Smoked Chocolate Cherry Cake Recipe - Upside Down Cake on the Grill
This smoked chocolate cherry cake combines rich chocolate cake, sweet cherries, and a subtle smoky flavor for a unique dessert you can make in your smoker or oven. The cherry layer caramelizes underneath the chocolate cake as it bakes, creating a soft, fruity topping when the cake is turned upside down.
This easy chocolate cherry cake is made in an 8x8 baking dish with fresh or frozen pitted cherries, cocoa powder, brewed coffee, and soured heavy cream. You can bake it in a smoker at 350°F for a distinctive smoky dessert or use a conventional oven when a smoker isn't available.
Serve slices of the warm cake with vanilla ice cream for an easy dessert that's especially well suited to backyard cookouts, BBQs, and outdoor gatherings.
Cherry Layer
- Fresh or frozen pitted cherries: 2 cups
- Sugar: ⅓ cup
- Cornstarch: 1 teaspoon
Chocolate Cake
- Sugar: 1 cup
- All-purpose flour: 1 cup
- Cocoa powder: ⅓ cup + 1 tablespoon
- Baking powder: 1 teaspoon
- Baking soda: ½ teaspoon
- Salt: ¼ teaspoon
- Eggs: 2
-
Soured heavy cream: ½ cup
- Mix 1/8 Teaspoon of Citric Acid (Or Lemon Juice) into the Cream to Sour
- Brewed black coffee: ½ cup
- Vegetable oil: ¼ cup
- Vanilla extract: ½ teaspoon
- Dark chocolate chips: 1 handful (optional)
-
Bourbon: 1 splash (optional)
Instructions
- Combine the ingredients for the cherry layer and then flatten them out in the bottom of a greased 8x8 baking dish.
- Add the cake ingredients into a large mixing bowl and then combine until everything is well incorporated.
- (Optional) Add chocolate chips and a splash of bourbon to the mix if desired.
- Add the cake mix to the dish over the cherry layer.
- Preheat oven or smoker to 350 degrees and bake for approximately 40-50 minutes. You should be able to insert a toothpick into the center of the cake and pull it out clean.
- Once baked, allow the cake to cool for around 20 minutes. Turn it upside down and gently tap the dish to let it fall out of the dish.
- Cut and serve with vanilla ice cream!
How Do I Know When the Cake is Done?
Use the toothpick test. Insert a toothpick into the center of the cake and remove it. There shouldn't be any cake clinging to the toothpick when it is removed.
If there is batter on the toothpick, it means the center of the cake is still raw and needs additional time to bake.
Can You Leave Out the Bourbon?
Yes, you can omit the bourbon in the recipe for an alcohol free version. This recipe only calls for a small splash of bourbon so the baking temperature and bake time will remain approximately the same.
How do you flip an upside-down cake?
This is a moist cake dish, so allow the cake to cool for approximately 20 minutes, place a serving plate over the baking dish, and carefully invert the dish.
If you omit the bourbon, the cake may firm up faster during the cooling process allowing it to be flipped in 15 minutes.