This decadent chocolate Cheerwine cake layered with whipped cream and cherries in a Cheerwine caramel sauce was crafted by Spoonfed Kitchen and Bakeshop Pastry Chef Lynn Damron. It’s a treat you’ll get asked to make again!
Ingredients
Chocolate Cheerwine Cake
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- ¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 ½ cups mini chocolate chips
- 1 ¼ cups Cheerwine
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- 1 cup sour cream
- 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- Whipped cream
- Cocoa powder (optional garnish)
- Shaved chocolate (optional garnish)
Cheerwine Caramel Sauce
- 3 cups Cheerwine, room temperature
- ¼ cups water
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 1 stick (4 ounces) butter
- ⅔ cup heavy cream
- 2 pounds pitted cherries (fresh, frozen-drained, or maraschino)
Instructions
Chocolate Cheerwine Cake
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray jelly roll pan with nonstick cooking spray and line with parchment paper to easily remove cake after baking.
- In a large mixing bowl, add flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and mini chocolate chips. Whisk to combine and set aside.
- In a separate mixing bowl, add together Cheerwine, vegetable oil, and sour cream. Whisk until the sour cream is smooth. Add eggs and vanilla extract. Whisk to combine.
- Pour the wet ingredients into bowl with dry ingredients and whisk until the batter is smooth or combine with a hand mixer.
- Pour into pan and bake for about 25 minutes, turning halfway through, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
- Allow cake to cool completely before assembling trifle.
Cheerwine Caramel Sauce
- Pour Cheerwine into a saucepan. Heat on medium heat until soda reduces to half its volume. Set aside.
- In another saucepan, combine water and granulated sugar. Heat to boiling; cook until mixture turns amber in color. Add brown sugar and butter. Remove from heat and stir with a wire whisk. Add cream and reduced Cheerwine and continue to cook until it becomes a syrupy consistency. Stir with wire whisk as the caramel cools down; add cherries and combine.
Trifle Assembly
Trifles can be made either in 8 individual serving glasses, or one large trifle dish.
- Using a knife or round cookie cutter, cut out portions of cake and add a layer of cake to the trifle dish or individual glasses.
- Top cake layer with a layer of the cherry Cheerwine caramel sauce mixture, followed by a layer of whipped cream. Continue layering until you reach the top of the dish or glasses (ending with a whipped cream layer). Dust with cocoa powder or top with chocolate curls and a cherry for garnish.
