Micah and Christine

Baking has always intimidated me quite a bit. I won't claim that this recipe is perfect, but it is pretty yummy. Micah suggested that I call it a torte. When I read Joy of Cooking's definition, they said that a torte is a moist, nutty cake that seems fancy or European. Okay. We'll go with that. 

My original inspiration came from this Cherry Cake Pudding recipe.  I decided that I wanted to make something with chocolate, though. When I started scouring the internet for chocolate cherry cake recipes, I wound up finding a whole lot of recipes that basically consisted of a chocolate cake box mix and cherry pie filling. I like those conveniences as much as the next girl, but really wanted something from scratch (and without the associated HFCS, additives, etc.) This is by no means health food, but the ingredients are food.

So here it is! 

Cherry chocolate cake (I got a lot of help from this one.)

1 14-oz can cherries in syrup (not cherry pie filling)

1 cup rolled oats

1/3 cup packed brown sugar

1 cup white sugar

1/2 cup melted butter

2 eggs

1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder

1 tablespoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

3/4 cup chopped pecans

Frosting 

1 stick unsalted butter

1/3 cup milk

1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

about 4 cups confectioner's sugar

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Pre-heat oven to 350. 

Drain the juice from the cherries into a 2-cup measuring cup. Chop the cherries and set aside. Fill the measuring cup of with hot water until it reaches the 1 3/4 cup mark. Pour into a large bowl along with the oats. Let soak for ten minutes. 

Stir in sugars, butter, and eggs. Sift in flour, baking soda, cocoa powder, cinnamon, and salt. Stir in chocolate chips, cherries, and pecans. 

Pour batter into a greased and floured 9x13 pan. Put in the oven for 45-55 minutes. (This is a moist cake- you may prefer longer cook time.)

Now the frosting- In a small saucepan over low-medium heat, melt the butter. Stir in the milk. Sift in the cocoa powder, then the powdered sugar by the cupful, stirring as you go. Once the frosting is well-mixed, remove from heat and stir in the vanilla.

When the cake comes out, pour the frosting over the cake when it is still warm. Let stand for a few minutes to let the frosting set. Enjoy!

Overall, I was very pleased with result. At first I thought that the sweet frosting might be a little too much. Then it started to grow on me... The cake itself was not overly sweet. Next time I might try it without the frosting or cutting the frosting amount in half.