Chocolate Cherry Mini Bundt Cakes

Chocolate cherry mini bundt cakes are made with pure cocoa and dried sweet cherries (soaked in a surprising ingredient to bring out the flavor).

This post was sponsored by 7UP.  All opinions are my own.

Chocolate Cherry Mini Bundt Cakes

Mini bundt cakes are so charming.  They’re like little fairy tale cakes that you might expect to find in a hidden forest glen on a silver tray.  Mini bundt cakes capture the imagination!

When I decided to break out my mini bundt pan, I thought about what flavors I’d like to include.  Of course, chocolate is a favorite, so that had to be part of the scheme.  I poked around in the kitchen to see what else might be suitable before I sat down to make a Walmart shopping list.

While rooting through the pantry, I spotted a big bag of dried sweet cherries.  I use all kinds of dried fruit on my morning granola, making this discovery not too surprising.

I brought it down, opened it up, and sniffed the aroma of the dried fruit.  Nice!  All that was left was to find something in which to soak the cherries to keep them from getting leathery during baking.

While shopping at Walmart over the weekend, I had picked up some 7UP Cherry as a treat.  Sometimes it’s nice to have a sweet, bubbly beverage over ice, you know?  The 7UP Cherry was located in the soft drink aisle and its characteristic red packaging made it easy to spot.

I decided to soak the dried cherries in the 7UP Cherry.  I’ve found that 7UP is quite versatile in recipes; I’ve even used it to make nonalcoholic mimosas.  Perfect for summertime drinks and for baking, too.  When you pick up your ingredients at Walmart, you can easily stock up.

Before I made the batter, I poured a little 7UP Cherry over the dried cherries and let them soak.  While they plumped, I gathered the rest of the ingredients to make the mini bundt cakes.

Tips for Making Chocolate Cherry Mini Bundt Cakes

• There are several kinds of mini bundt pans.  For this recipe, use a 12 cavity mini bundt pan.  (If you are adept at substituting pans and adjusting cook time, you might be able to get away with a 6 cavity mini bundt pan.)
• What type of cocoa powder should you use?  I recommend that you use Dutch process cocoa for this recipe, because the recipe includes baking powder—which can interact unpredictably with natural cocoa.
• Be sure to watch the baking process carefully during the final minutes.  Overbaking will scorch the fruit.
• Once the cakes have cooled completely (and I mean completely), you can dust on a tad of powdered sugar just before serving for a nice decorative touch.

These chocolate cherry mini bundt cakes are a lovely treat to serve at any gathering, yours or otherwise.  Enjoy!

4.15 from 7 votes

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Chocolate Cherry Mini Bundt Cakes

Made with pure cocoa and dried sweet cherries (soaked in a surprising ingredient to bring out the flavor), these mini bundt cakes are delicious.

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 13 minutes

Total Time 23 minutes

Servings 12

Calories 190 kcal

Author Katie Moseman

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup dried cherries chopped
• 1/2 cup 7UP Cherry
• 1 TB unsalted butter for the pan
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1/2 cup Dutch process cocoa powder
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 8 TB unsalted butter melted and cooled

Instructions

1. Place the chopped cherries in a small bowl.  Pour the 7UP Cherry over them and leave them to soak while you continue the next steps.

2. Preheat oven to 350 F.  Place flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt in a mixing bowl and whisk together until well combined.  Thoroughly butter all the cavities of a 12 cavity mini bundt pan.

3. In another mixing bowl, combine melted butter, eggs, sugar, and vanilla and whisk until it looks smooth and creamy.  Drain the cherry soaking liquid (the 7UP Cherry) into the bowl and stir in the until incorporated.  This liquid mixture may look slightly curdled; that's normal.

4. Combine the wet and the dry ingredients and stir until just combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.

5. Fill mini bundt cake cavities almost half way with batter.  Drop 3 or 4 pieces of chopped cherries in each cavity, then fill the cavities a little more with just enough batter to cover the cherries. 

6. Bake for about 13 minutes.  Remove pan from oven and cool for 15 minutes on a rack.  Gently loosen the cakes from the pan, cover the pan with a platter, and invert to turn out the cakes.  Serve slightly warm, or cool completely to garnish with powdered sugar.

Recipe Notes

You need a 12 cavity mini bundt pan for this recipe.

Nutrition Facts

Chocolate Cherry Mini Bundt Cakes

Amount Per Serving

Calories 190 Calories from Fat 72

% Daily Value*

Fat 8g12%

Saturated Fat 5g31%

Cholesterol 47mg16%

Sodium 62mg3%

Potassium 91mg3%

Carbohydrates 27g9%

Fiber 1g4%

Sugar 20g22%

Protein 2g4%

Vitamin A 455IU9%

Calcium 25mg3%

Iron 1mg6%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Look for 7UP Cherry at Walmart and get simple summer recipe ideas with 7UP here!