Cherry Christmas Cake
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This Cherry Christmas Cake is simple to make, comes together quickly and really tastes like Christmas! Thankfully, frozen cherries are available year round and it’s just such a treat to have a cherry cake in December! I served a slice to my little niece and she found me after she was done to say, “this is the best cake in the whole world!” – in her sweetest 5-year old voice. I about melted.
This is why I will continue to make cakes for my family. It’s such an amazing feeling to watch my nieces, nephews and my own kiddos eyes light up. One of my baby girl’s first words were “cake” (true story). The littles have come to expect my Sunday cakes so if I don’t make one, they’re instantly disappointed and I just can’t have that!
I’m ridiculous about Christmas and pretty much beside myself when we hit December! I’ll be the old lady who’s house is so decorated, you might have a hard time getting through the door!
It’s snowing outside as I type, there’s sweet Christmas music playing in the next room, and the birds are perched in a tree outside my window with snow flurries all over the place. So beautiful! Makes me want a mug of coffee and a slice of cake actually! I hope you love this Cherry Christmas Cake! It’s quite a treat :).
Ingredients for Cherries in Syrup:
1/4 cup water
1 Tbsp lemon juice
2 Tbsp granulated sugar
2 tsp corn starch
1 lb (4 cups) frozen sweet cherries
Ingredients for Sponge Cake:
3 large eggs
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup all-purpose flour *measured correctly
1/4 tsp baking powder
Ingredients for Frosting:
3/4 cup (6 oz) cold heavy whipping cream
6 oz cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
Ingredients for Toppings/Decor:
Shaved chocolate
Maraschino cherries
Green gel food coloring
Wilton 67 frosting tip and 10″ Atteco piping bag
Make the Cherries in Sauce First:
1. In a medium saucepan, stir together 1/4 cup water, 1 Tbsp lemon juice, 2 Tbsp sugar and 2 tsp cornstarch and place over medium heat, whisking constantly. As soon as it starts to thicken, add 4 cups frozen cherries and cook until lightly boiling, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.
How to Make the Sponge Cake:
1. Line bottom of 9″ cake pan or springform pan with parchment paper (do not butter the pan). In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with whisk attachment, beat 3 eggs for 1 minute on high speed until foamy. With mixer on, gradually add 1/2 cup sugar and beat together 7 to 8 min on high speed or until a thick ribbon forms when you lift up the batter (if using electric hand mixer, add 2 minutes to mixing time).
2. Whisk together 1/2 cup flour and 1/4 tsp baking powder then sift them in two increments, folding gently into egg mixture with a spatula. Fold just until flour is incorporated without streaks of flour, scraping from the bottom of the bowl to make sure you don’t miss any pockets of flour.
3. Transfer batter to pan and bake at 350˚F for 25 min. Cool 5 min then run thin spatula around the edges to loosen from pan, transfer to a wire rack and peel back the parchment paper. Let cake cool completely to room temperature.
How to Make the Frosting:
1. Beat cold heavy cream until whipped and spreadable – transfer to medium bowl. In same stand mixer (no need to wash it), beat together 6 oz softened cream cheese with 1/2 cup sugar until fluffy and whipped (2 minutes on high speed). Use a spatula to fold in whipped cream until well blended. Reserve 1/4 cup cream and tint with green food coloring then transfer it to a small piping bag fitted with Wilton 67 frosting tip to make leaves on top later.
Assembling the Cherry Christmas Cake:
1. Place cooled cake on serving platter and poke all over the top with a fork. Top with cooled cherries and let it rest 5 minutes for the cake to absorb some of the syrup. Spread frosting over the top, top with grated chocolate. Pipe holly leaves onto the cake and top with maraschino cherries.
Do you have any special pre-Christmas food traditions? Let me know in a comment below! I’m always looking to try something new 🙂
Cherry Christmas Cake
Ingredients
For the Cherries in Syrup:
- 1/4 cup water
- 1 Tbsp lemon juice
- 2 Tbsp granulated sugar
- 2 tsp corn starch
- 1 lb 4 cups frozen sweet cherries
For the Sponge Cake:
- 3 large eggs
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/4 tsp baking powder
For the Frosting:
- 3/4 cup 6 oz cold heavy whipping cream
- 6 oz cream cheese, softened
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
Toppings/ Decor:
- Shaved chocolate
- Maraschino cherries
- Green gel food coloring
- Wilton 67 frosting tip and 10" Ateco piping bag
Instructions
Make the Cherries in Sauce First:
- In medium saucepan, combine 1/4 cup water, 1 Tbsp lemon juice, 2 Tbsp sugar and 2 tsp cornstarch. Place over medium heat, whisking constantly. As soon as it starts to thicken, add 4 cups frozen cherries and cook until lightly boiling, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and let cool.
How to Make the Sponge Cake:
- Line bottom of 9" cake pan or springform pan with parchment paper (do not butter pan). In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with whisk, beat 3 eggs for 1 min on high speed until foamy. With mixer on, gradually add 1/2 cup sugar and beat 7 to 8 min on high speed or until a thick ribbon forms when you lift up the batter (if using electric hand mixer, add 2 min to mixing time).
- Whisk together 1/2 cup flour and 1/4 tsp baking powder then sift them in two increments, folding gently into egg mixture with spatula. Fold just until flour is incorporated without streaks of flour, scraping from bottom of bowl to catch any pockets of flour.
- Transfer batter to pan and bake at 350˚F for 25 min. Cool 5 min then run thin spatula around the edges to loosen from pan, transfer to wire rack, peel back parchment paper and cool cake to room temperature.
How to Make Frosting:
- Beat cold heavy cream until whipped and spreadable (approx 2 min) - transfer to medium bowl. In same stand mixer (no need to wash it), beat 6 oz softened cream cheese with 1/2 cup sugar until fluffy and whipped (2 minutes on high speed). Use spatula to fold in whipped cream until well blended. Reserve 1/4 cup cream and tint with green food coloring then transfer it to a small piping bag fitted with Wilton 67 frosting tip to make leaves on top later.
Assembling the Cherry Christmas Cake:
- Place cooled cake on serving platter and poke all over the top with fork. Top with cooled cherries and let rest 5 min for the cake to absorb some syrup. Spread frosting over the top, top with grated chocolate. Pipe holly leaves and top with maraschino cherries.
If you make this recipe, I’d love to see pics of your creations on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter! Hashtag them #natashaskitchen
Do you have any special pre-Christmas food traditions? Let me know in a comment below! I’m always looking to try something new 🙂
Natasha Kravchuk
Hi! I'm Natasha Kravchuk. Here you'll find delicious, trusted recipes with easy step-by-step photos and videos. 
I made this for Christmas dinner and I was so disappointed. It may have been my fault. I followed the directions exactly but we waited overnight to assemble the cake. The cake part turned out very dry and dense. Was that the problem that I didn’t assemble it immediately? The whipped cream and the cherry part were delicious.
Hi Patricia, could the cake have been overcooked? If the cake is left out overnight without being fully wrapped in plastic wrap, it can get dried out so that definitely could be the reason. Also, the syrup from the cherries will help soften up the cake since it is a sponge cake and it relies on syrups to become moist.
Do the cherries have to be frozen? Can I just use the same maraschino cherries from the jar?
Hi Andy, I definitely prefer cherries either fresh or frozen. The maraschino cherries won’t have that sweet and tangy contrast and I think you’d miss it in this cake. I haven’t experimented with maraschino either so I can’t recommend them.
Hi, can I use 8 inch pan for this? Or 2 of them? That’s all I have
Hi Nhi, I haven’t tried a different pan size, but I bet that could work with a few adjustments!
Hi Natasha,
This cake looks amazing and I want to make it for my son’s birthday. He prefers a chocolate cake though. Could I replace some flour with cocoa or do you suggest using another cake recipe for the base? Thanks, I Love your recipes!
Hi Kate, I haven’t tested that but I think it could work. If you experiment, let me know how you liked the recipe.
Hello Natasha, I really like your cherry Christmas cake recipe. I really want to try it for my daughter’s birthday on December 22nd. But she is allergic to eggs. Would you please share the recipe for eggless sponge cake? Or can I use egg substitute? Please let me know.
Thank you
Hi Chandni, I have not tried this with an egg replacement. The sponge cake relies on the volume of the eggs.
My 11 year old and I just tried to make this and it appears to have caved in during the baking time. He will be devastated when he comes back inside…is that what happens if we overmix it because I’m afraid that’s what we might have done…
Hi Amanda, Overmixing can be a culprit but the most important thing with this cake base is to make sure to adequately beat the eggs and sugar. Check out our video tutorial on how to make a European sponge cake. I hope that helps!
Hi Natasha
I always try your dessert & they come out beautiful .
I have a question , can we not use cream cheese & what to use instead or none at all is okay? Thank you & Happy New Year.
Hi Magy! Happy New Year! I haven’t tried making this without cream cheese as it’s an important part of the recipe.
This is AMAZING! My family was just crazy about it. It’s smooth, juicy, light.. everything as we like. Thank you so much for this easy and really quick cake. I made it a bit smaller (18 cm form) so I used 2/3 of the ingredients, it worked perfectly. On the second day, it was even better 🙂 Highly recommend everyone to try this one 🙂
I’m so happy you enjoyed that, Katya. Thank you for sharing that with us!
Hi Natasha, me and my sister made this cake yesterday and my family loved it! Thx for the wonderful recipe!!
You’re welcome! I’m so happy you enjoyed it, Samlie!
would this recipe work with whole frozen strawberries instead of Cherries?
Hi Anita, I do think it would taste great with strawberries!! 🙂 If you try it, let me know how you like it 🙂
Hi, Natasha. Do you have any idea how could I transform the ingredients into grams? We do not have oz here, in Romania. I cannot find the Metrics substitution. Thanks!
Hi Lavinia, We are currently working on adding metric measurements to all of our recipes but it is taking some time as we have to add them one at a time. Thank you so much for being patient! In the meantime, check out our post on measuring which should help
Thank you very much, Natasha and good luck with adding the measurements! We’re looking forward to them, so that we can try these easy and delicious recipes!
hey what can i use aussie ingredients i live in australia
Hi Dillon, I would love to help with this. What ingredients in the recipe are you having trouble finding?
Very tasty, easy to make. Made it two times for Christmas. I wish I could leave my picture here.
Hi Natalie, I would love to see it! If you post it on social media, please tag me @natashaskitchen and #natashaskitchen so I can find it. Thanks and Merry Christmas!
I made it but my cream cheese frosting was far too runny, any idea why?
Hi Sally, it could be due to using cream cheese that was over softened or using regular whipping cream (which doesn’t beat as well) rather than HEAVY whipping cream with higher fat content. Also, make sure to beat the whipped cream adequately until it is stiff and spreadable. I hope that helps to troubleshoot.
Yeah, I think it was because I used normal whipping cream, and then overmixed it.
Hi Natasha,
Do you use unsweetened chocolate? What do you recommend?
Hi Lilly, it is semi-sweet chocolate and just add it to taste. There was maybe 1/4 cup of shaved chocolate over the top.
Also, can I freeze the cherries myself, if so how would I remove the seed
Hi Sana, to remove the seeds you can use a pitter like this one here.
Hi natasha! Is there a video for this recipe?
Hi Sana, we don’t have a video for this one just yet.
Looks delicious, love all photos you posted, step by step easy to follow, I’ll try this :)0. 5 stars for you Natasha(like).
I’m so happy you found this helpful! Thank you for that awesome review!
I made this cake for a big family party for New Year’s Eve. I used bigger baking pan and just increased ingredients. I also used juice from cherries as a syrup and just poured over the cake layer. It turned out delicious and even better on next day! Everyone liked it! Thank you, Natasha for your great recipes!
I’m so happy to hear that, Inessa! Thank you for that great review!
I made this cake for New Year’s Eve for a big family party. I used bigger baking pan and just increased ingredients. It turned out to be delicious! Everyone liked it! Thank you, Natasha for your great recipes!
You’re welcome! I’m so happy you enjoyed it.
What a delicious cake!! Thank you so much for your recipies! This is the fifth cake I’ve made from your blog, and as always with your cakes, it was a huge hit! I wish I could post the pictures of it. Looking forwarding to trying more of your cake recipies. Merry Christmas!!!
You’re welcome Olga! I’m happy to hear how much you are enjoying the recipes! Thanks for sharing your great review! Happy Holidays 🙂
Hello Natasha,
My name’s Anh . Thanks so much for your delicious cooking recipes. Specially strawberry cake and berries panna gotta etc. my family love them a lot. 🙂
I’m going make your new cherry cake recipe. Cherry is in the season here in Australia at the moment. Can I use the desk cherry instead frozen one?
Do you mean fresh cherries? Yes! Fresh would be really good in this cake.
I made it yesterday. Delicious cake. Thank you 🙂
Great, I am glad you enjoyed it!! 🙂
Do you think it would be ok to double the recipe and just stack two cakes in one?
I do think that would work to have a 2-layer cake using this sponge cake recipe with the cherries in the center and frosting on top (you may have enough frosting there to even cover the top and sides if you wanted to fully cover with frosting). If you make it that way, I would love to see your creation! 🙂 Tag me and let me know so I can see it 🙂
Thank you Natasha for amazing recipes! I finally found the perfect website, I love everything about it:)
I made this cake for Christmas and everyone loved it!
P.S. I tried a lot of your recipes and just decided to leave a comment and say ‘thank you’!
Tatiana, you are so sweet 😊. Thank you for the compliment and you are very welcome!
Hi Natasha, I do think have fresh cherries. Can I use preserved cherries instead? Tnx
Hi there, I bet that will work too. I hope you love this recipe!
Hi Natasha can I substitute frozen raspberry for this cake.
Thanks.❤
Hi Kim, I think you could make that work, just keep in mind raspberries can be juicier and shrink down when heated so you won’t have as thick of a layer of fruit – I almost feel like fresh raspberries coated in a warmed raspberry jam might work better.
Thank you so much for clear and helpful tips.👍
Thank you for your recipes. No matter what I’m making your site is a go to when I need something new and trustworthy. One question, does this cake require any refrigeration after making? Thanks so much. Merry Christmas!!
Hi Amy, yes refrigerate until ready to serve :). Thank you for your thoughtful comment. That really means alot to me! 🙂
Thanks Natasha. Your cake was a huge hit at my Christmas gathering. Last year we made your Yule log. Love your recipes! Merry Christmas!
Thank you for sharing a great review! Merry Christmas Dena 🙂
Hi Natasha, Looking forward to making another homerun cake (thanks to you)! During this busy time, looking to do AS MUCH as possible ahead. I know I can make the sponge cake ahead. Can I also make the cherry sauce & prep the shaved chocolate the day prior?
Just thought I would check your recommendations. Thank you & Merry Christmas 🙂
Sharon, prepping them a day ahead would work. I would keep cherry sauce in the refrigerator and shaved chocolate in a cool dry place like a pantry. Hope this helps and Merry Christmas to you as well 😬.
Hi Natasha,
Can I make the cake with strawberries instead of cherries?
Hi Rita, I do think it would taste great with strawberries!! 🙂 If you try it, let me know how you like it 🙂
That will be on my Christmas menu list for sure! Thank you for giving an idea))
You are very welcome Oksana 😀.
Thank you Natasha! I have just finished making this cake to celebrate our first and the only snow day a year in Portland. It turned out amazing. The recepie was very easy and I was able to make your creamy chicken soup at the same time. I am one of your biggest fans. You rock:))))
Alexandra, thank you for such a nice review on the cake and you are welcome. We are celebrating snow in Idaho as well 😁.
Hi ! I am not a kid anymore but the first word, after I read the post is “cake”. Thank you for sharing, as always 🙂
Have a pleasant day !
Ha! Thank you 🙂
Hi. This cake looks like a must try, thanks for sharing your recipes. And can I make this cake a day before serving?
Hi Katharina, this cake does hold up pretty well when covered and refrigerated overnight 🙂
Great thanks:)
Hi Natasha! It’s a nice recipe and I really want to try it but I do not have cream cheese and I can’t buy. Can I do it without the cream cheese?
Thank you!!
Hello Monica, I haven’t tried making this without cream as it’s an important part of the recipe.
This looks fabulous!
Thanks Sara 🙂
Hello Natasha, I’m looking for a dessert recipe that has no sugar/honey/artificial sweeteners in it and no artificial flavorings. Any ideas on a recipe? I want to make a cake for a kid’s first birthday, finding a recipe without sugar has been a challenge.
Let me know, thank you!
That is really tough and I’m not sure I have anything like that besides fruit; maybe you could try pineapple boats which are cute and fun for kids to eat. You could also make fruit leather and just make sure it’s really ripe and sweet fruit if you’re not adding sugar.
You can add banana or applesauce into some cakes or do a carrot cake, I’ve used applesauce instead of oil so I’m sure u can do that and add banana for some flavor maybe pumpkin cake?
Hi Natasha, will you be posting a video tutorial for this cake?
Thanks.
Hi Lola, we won’t have time to fit this one in this month as we have all of our video recipes scheduled out for the rest of the month. 🙂
Hi Natasha, the recipe and pictures are so great. I will make it tonight and I’m sure my kids will love it very much :). Thank you!
That’s awesome! I hope you and your kids enjoy it! 🙂
This cake looks delicious! One question though, can i use sour cherries in syrup instead? If yes, would I have to add anything?
Thank you for all of your delicious recipes, and easy-to-follow instructions! I’m so glad I came across your blog! 🙂
Kia
Hi Kia, you may need to add sugar to taste with sour cherries but I do think sour cherries would taste nice 🙂
Could you leave directions how to make the green frosting leaves please? 🙂
Hi Anna! 🙂 Here is a really easy and helpful tutorial that I came across. It’s really easy when you have that frosting tip that I linked to in the post. I hope this helps! 🙂
You were sweet enough to bring this yummy goodness to bible study:) and it was a perfect mix of tang and sweet , highly reccomend it to those of you that don’t like your cakes overly sweet! And it’s adorable, that’s a bonus
Aww thanks Anna! You’re so nice!! 🙂 I’m glad you enjoyed it and thank you for the awesome review! I did improve the frosting since then so it’s even better 😉
U just have to let me taste test this “new frosting ” hehe;) I’ll have to just make it and see the difference
Hi Natasha, I have a suggestion my mother used to make pryaneekee with mint flavor for Christmas! Thank you for all your wonderful recipes!
Thanks Katya!! My Mom makes them too. I have her recipe posted here 🙂 And they always disappear fast! This year I’m experimenting with a different variation, hopefully I’ll finish testing in time for Christmas 🙂