This rich, moist 2-ingredient cherry chocolate cake is delicious and perfect for any special occasion. It not only tastes good, but it’s also super easy to make. It comes out super moist with a cross between a cake and a cobbler texture. When we’re in the mood for a more traditional cake texture, I add one more ingredient that I mention below.

Some people call this a cherry dump cake or a chocolate dump cake because you basically just dump the ingredients into the pan, stir, and bake. People love the simplicity of this yummy dessert so much that it made my list of top 10 recipe posts in 2023!

I placed a printable recipe card at the bottom of this post for your convenience.

You can make a variety of flavors of this same type of cake. And you can make individual servings. Check out this mug cake recipe for some ideas on how to do this.

And don’t be afraid to experiment because you never know … you might create a new favorite recipe!

Easy Chocolate Cake with Cherries

The frosting and cherry garnish are optional. I like this cake just as much without the extras, but I have to admit that it does look a lot prettier with them.

I prefer dark chocolate frosting, but you can certainly use whatever topping you want. One reader mentioned that she only uses whipped cream and doesn’t frost it. That sounds really good to me, so I’ll probably try it that way next time.

This cake would be perfect for a special day, like Valentine’s Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas, a birthday, or any other celebration. Or simply have it when you want it because the flavor turns any day into a special day. It’s a party in the mouth!

Ingredients

As the name implies, you only need 2 ingredients. You can use either regular or gluten-free cake mix. Here’s what you’ll need:

• 1 box of chocolate cake mix (regular 2-layer size)
• 2 cans of cherry pie filling (20-21 ounce cans)

Note: For a more cake-like texture, add an egg or two. That obviously means this recipe has 3 ingredients.

As someone pointed out with my 2-ingredient apple cake recipe, the mix has more ingredients built in. That’s a mere technicality that I’ve chosen not to worry about.

In my mind, the cake mix is an ingredient, even though it has the flour, baking powder, and other ingredients that you don’t have to purchase separately. Most packaged or jarred foods (including ketchup) have a whole list of ingredients.

Although this cake is good as-is, you can add other ingredients if you want. For extra chocolaty flavor, toss in a few chocolate chips.

You can also swap out one of the cans of cherry pie filling for apple or pineapple pie filling. It will taste different, but it will still be delicious. My preference is the chocolate cherry combination, but all variations that I’ve tried have been good.

I like this cake just as much without the frosting and extra cherries. In fact, it’s absolutely delicious with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or whipped cream on top.

Directions

First, preheat the oven and grease the pan or casserole dish. You can use whatever oil or grease you prefer. As always, I use nonstick cooking spray because that’s the easiest way to coat the pan. However, butter is just as good.

Next, dump the cake mix and cherry pie filling into a large mixing bowl. If you choose to add eggs, do it now.

Stir the mixture until it is well blended. The only lumps should be the cherries in the pie filling.

Then, pour the mixture into the pan. It will be extremely thick, so you’ll need to use a spoon or spatula to scrape it out of the bowl.

Spread it out until it is even all the way across.

Finally, put it in the oven and bake for about 35 minutes. Remove it from the oven and allow it to cool for 30 minutes before serving.

It should still be warm. Or let it cool to room temperature if you plan to frost it.

I have a word of warning. Instead of using a 9”x13” pan, I pulled out the 7”x11” pan. I probably should have scooped the mixture into the larger pan when I noticed my mistake. But I decided to see what happened.

It turned out fine, but it rose over the edge of the pan. When I saw that happening, I quickly popped a pan on the bottom rack. If you choose the smaller size pan, I recommend placing a cookie sheet on the rack beneath the cake. You know, just in case it overflows.

Next time, I’ll be more careful and make sure I have the right size pan. It was still good, but I had to bake it an extra 10 minutes to make sure the center was done. As I already mentioned, I used a canned dark chocolate frosting because I love dark chocolate anything.

However, I think it would also be good with a white frosting. The contrast would add quite a bit of visual interest to this delicious dessert.

If you add cherries to white frosting, you’ll have to be extra careful, or the juice from the cherries might run. But you might actually like the swirl of pink if it does run. That’s completely up to you!

Different Texture

One thing to keep in mind when making this cake is that the texture is different from other chocolate cakes. It’s denser and more moist, sort of like a pudding cake. So don’t expect it to have a dry cake texture, unless you add eggs.

More 2 Ingredient Cake Recipes

If you’re looking for more ways to make 2 ingredient cakes, take a look at these recipes:

2-Ingredient Lemon Cake – Some of my 2 ingredient cake recipes might surprise you when you see the ingredients. If you don’t already know about this one, you might have to do a double take.

2-Ingredient Peach Cake – This 2-ingredient peach cake is one of my favorite desserts because I go absolutely bonkers over anything that’s peach flavored. It is also classified as a dump cake.

More Recipes

I enjoy cooking, but I don’t make anything that’s difficult. That’s why I love baking these flourless peanut butter cookies. Not only are they delicious, but also they’re super quick and easy to make, making them a favorite treat around our house.

Another recipe I enjoy is this super easy creamy lemon meringue pie. It’s the one like my mother use to make. When my older daughter was little, she wanted it instead of birthday cake!

This pound cake with cream cheese frosting from my friend Julie’s blog, Back to My Southern Roots, is good too! In fact, it’ll send you into orbit after the first bite!

If you like a blend of tart and sweet, you’ll love these lemon bars. I love the fact that the ingredients in this dessert are shelf stable, so I can keep them in my pantry for those times when I need a quick sweet treat.

For out-of-this-world tropical flavor, try making a pineapple dump cake. Don’t be surprised if your family request this one again and again!

Peanut butter lovers will enjoy these yummy peanut butter balls. The biggest decision you’ll have to make is whether or not to cover them in chocolate. My advice: have some both ways!

Easy Dessert

With so many different options for using prepared mixes, there’s no reason to skip dessert. All of them are easy to make and totally delicious!

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