Chocolate Cherry Spice Bundt Cake

This is a modification of a recipe I found at https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/8472/chocolate-bundt-cake/. It has become my go-to cake for special occasions but feels especially suitable for the cooler months with all its spice and sweetness. 

Preheat oven to 325°F and grease a 10-inch Bundt pan. If you have a smaller Bundt, don’t fit it more than 3/4 full as this does rise during baking. We use any kind of oil spray as it gets better coverage than butter. Put a bag of frozen dark cherries on the counter to defrost while you prep the batter.

Dry ingredients

3 cups all-purpose flour (can be substituted with 1 to 1 gluten-free baking flour)

½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 ½ tsp nutmeg

1 tsp cinnamon

½ tsp allspice 

½ tsp cloves

Sift together all dry ingredients and set aside. 

Wet ingredients

1 cup butter, softened
½ cup shortening or pure lard
3 cups white sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp almond extract (optional)
5 eggs

Cream together wet ingredients in the order given. Add eggs one at a time and mix them well.

Add dry ingredients to wet gradually, alternating with milk (1 cup total).

When all ingredients are combined halves the cherries (they will still be mostly frozen but manageable. Fold the halved cherries into the batter and then pour the batter into your greased Bundt.

Bake at 325°F for 90-100 minutes, or until a toothpick poked in the cake comes back clean. If your oven runs hot, start checking at the 70 min mark.

Once your cake is out, loosen it from the sides of the Bundt pan and flip it onto your serving dish. Sift powdered/confectioners sugar on top. This cake is great hot out of the oven or cooled.