cake cools, prepare your ganache.
- Place chopped chocolate in a medium heat-proof bowl. Heat the cream in a small saucepan over medium heat until it begins to gently simmer. (Do not let it come to a rapid boil—that’s too hot!) Pour over chocolate, then let it sit for 2–3 minutes to gently soften the chocolate.
- With a metal spoon or small silicone spatula, very slowly stir until completely combined and chocolate has melted. The finer you chopped the chocolate, the quicker it will melt with the cream.
- Let it sit at room temperature to cool and thicken while you prepare the frosting. It will fully cool within 2 hours.
Next, make the frosting.
- Pulverize your freeze dried cherries in a food processor until they are a dust, with no big chunks. You can run it through a fine mesh sieve to make the frosting come out smoother, if desired, but it’s not necessary.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium speed until soft, about 1 minute.
- Add 2 cups of the confectioners’ sugar and salt. Beat on low speed until the sugar is well incorporated.
- Add your freeze dried cherries, another ½ cup sugar and the cream. Add more sugar as needed to thicken the frosting. Beat on medium speed until the frosting is smooth and fluffy, about 4 minutes.
When everything is ready and cooled, assemble your cake (I do it Milk Bar style).
- Using a cake ring, cut out two 6-inch circles from your 9×13 sheet of cake. Cut two half circles with what remains.
- Then, using the 6-inch cake ring lined with acetate, start assembling your cake. Place the two half circle in the bottom of the pan, and add in extra cake in the middle if needed to fill it out. Gently spread with a thin layer of the cherry frosting. Sprinkle with chocolate crumb. Drizzle with chocolate ganache. Add another layer of cake on top, and follow the same order, using up the ganache, but saving a few crumbs if desired for decoration. Then, put on the top layer of cake. If you’re going to frost the entire outside of your cake, put it in the fridge or freezer for 2-3 hours. If you’re doing a bare-sided cake, then frost the top of your cake, decorate with crumb as desired, and refrigerate until ready to serve.
- If you’re frosting the outside of the cake, wait until it is frozen, then remove the cake ring and acetate, and frosting while it’s cold. Then, refrigerate until ready to serve.