Homemade Cherry Chip Cake
This from-scratch cherry chip cake recipe recreates the nostalgic boxed cake with a soft homemade crumb, real maraschino cherries, and thoroughly tested instructions and baking tips.
Recipe overview: Homemade Cherry Chip Cake
- This cherry chip cake recipe recreates the nostalgic boxed cake with a soft crumb and real maraschino cherries.
- It features tender pink cake layers frosted with my whipped vanilla-almond buttercream frosting.
- Key ingredients include maraschino cherries, cake flour, buttermilk, and both vanilla and almond extracts.
- Follow detailed steps and expert tips to ensure the most beautiful and delicious cake possible!
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Growing up, my mom let us choose our birthday cake flavor from the mixes at the grocery store. There were plenty to choose from, but every year I picked cherry chip. For those who’ve never had the pleasure, “cherry chip cake” is a pink cake filled with tiny bits of candied maraschino cherries. It’s a nostalgic favorite, and I still LOVE it as an adult.
If you loved the boxed version too, can’t find it on store shelves anymore, or simply want to make cherry chip cake from scratch, this homemade version is for you. It has all the color, cherry flavor, and nostalgia I remember, but made completely from scratch.
“Amazing…tastes like the original box cake and even better! TY for sharing this recipe. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐” —from reader Sara
Ingredients you’ll need
- Maraschino cherries: You’ll need one 10-oz jar that we’ll drain well and finely chop.
- Egg whites: Using only the whites helps keep the cake light in color and texture. Save the yolks for another recipe, like my easy homemade lemon curd.
- Cake flour: Cake flour: Its lower protein content helps create a softer, more tender cake. Learn more about why cake flour makes cakes more tender.
- Buttermilk: Adds moisture and flavor, while its acidity reacts with the baking soda to help with rise.
- Almond extract: We’ll use it in both the cake layers and frosting, as it complements the cherry flavor nicely.
Recipe variations
- Use a different frosting: Flavor buttercream with reserved maraschino cherry juice for a pink cherry frosting, increase the almond extract for a stronger almond-flavored frosting, or substitute my chantilly cream frosting for a lighter, less-sweet frosting option.
- Bake into cupcakes: Fill cups of a muffin pan fitted with cupcake liners only two-thirds full and bake at 350°F, checking around 15–18 minutes.
- Bake in a 9×13 pan: Here’s how you can make this cake super easy! Use a metal 9×13-inch pan prepped with parchment paper and non-stick baking spray, then add cake batter and bake at 350°F for 25-30 minutes.
How to make this cherry chip cake, step by step
Annalise’s expert tips
- I thoroughly retested this recipe in 2025 after several readers reported that the original version baked up too dense. I adjusted the ingredient ratios and method to produce a lighter, more reliable crumb. The recipe below reflects all of that testing, so I recommend following the ingredient amounts and method as written.
- A food processor is the best tool to chop cherries that don’t sink to the bottom. It makes it easy to get them really fine and uniform. If you don’t have a food processor, use a knife and be thorough.
- Dairy and eggs should be at room temperature for the best rise and texture. Pull them from the fridge 30-60 minutes before you begin. Learn why room temperature ingredients matter.
- I prefer three 8-inch cake pans for this cake. If using only two 8-inch pans, they need to be at least 3 inches deep so the batter doesn’t overflow. You can also use 9-inch pans, but the finished layers will be thinner.
- If you’re new to baking layer cakes or need a little help, be sure to check out my complete guide for how to build a layer cake. It’s got everything you need to know— how to keep cakes from sticking to the pan, how to bake even cake layers, how to frost a cake, and more!
- How to make cherry chip cake in advance: Baked cake layers, wrapped in plastic, will keep in the fridge for up to 24 hours or in the freezer for up to 3 months (thaw in plastic before assembling cake). See my tutorial on how to store and freeze cake layers for more information. I prefer to make frosting fresh when possible, and assemble within a day of serving.
baking tip:Why you should use cake flour
Cake flour is high in starch and low in protein. It’s the proteins in all-purpose flour that can cause a cake to be tough if the batter is overworked, and cake flour helps to make sure that doesn’t happen. Use cake flour in a recipe when it calls for it and you’re setting yourself up for success every time.
If you don’t have cake flour on hand, substitute 3/4 cup + 2 tablespoons of all-purpose flour and 2 tablespoons of cornstarch for 1 cup of cake flour. You can also simply just use all-purpose flour, cup for cup. The results won’t quite be the same, there’s not the same guarantee of success, but you’ll likely still have a delicious cake.
Cherry chip cake FAQs
Can I use fresh or frozen cherries instead of maraschino cherries?
No, neither of these are good options for this cake. Using maraschino cherries achieves the “cherry chip” flavor of the original cake box mix. If you’re looking for a cake made with fresh cherries, try my cherry chocolate cake instead.
Why did my cherries sink to the bottom?
Likely the cherries weren’t chopped small enough, or had too much liquid. Follow instructions for best results. To be extra sure this doesn’t happen, you can toss the cherries in 1 tablespoon of flour before adding them to the cake batter, but this step isn’t required.
Can I freeze cherry chip cake?
This cherry chip layer cake will freeze very well. Assemble it on a cardboard round, then chill in the fridge for a few hours to firm it up. Next, cover in 2 layers of plastic wrap and place in the freezer for up to 1-2 months. Thaw in the fridge overnight before removing plastic wrap.
More layer cakes
- Cherry Chocolate Cake with Cherry Vanilla Buttercream
- Raspberry White Chocolate Cake
- The Ultimate Vanilla Layer Cake
- Funfetti Cake
Have you tried this recipe? I’d love to hear about it! Leave a rating and review below, or take a photo and tag it on Instagram @completelydelicious.
Homemade Cherry Chip Cake
A homemade, from-scratch version of my favorite cherry chip cake box mix. It's light and fluffy, full of maraschino cherries, and frosted with vanilla-almond buttercream.
Ingredients
For the cake:
- 10 oz (283 grams) jar maraschino cherries , plus more for decoration if desired
- 1 cup (226 grams) butter , softened at room temperature
- 2 cups (400 grams) granulated sugar
- 4 large egg whites , at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon almond extract
- 3 cups (375 grams) cake flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons maraschino cherry juice
- 1 ½ cup (340 grams) buttermilk , at room temperature
For the buttercream frosting:
- 1 cup (226 grams) butter , softened at room temperature
- 4 cups (450 grams) powdered sugar
- ¼ cup (56 grams) heavy whipping cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon almond extract
Instructions
To make the cake:
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease three 8-inch cake pans and line the bottoms with parchment paper.
- Drain the maraschino cherries thoroughly, reserving the juice, then pat dry. In a food processor (or with a sharp knife), pulse the cherries several times until they're finely chopped. They should be about the size of large sprinkles, larger chunks will sink to the bottom. Set aside.10 oz (283 grams) jar maraschino cherries
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, or in a large bowl with a hand-held mixer, beat the butter and sugar at high speed until light and fluffy, 3-4 minutes. Scrape down the bowl and add the egg whites one at a time, mixing lightly after each, followed by the vanilla and almond extracts.1 cup (226 grams) butter, 2 cups (400 grams) granulated sugar, 4 large egg whites, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, ¼ teaspoon almond extract
- In a separate bowl, combine the cake flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. 3 cups (375 grams) cake flour, 2 teaspoons baking powder, ½ teaspoon baking soda, ½ teaspoon salt
- Add maraschino cherry juice to buttermilk and stir until light pink. 2 tablespoons maraschino cherry juice, 1 ½ cup (340 grams) buttermilk
- Add the flour mixture to the mixer in 3 additions, alternating with the buttermilk mixture. Mix after each addition and scrape down the bowl as necessary.
- Gently stir in the chopped maraschino cherries until they're evenly distributed through the batter, but do not overmix.
- Divide the batter evenly between the cake pans and bake until center domes slightly and springs back when gently pressed with a finger, about 25-30 minutes. Let cool in the pans 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
To make the frosting and assemble the cake:
- Place the butter, powdered sugar, heavy cream, vanilla extract and almond extract in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment (alternately you can use a hand-held mixer). Mix on low speed until moistened, then increase speed to high and beat until smooth and fluffy, about 4-5 minutes.1 cup (226 grams) butter, 4 cups (450 grams) powdered sugar, ¼ cup (56 grams) heavy whipping cream, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, ¼ teaspoon almond extract
- Place one cake layer on a plate or cake stand. Cover with a ½-1 cup of the buttercream frosting. Repeat with second cake layer, and then third, covering the top and sides of the cake with remaining buttercream.
- Store cake in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days. If your kitchen is warm or you prefer firm slices, store in the fridge.
Video
Notes
- Butter, buttermilk and egg whites should be at room temperature for best results. Your cake will be taller and fluffier! Pull them out about 1 hour before baking, but note that eggs are easier to separate when cold.
- How to measure flour accurately: All recipes are tested with the spoon and level method of measuring flour. Gently scoop it into a measuring cup until it overflows, and then scrape a straight-edged knife across the top to level it flat. Or for most accurate results, use a kitchen scale and weigh in grams.
- Store leftover egg yolks in the fridge for about a week, but they also freeze well. Whisk 4 egg yolks with 1 teaspoon of sugar (this helps the yolks not gelatinize) and store in a ziplock bag for up to 1 month. Thaw in fridge before using in other baking recipes.
- How to ensure cherry chips don’t sink to the bottom: Make sure they are uniformly chopped very fine. Use a food processor and pulse 7-10 times and scrape down the sides as needed. Then make sure they’re evenly distributed through the batter. They are sticky and like to cling together!
- Frosting variations: Substitute 2 tablespoons of heavy cream for more cherry juice for a pink cherry frosting, increase the almond extract to 1/2 teaspoon for a stronger almond-flavored frosting, or substitute my chantilly cream frosting for a less-sweet frosting option.
Calories: 563kcal, Carbohydrates: 81g, Protein: 5g, Fat: 26g, Saturated Fat: 16g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g, Monounsaturated Fat: 7g, Trans Fat: 1g, Cholesterol: 68mg, Sodium: 150mg, Potassium: 133mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 63g, Vitamin A: 809IU, Vitamin C: 0.02mg, Calcium: 71mg, Iron: 0.4mg
Have you tried this recipe?I’d love to hear about it! Leave a rating and review below, or take a photo and tag it on Instagram @completelydelicious with #completelydelicious.
Recipe testing history: After reader feedback about the cake being too dense, I have completely re-tested this recipe. I made a few adjustments to ingredient amounts and the baking method. It’s now better than ever! Follow the recipe as written with my expert tips and you’re guaranteed a perfect cherry chip layer cake. Recipe originally published February 2014, fully updated February 2025.
I don’t know if you’ll see this comment in time because I was asked to make this cake for a friends surprise birthday party for tonight. My question is, Why don’t you use the whole egg in this recipe?
Hi Sheila! This is a variation of a basic white cake recipe, and white cakes are typically made with just whites. It’s where their white color and light texture come from. Hope this helps!
My birthday is Sat. & I’m excited to try this recipe. Cherry Chip Cake was my all time favorite for my birthday growing up. Sadly, it is no longer a choice in the cake mix variety. Thanks for sharing! ;-D
Delicious and beautiful!!! I followed the cake recipe exactly (well, i may have thrown in a few more cherries). I only used 1/2 cup butter in the frosting, added a touch more almond extract and added a tiny bit of the cherry juice to make it pale pink. The cake was a big hit!
Do you find the brand of maraschino cherries you use to be important? The cherries in mine turned purplish after baking, and the cake did not turn pink at all… and I did not skimp out on the juice.
The same happened with my cake. I used all natural maraschino cherries with no added dye. I am wondering if that is why it didn’t turn pink.
I just made two of these cakes yesterday and I followed the recipe exactly how it was explained. My cakes tasted delicious but they did not rise. The color of the cake inside was not pink. I also had to bake mine for 40 minutes.
Yum, made this cake yesterday and it is delicious. Very sweet and moist. Instead of a layer cake, I divided the batter between two 8×8 pans…one cake for now, and one for the freezer. They turned out perfectly
Wonderful! Thanks for the feedback, Katherine!
Hi! Making this cake right now and hoping you see this message! I am using cherries from a large Costco-sized container. Any idea about how many cups or parts of cups the 10 oz bottle made?
Hi Sharon, I’m sorry I wasn’t able to respond sooner, but perhaps this will be helpful to others in the future. One 10-oz jar should hold about 30 cherries.
My favorite cake that my Grandma made me while I was growing up was cherry chip cake. Haven’t seen the mixes in stores for years. Last week I made this cake for my 15 year old son’s birthday (he likes cherries) and it was wonderful!! If you follow the instructions, it should turn out just fine. The only thing I deviated from was that instead of stirring the bits cherry into the whole batter, I gently stirred them into the batter once I had poured the batter into the pans. Had cherries throughout. I bake A LOT and have rather discriminating taste buds, and I thought it was delicious. Thanks for posting this recipe!
We found this cake to be way to sweet. If we give it another try will probably follow Kelsey’s tip of using dark cherries and not the maraschino cherries. The cake baked well.
Hi! Making this cake right now and hoping you see this message! I am using cherries from a large Costco-sized container. Any idea about how many cups or parts of cups the 10 oz bottle made?
I’m going to make this tomorrow. Wish me luck! About every 10 years or so, my brother wants Cherry Chip for his birthday cake. This is the year and this looks like THE recipe. I’m excited. Thank you.
My mom’s favorite cake is cherry chip, but I can never find the mix in the small town I moved to. I made a half recipe of this for her birthday this spring when she came to visit, and everyone loved it! Mom even asked for the recipe. I’m making it again this weekend as cupcakes for a bake-sale. So much better than the mix used to be!!!!
I can never find the mixes either, and I’m so glad we don’t need to! 🙂 Happy to hear your family enjoyed the recipe. Thanks for the comment!
I SOOOO prefer a homemade cake, but have made this in a pinch with a DH White cake mix, added chopped, drained maraschino cherries (and sometimes chopped nuts), a couple of tblsp of cherry juice for color, and occasionally a 1/2 tsp of almond extract. Bake as directed on the box. Again, homemade is better! 🙂
I attempted to make this cake tonight and it was a major fail. Somehow the flavor was not good. I did not use cake flour, used all purpose instead. The cake fell apart when I was trying to put it on a cooling rack. The buttercream frosting tasted like pure sugar! Maybe its just me but I was very disappointed. I had my hopes way up. The pictures were amazing but unfortunately the recipe failed me.
I don’t think it’s anything to do with the type of flour used. Mine to was a ” major fail ” watery, rubbery and poor flavor in general. I can’t seem to find ” all comments” can someone direct me please?
I’ve got a hunch, that it’s not just Shakira and I that had results?
Vicki, you can see all of the comments for this recipe here. As you can see a lot of readers have had success. So sorry to hear that the recipe gave you trouble! If you have any specific issues you’d like to troubleshoot, please let me know.
My family is stationed in Hawaii and I found I had to adjust all my “tried and true” baking recipes I’d used successfully on the Mainland. Most baking recipes require much less water here. When I forget to decrease the water in a recipe, my cakes and baked goods turn out heavy and dense. (At times I’ve added a little more flour instead, but that can get dicy.) Try decreasing your milk to 1 cup (or even less) and make sure your cherries are well drained before chopping them. Make sure the batter texture is what you would normally find in a cake recipe you know works for you.
Made this for my daughter’s 13th birthday yesterday and everybody loved it, especially the icing. My daughter says it’s her new favorite cake. Thanks for the recipe.
I made this as a test cake at a party to make sure my niece likes it for her wedding shower and it is amazing I have had multiple requests for it and yes my niece wants it for her shower ! The best recipe !! Thank you
For a special Valentines or Mother’s Day variation, try a butter cream fudge frosting. If your birthday target likes chocolare covered cherries, this is also a nice surprise for them, too.