Double Chocolate Cherry Cake

Total Time: 55 mins Preparation Time: 30 mins Cook Time: 25 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 12
• 1 cup sour cream or 1 cup buttermilk or 1 cup sour milk
• 3/4 cup cocoa powder
• 2/3 cup boiling water
• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup butter, softened at room temperature
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
• 3 large eggs
• 3 cups whipping cream
• 1/2 cup icing sugar
• 16 ounces cherry pie filling (sweet or sour, drained & chopped)
• 1/2 cup chocolate chips

Recipe

• 1 preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• 2 butter and flour 2 x 9" round pan.
• 3 combine sour cream, cocoa and water, blend well (set aside).
• 4 mix flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt into bowl (set aside).
• 5 in a large bowl beat butter and sugar on medium high speed for 2 minutes until light and fluffy.
• 6 lower speed and add vanilla and almond extracts, add eggs one at a time, blend well.
• 7 add flour 3 times to butter mixture, alternating 2 times with milk mixture-- starting and ending with flour.
• 8 mix well.
• 9 pour batter evenly into both pans and bake in a 350 degree oven for 20- 25 minutes.
• 10 cool on racks for 20 minutes before removing pans.
• 11 cool completely before frosting.
• 12 beat whipping cream with icing sugar until stiff but not dry.
• 13 place one cake on platter, frost with 1 cup whipped cream to 1/2" from edge of cake, sprinkle chocolate chips on top of whipped cream and top with the chopped and drained cherries.
• 14 put 2nd cake overtop of first cake and frost the top and sides with the remaining whipped cream.
• 15 you can add chocolate curls or marashino cherries to decorate if desired.