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Hot Fudge Cherry Poke Cake


  • Author:
  • Prep Time: 25 minutes
  • Cook Time: 22 to 24 minutes
  • Total Time: -28565629.75 minute
  • Yield: 12 to 16 servings
  • Category: Desserts

Description

This Hot Fudge Cherry Poke Cake is a super moist chocolate sheet cake that is soaked in sweetened condensed milk, a layer of hot fudge sauce, cherry pie filling, and topped with a light, creamy, fluffy whipped cream frosting. 


Ingredients

Cake

  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 cups white granulated sugar
  • ¼ teaspoon salt 
  • 4 ounces unsweetened chocolate (use Baker’s unsweetened baking chocolate)
  • ½ cup (1stick butter) unsalted butter 
  • 1 cup water
  • 1 cup sour cream
  • 1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
  • 2 eggs, beaten 
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Filling

  • 1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
  • ½ cup of hot fudge sauce. (I buy an 11.5-ounce jar of Hershey’s Hot Fudge ice cream topping and use the rest of the jar for drizzling on top of the frosting.)
  • 1 (21-ounce) can cherry pie filling

Frosting

  • 1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, room temperature
  • 1 ½ cups confectioners’ sugar
  • 2 cups (cold) heavy whipping cream
  • 1  teaspoon clear vanilla extract or regular vanilla
  • Maraschino cherries with stems for garnish, optional 
  • Mini chocolate chips for garnish, optional 

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9×13-inch baking dish with a nonstick cooking spray.
  2. In a medium bowl, sift flour, sugar, and salt together. Set aside. In a medium heavy saucepan, melt chocolate and butter over low heat. Add water and bring to a boil. Remove from heat and let cool for five minutes and then, pour over flour mixture and beat well with an electric mixer.
  3. Combine sour cream and baking soda and fold into chocolate mixture.
  4. Slowly, add beaten eggs and vanilla to the mixture and mix well. NOTE: Be careful not to over mix. Over mixing will make your cake tough. Just mix to incorporate the eggs and vanilla into the other ingredients.
  5. Pour batter into the prepared pan and spread evenly. Bake for 22 to 23 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. NOTE: Oven temperatures vary so be careful not to over bake. Allow the cake to cool for about 10 minutes.
  6.  While the cake is still warm, punch holes all over the top of the cake with the end of a wooden spoon. 
  7. Next, pour the can of sweetened condensed milk over the top of the cake. Set aside and let the cake completely cool.
  8. After the cake has cooled, ½ cup of the hot fudge sauce in the microwave for 15 seconds or until the fudge sauce is thin enough to drizzle. 
  9. Drizzle chocolate mixture over the cooled cake. Reserve the remaining chocolate for drizzling on top of the frosting.
  10. Spoon the cherry pie filling over the chocolate mixture and spread evenly.
  11. For the frosting: Using a hand mixer or stand up mixer, place room temperature cream cheese in a mixing bowl. Beat until light and creamy. About a minute.  (Make sure that your cream cheese is room temperature. Cold cream cheese will not work in this recipe.) 
  12. Slowly add the confectioners’ sugar and mix until cream cheese and sugar are completely combined. Then whip at high speed for 2 to 3 minutes or until light and fluffy.
  13. Add the heavy whipping cream and vanilla and whip on high speed until light and fluffy. (about 1 to 2 minutes)
  14. Spread the whipped frosting over the cake. Drizzle with the remaining chocolate glaze, chocolate chips, and garnish with Maraschino cherries with stems, if desired. Store cake in the refrigerator.

 

Notes

Recipe Notes/Do Ahead Tips: This cake can be made two or three days ahead. Frosting is best only made the day before serving. You can use a box cake mix. If you do, I suggest Duncan Hines Devil Food cake mix.