Marry This Cherry Cake Pudding is a moist and sticky recipe, which is made with canned cherries and chopped pecans. It’s the ultimate comfort food dessert, ready in about an hour.
Jump to RecipeCherry Cake Pudding Recipe Ingredients
For the Cake:
- 1 cup Sugar
- 2 Tbsp. Butter, Softened
- 1 whole Egg
- 1 cup All-purpose Flour
- 1 tsp. Baking Powder
- 1/8 tsp. Salt
- 1/2 cup Whole Milk
- 1 can (15 oz. size) Cherries In Syrup, drained, juice reserved
- 1/2 cup Pecans, finely chopped
For the Sauce:
- 1 cup Juice From Cherries (add water to make 1 cup if necessary)
- 1 cup Sugar
- 1 Tbsp. All-purpose Flour
- 1 Tbsp. Butter
- 1/2 tsp. Vanilla Extract
- Unsweetened Freshly Whipped Cream, for serving
How To Make Cherry Cake Pudding
- Prep and Make Batter: Preheat your oven to 325°F. Generously butter a square 9×9-inch baking dish. In a mixing bowl, cream the sugar and softened butter together. Add the egg and mix well.
- Combine and Add Fruit: In a separate bowl, sift the flour, baking powder, and salt. Add this to the butter mixture alternately with the milk, mixing until just combined. Gently fold in the drained cherries and chopped nuts.
- Bake the Cake: Pour the batter into the buttered pan and smooth out the surface. Bake for 40 minutes, or until the top is golden brown and the center is no longer jiggly.
- Make the Cherry Sauce: While the cake is baking, make the sauce. Combine the reserved cherry juice, sugar, and flour in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, stirring, and let it boil for 8 to 10 minutes, until it has thickened. Remove from the heat and stir in the 1 tablespoon of butter and the vanilla extract.
- Finish and Serve: As soon as the cake comes out of the oven, drizzle about one-third of the hot sauce over the top of the hot cake. Let it sit for ten minutes for the sauce to soak in. Serve warm pieces of the sticky cake with the remaining sauce and a dollop of unsweetened whipped cream.
Recipe Tips
- What kind of cherries should I use? The recipe specifically calls for canned cherries in syrup, not cherry pie filling. This is crucial because you need the reserved juice from the can to make the delicious sauce.
- How do I know when the cake is done? The top should be a uniform golden brown and the center should be set. When you gently shake the pan, the center should not wobble or jiggle.
- Why pour the sauce on the warm cake? This is the secret to the “pudding” texture! Pouring the sauce over the hot cake allows it to seep into the top layer, making it incredibly moist, sticky, and flavorful.
- Can I use a different kind of nut? Yes. If you don’t have pecans, finely chopped walnuts would be an excellent substitute and would pair beautifully with the cherries.
What To Serve With Cherry Cake Pudding
This is a rich and decadent dessert that is perfectly served warm. The recipe’s suggestion of unsweetened freshly whipped cream is the perfect pairing, as its lack of sweetness perfectly balances the sweet cake and sauce. A scoop of vanilla bean ice cream would also be delicious.
How To Store Cherry Cake Pudding
- Refrigerate: Store leftovers in an airtight container or covered with foil in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
- Reheat: Reheat individual servings gently in the microwave until warm. The sauce will soak into the cake more as it sits, making it even more moist upon reheating.
Cherry Cake Pudding Nutrition Facts
- Serving: 1/9th of cake
- Calories: 480 kcal
- Carbohydrates: 85g
- Protein: 5g
- Fat: 14g
- Saturated Fat: 8g
- Sugar: 65g
Nutrition information is estimated and may vary based on ingredients and cooking methods used.
FAQs
This is a classic “pudding cake,” which is a very moist, dense cake that is served warm with a sauce, giving it a soft, pudding-like consistency, especially on the top where the sauce soaks in.
If the sauce is too thin after boiling for 10 minutes, you can let it continue to simmer for a few more minutes to reduce further. If it gets too thick, you can whisk in a tablespoon or two of hot water until it reaches your desired consistency.
You can, but you will miss out on the reserved juice needed for the sauce. If you use fresh cherries, you would need to substitute the reserved juice with a store-bought cherry juice or a simple syrup to create the sauce.
Try More Recipes:
Cherry Cake Pudding Recipe
Course: DessertCuisine: AmericanDifficulty: Easy9
servings15
minutes40
minutes480
kcalA wonderfully moist and sticky old-fashioned cake, studded with sweet cherries and pecans and soaked in a rich, homemade cherry sauce.
Ingredients
Cake: 1 cup Sugar, 2 Tbsp. softened Butter, 1 Egg, 1 cup All-purpose Flour, 1 tsp. Baking Powder, 1/8 tsp. Salt, 1/2 cup Milk, 1 (15 oz.) can Cherries in Syrup (drained, juice reserved), 1/2 cup chopped Pecans.
Sauce: 1 cup reserved Cherry Juice, 1 cup Sugar, 1 Tbsp. All-purpose Flour, 1 Tbsp. Butter, 1/2 tsp. Vanilla.
Directions
- Preheat oven to 325°F. Cream the sugar and butter. Beat in the egg.
- Alternately add the combined dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, salt) and the milk to the creamed mixture.
- Gently fold in the drained cherries and chopped nuts.
- Spread the batter into a buttered 9×9-inch baking dish.
- Bake for 40 minutes until golden and set.
- Meanwhile, make the sauce by boiling the cherry juice, sugar, and flour for 8-10 minutes until thick. Stir in the butter and vanilla off the heat.
- Pour about 1/3 of the hot sauce over the hot cake right out of the oven. Let it soak for 10 minutes.
- Serve warm with the remaining sauce and unsweetened whipped cream.
Notes
- The most important tip for this recipe is to pour the sauce over the cake while both are still hot to create the signature sticky pudding top.
- Be sure to use canned cherries in syrup, not pie filling, as you need the reserved juice to make the sauce.
- Do not overmix the cake batter after adding the flour, as this can make the cake tough.
- Serving with unsweetened whipped cream provides the perfect balance to the very sweet cake and sauce.
