This was a nice surprise for me, I’ll explain more below, but over all this cake is simple to make, rich and moist. These classic flavors with a nutty surprise in the middle leave you feeling warm and full. It’s a recipe that can be used at any time of the year but totally works for these cool Michigan winter months.

Ingredients (Cake):

• 2 Cups of flour
• 1 teaspoon of baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon of salt
• 1/2 Cup of butter (aka 1 stick)
• 1 Cup of sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla
• 2 squares of baking chocolate melted
• 1 Cup of sour cream OR butter milk (I used butter milk)
• 1/3 Cup of maraschino cherry juice
• 3/4 Cups of chopped maraschino cherries
• 1/2 Cup of chopped walnuts

Ingredients (Filling):

• 1/3 Cup of butter
• 1 teaspoon of water
• 2 egg yoks
• 1/2 Cup of brown sugar
• 1 Cup of chopped nuts (I used walnuts)

Ingredients (Icing):

• 6 Tablespoons of soft margarine
• 1/2 to 2/3 Cup of cocoa
• 2 Cups of powdered sugar
• 1/2 teaspoons of vanilla
• Enough milk until smooth and desired

Instructions:

1. Sift together: flour, salt, and baking soda
2. Place sugar and butter into a mixer and cream (mix at medium high speed until smooth and fluffy)
3. Add in egg and mix until uniform
4. Slowly add in one at a time: sour cream OR butter milk, cherry juice, vanilla, melted chocolate
5. Slowly add in flour mixture
6. Add in walnuts and cherries
7. Pour into two 8″ circle pans that have been greased and floured and bake at 350 for 35-45 minutes (until you can pull out a clean tooth pick) — take out when done and let cool to ensure easy removal from pan!
8. While cake is baking mix for filling: butter, brown sugar and water together in a small sauce pan (NO heat should be applied at this time)
9. Add in 1 yok at a time and mix until uniform (still NO heat!)
10. Put uniform mixture onto medium heat and mix until thickened and then let cool
11. Once cooled mix in the nuts (if needed you can slightly heat the mixture so that its easier to mix in the nuts)
12. Icing time! — mix all your icing ingredients together and add milk until you get the consistency you want and put to the side until you are ready to construct your cake
13. Construction time!! — take which ever cake you would like to be your bottom half and heap the filling on top. Smooth out until you have a thick layer of filling covering the entire top of the cake.
14. Place the other cake on top as centered as possible.
15. Ice your cake and you are all set! Sprinkle some chopped walnuts and cherries on top for a completely finished look.

Alright, I’m going to be honest. It’s traditional and classic flavors, but I really don’t like fruit with my dessert! I was not looking forward to dealing with the heaps of left overs this recipe was going to have. I am married to a man with 5 year old taste buds who thinks fruit is “icky”. So you see I had many hesitations when it came to making this recipe. However! My husband and I were pleasantly surprised

I love working with my hands. Probably why I am a compounding pharmacist. Which is why while making a cake can be time consuming, I personally love the effort that goes into it. Anyone else use cooking as a stress reliever? When I can come home, and occupy my mind and detox from the day I feel relaxed and happy. My husband thanks me for this habit as well 🙂

Here’s my concern with this recipe: if you are making this thinking you will have strong cherry and chocolate flavoring you would be disappointed. This recipe makes a wonderfully moist and fluffy cake but it tastes like chocolate more than anything else. Which is probably why my husband and I liked it so much. You see, I’m not a huge fruit person in my dessert, and my husband has the taste buds of a 5 year old. Between the two of us we should’ve had a ton of left overs . . . Instead we ate the whole thing!

**If anyone has any suggestions on how to make the cherry flavor pop more I would love some advice!**