Cherry Chocolate Chip Poke Cake Recipe

Cherry Chocolate Chip Poke Cake may be the dessert of your dreams. It'll be a hit at any party!

When I moved to Portland, I did not anticipate that winter would decide to show up the way it has.

I returned from a quick trip to the east coast last week and we had nearly a foot of snow in some spots. That's pretty unheard for the area, and it shut down the city for days.

I love the snow, but we just are not prepared for it whether we get 2 inches or 10.  The good thing is, work gets canceled and I can stay in and bake all day!

The bad news is, I have lots of cake and no one to share it with.

Do you call these cakes poke? Whenever I tell someone they are eating a poke cake, they never seem to know what I'm talking about.

I too didn't really know what a poke cake was before I started my food blog.

Seriously though, these cakes are always a hit and usually super easy to make. Plus the flavor combinations are endless. 

This Cherry Chocolate Chip Poke Cake is not a very common flavor for me. I don't always consider myself a cherry girl, but if done in the right away, I will gobble it up.

This is exactly what happened when I made this cake.

For this cake, you'll reach for your trusted cake mix and substitute some of the water (or milk) for maraschino cherry juice. I had a 10 ounces jar of cherries and got about a half cup of juice from it.

If you prefer to make a homemade version of this cake, you could try using the same method I did, replacing some of liquid with the cherry juice. 

I usually prefer to use almond as a flavor compliment to the cherry; they pair very nicely together. The almond tends to mask some of the overly sweet notes that cherries can have.

For this cake, I used a touch of almond extract. I also used egg whites instead of whole eggs to keep this cake more fluffy. 

This cake needs a little chocolate, so I added some mini chocolate chips and chopped cherries to give the cake some texture.

I do recommend using regular chocolate chips instead of regular because the minis tend not to sink to the bottom as much.

I also lightly coat them in flour, which helps prevent them from falling. 

When it came time decide what filling to pour over my cake, I chose the traditional sweetened condensed milk. This is the best option to let the flavors of the cake shine through. 

For convenience purposes, I went with a Cool Whip topping, but you could certainly make a homemade whipped cream.

I suggest using a combination of 1 1/4 cups heavy whipping cream and 1/2 cup of powdered sugar. 

Once you add the whipped topping, drizzle some hot fudge and put some extra cherries on top and call it a day. 

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