This cherry chocolate loaf cake has fresh cherries and lots of chocolate chips in it. The cherry glaze is made with maraschino cherry juice and powdered sugar. This loaf cake has so much cherry flavour to it!
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🍒Cherry & Chocolate - Best Combination!
The cherry and chocolate flavours in this cherry chocolate loaf cake are perfection! Cherry and chocolate are so good together!
This loaf cake uses fresh cherries, but they can be easily substituted for maraschino cherries. I amplified the cherry flavour by adding in some cherry extract. If you sub for maraschino cherries, you can leave the extract out. Maraschino cherries give a ton of flavour in baked goods, where fresh cherries lack in flavour.
The cherry icing is made with a bit of maraschino cherry juice and powdered sugar. You can use milk and pink food colouring instead, leave out the food colouring and make it a white glaze, or use an entirely different topping, like a cream cheese frosting!
This cake is perfect at any time of the year - for brunch, tea time, or just because!
🥘Ingredients
Ingredient notes
- Chocolate chips - I used semi-sweet chocolate chips in this recipe. You can use milk chocolate chips but the loaf cake will be a bit more sweeter.
- Unsalted butter - You can sub with salted butter but leave out the extra salt in the recipe.
- Maraschino cherry juice - You can omit this and dye the icing pink or leave the icing white.
- Cherries - Either fresh or frozen cherries work. You can use maraschino cherries instead.
- Cherry extract - Fresh cherries don't give much flavour so I recommend using cherry extract too.
- Milk - I used whole milk in this recipe and recommend it for baking recipes. You can substitute with 2% milk. I don't recommend a lighter fat milk than that though.
🔪Instructions
Loaf Cake
Whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together in a medium bowl. Set aside.
Mix butter and granulated sugar together in a large bowl until well combined and butter has lightened in colour, about 2 minutes. Add cherry extract and eggs and mix until incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as necessary.
Add in milk, mix, and then add dry ingredients. Mix until almost all the flour is incorporated. Use a spatula and mix in cherries and chocolate chips. Transfer batter to a parchment paper lined loaf pan. Bake at 350°F (180°C) for 50-60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the loaf cake comes out clean.
Let loaf cake cool in it's pan for 15 minutes, then remove to a wire rack to cool to room temperature.
Cherry Glaze
Whisk powdered sugar and maraschino cherry juice together in a small bowl. Add a bit of cherry juice at a time. You want the glaze to be pourable, but not too loose.
If you add in too much juice, add more powdered sugar. If your glaze is too thick, add more cherry juice.
Spoon the glaze over the cooled loaf cake. Let the glaze harden for at least 30 minutes before cutting into the loaf cake.
✔️Expert Tips
- You can use maraschino cherries instead of fresh cherries.
- If you use maraschino cherries, omit the cherry extract (maraschino cherries have lots of cherry flavour), and add 1 teaspoon vanilla extract.
- Add pecans or walnuts if you like!
- You can leave out the maraschino cherry juice from the glaze. Add 2-3 teaspoons milk instead.
- The glaze can be kept white, or you can add food colouring to it to make it pink.
- Or use an entirely different topping for the loaf cake, like cream cheese frosting!
💭FAQs
A loaf cake is always baked in a loaf pan, and cakes are baked in round, square, or other types of pans.
You can make the loaf cake the day before and glaze it the next day. Or the whole loaf cake can be made a day in advance. Cover and store at room temperature.
You can freeze the unglazed loaf cake. Thaw at room temperature and glaze. You can also freeze the glazed and sliced pieces for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature.
🔖Related Recipes
📋 Recipe
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Cherry Chocolate Loaf Cake
Equipment
- One 9x5" loaf pan
Ingredients
Loaf Cake
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup unsalted butter
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- ¼ teasoon cherry extract
- 2 large eggs room temperature
- ¼ cup whole milk room temperature
- 1 cup fresh or frozen cherries sliced
- ⅓ cup semi sweet chocolate chips
Cherry Glaze
- ¾ cup powdered sugar
- 2-3 teaspoons maraschino cherry juice
Instructions
Loaf Cake
- Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C). Line a loaf pan with parchment paper and set aside.
- Whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together in a medium bowl. Set aside.
- Mix butter and granulated sugar together in a large bowl until well combined and butter has lightened in colour, about 2 minutes.
- Add cherry extract and eggs and mix until incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as necessary.
- Add in milk, mix, and then add dry ingredients. Mix until almost all the flour is incorporated.
- Use a spatula and mix in cherries and chocolate chips. Transfer batter to the prepared loaf pan. Bake for 50-60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the loaf cake comes out clean.
- Let loaf cake cool in it's pan for 15 minutes, then remove to a wire rack to cool to room temperature.
Cherry Glaze
- Whisk powdered sugar and maraschino cherry juice together in a small bowl. Add a bit of cherry juice at a time. You want the glaze to be pourable, but not too loose.
- If you add in too much juice, add more powdered sugar. If your glaze is too thick, add more cherry juice.
- Spoon the glaze over the cooled loaf cake. Let the glaze harden for at least 30 minutes before cutting into the loaf cake.
- Store the loaf cake in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.
Notes
- You can use maraschino cherries instead of fresh cherries.
- If you use maraschino cherries, omit the cherry extract (maraschino cherries have lots of cherry flavour), and add 1 teaspoon vanilla extract.
- Add pecans or walnuts if you like!
- You can leave out the maraschino cherry juice from the glaze. Add 2-3 teaspoons milk instead.
- The glaze can be kept white, or you can add food colouring to it to make it pink.
- Or use an entirely different topping for the loaf cake, like cream cheese frosting!
Did you try this recipe? Comment below to let me know ☺️