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cherry smashed cake

(11)
jamie4cakes avatar
Blue Ribbon Recipe by
jamie Beecham
@jamie4cakes
Nashville, NC

Today I was in the mood to be creative. My daughter and her work friends are always asking for something good to eat from my kitchen or calling for a cake. Knowing I will be going to her hometown tomorrow, I decided to get this cake made. I hope you all will like it as much as my husband did. It is a very rich cake, and one slice is all I could eat. I just could not think of a name, so I thought of the ingredients and came up with cherry smashed. I got the idea wanting to make something like chocolate covered cherries. I made mine from scratch, but you can use a box mix.

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Blue Ribbon Recipe

The flavor of this cherry cake is wonderful! A cherry cream filling and a chocolate drizzle are sandwiched between layers of a cherry-soaked shortbread cake. Then, the cake is topped with an amaretto buttercream. It tastes like a chocolate-covered cherry with an amaretto liqueur and cream filling and will impress everyone. The homemade cake is an old-fashioned recipe and a little dense. If you like a fluffier cake, use a cake mix as suggested.

— The Test Kitchen @kitchencrew
(11)
yield 12 serving(s)
prep time 2 Hr
cook time 35 Min
method Bake

Ingredients For cherry smashed cake

  • SCRATCH CAKE RECIPE
  • 2 c
    granulated sugar
  • 2 stick
    butter, softened
  • 3 lg
    eggs
  • 2 1/2 c
    cake flour
  • 1 tsp
    baking powder
  • 1 tsp
    baking soda
  • 1/4 tsp
    salt
  • 1 c
    milk
  • 1 tsp
    vanilla extract
  • CHERRY FILLING
  • 1 lb
    confectioners' sugar
  • 1 can
    sweetened condensed milk
  • 1 stick
    butter, softened
  • 1 c
    maraschino cherries chopped fine, drained from the juice
  • 1/2 tsp
    cherry juice
  • CHOCOLATE FILLING
  • 1 c
    milk chocolate chips
  • 3 - 4 Tbsp
    milk or half and half
  • 1 tsp
    vanilla
  • 1 c
    confectioners' sugar, more if needed
  • ICING
  • 2 lb
    confectioners' sugar
  • 1 stick
    butter, softened
  • 3/4 c
    heavy whipping cream, more if needed
  • 1/4 c
    amaretto liqueur
  • 1 Tbsp
    vanilla extract
  • 1 tsp
    cherry juice

How To Make cherry smashed cake

  • Cream butter and granulated sugar.
    1
    Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Mix sugar and butter. Cream until smooth, about 10 minutes.
  • Add eggs 1 at a time.
    2
    Add the eggs one at a time, beating until smooth.
  • Sift cake flour.
    3
    Sift the cake flour.
  • Add baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
    4
    Add baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
  • Alternatively, add dry ingredients and milk to the creamed butter.
    5
    Then add to the mixture alternating with milk.
  • Add in the vanilla extract.
    6
    Add in the vanilla extract.
  • Add parchment paper to an 8 inch cake pan and grease.
    7
    Add parchment paper to two 8-inch cake pans. Spray with non-stick spray.
  • Add cake batter, evenly, to both cake pans.
    8
    Add cake evenly into the pans.
  • Bake for 30 - 35 minutes.
    9
    Bake at 350 for 30 to 35 minutes. Check at 30 to assure it's not burning. Test with a toothpick for doneness.
  • Let cake sit in the cake pan.
    10
    Let sit in the pan for a few minutes. This is a dry shortbread-type cake. An old recipe from the 50s, so not for a cake that will not be moistened by the filling. Good for strawberry shortcake too.
  • Turn cakes onto a cooling rack.
    11
    Once slightly cooled, turn out of the cake pans onto a cooling rack.
  • Slice each cake in half and brush with cherry juice.
    12
    Drain the cherries but reserve the cherry juice. Slice each cake in half, making 4 layers. Poke small holes in the cake and brush the cake with cherry juice. Let the layers completely cool.
  • Add powdered sugar and butter to a mixing bowl.
    13
    For the filling, chop cherries. Beat butter and powdered sugar in a mixer.
  • Slowly add condensed milk and stir in chopped cherries.
    14
    On slow speed, add the sweetened condensed milk. Mix in chopped cherries. Mix until cream stage. If too wet, add a little more powdered sugar.
  • Add chocolate chips, milk, and vanilla extract to a saucepan.
    15
    For the chocolate filling, melt the chocolate chips with half and half or milk and vanilla extract.
  • Stir in powdered sugar.
    16
    Stir in powdered sugar. Mix until it's spreadable. Not souplike, but a little stiff.
  • Combine all of the ingredients for the frosting and mix until thick.
    17
    For the icing, mix all of the ingredients until they're a spreadable consistency to frost the cake. This is a professional bakery icing, and there may be a lot left over.
  • Place a layer of the cherry soaked cake on a cake plate.
    18
    To assemble the cake, place a layer of the cake on a cake plate.
  • Add a layer of the cherry filling.
    19
    Add a layer of the cherry filling.
  • Drizzle with the chocolate.
    20
    Drizzle with the chocolate.
  • Top with a second layer of cake and repeat the layering process.
    21
    Top with a second layer of cake. Repeat the layering process until all 4 layers are used.
  • Frost the cake.
    22
    Add a thin layer of the cherry filling around the cake. Then frost with the icing. Let set.
  • Cherry Smashed Cake frosted and decorated with cherries.
    23
    Refrigerate this cake since there is milk in the icing. I let it stand out for about an hour before serving after it's been refrigerated. Cake is better the next day. It sits and soaks up that flavor.
  • Last Step: Don't forget to share! Make all your friends drool by posting a picture of your finished recipe on your favorite social network. And don't forget to tag Just A Pinch and include #justapinchrecipes so we can see it too!
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