Picture Perfect Cooking

I usually post a new recipe every Saturday, but this week’s recipe is part of new special link party hosted by The Lady Behind The Curtain.  It is the first edition of her “Behind the Curtain Dessert Challenge”!  She will give all of us participating bloggers two ingredients to use and we will either find or create a recipe using those.  This month’s ingredients are chocolate and cherry and this is my contribution…The Southern Lady Cooks’ Exquisite Chocolate Cherry Cake.

I had never used chocolate and cherries together so I went on an online hunt for a recipe to try .  The Southern Lady Cooks is one of my favorite food blogs and when I saw she had this cake on her site, I knew it would be good.  I wasn’t wrong…this cake is so moist and flavorful.  Most of the other chocolate cherry cake recipes I found were made with a cake mix and there isn’t anything wrong with that, but I had a feeling that Southern Lady’s would be better since it was from scratch.  This would be a great special occasion cake especially for Valentine’s Day.

For the cake:

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup baking cocoa

1 1/4 cups white sugar

2 eggs

1/2 cup butter, melted

1 cup buttermilk (I used 4 tbsp. dried buttermilk & 1 cup water.)

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 (21 ounce) can cherry pie filling

For the frosting:

3/4 cup white sugar

1/4 cup sweetened condensed milk

3 tablespoons butter

3 tbsp. milk

1/2 cup chocolate chips

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

In a large mixing bowl whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, cocoa, sugar, and dried buttermilk.  Mix well with whisk. Add eggs, melted butter, water (for dried buttermilk), vanilla extract and cherry pie filling mixing well each time with a spoon.

Prepare a Bundt pan by spraying with non-stick spray and sprinkle in cocoa to coat. Bake in preheated 350 degree oven 55 to 60 minutes until center is cooked. Let cake cool for 20 minutes before removing from Bundt pan.

Combine sugar, sweetened condensed milk and butter in pan on top of stove. Bring to boil and cook for 1 minute. Remove from heat and add regular milk, vanilla and chocolate chips. Stir with spoon or whisk until chips are melted. Pour over the cooled cake.

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