PIONEER WOMAN CHOCOLATE CHERRY CAKE RECIPES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Generously butter a square 9 x 9-inch baking dish. Cream sugar and butter. Add egg and mix well. Sift flour, baking powder, and salt then add to mixing bowl alternatively with milk. Add cherries and chopped nuts and mix gently. Pour batter into buttered pan and smooth out the surface. Bake for 40 minutes, or until golden brown on the surface and no longer jiggly. While cake is baking, make the sauce by combining cherry juice, sugar, and flour in a small saucepan. Boil for 8 to 10 minutes, or until thick. Turn off heat and stir in 1 tablespoon butter and vanilla extract.Drizzle 1/3 of the sauce on the cake as soon as you remove it from the oven. Spread to distribute over the surface and wait ten minutes before serving so the sauce will seep into the top of the cake a bit. Spoon out pieces of warm, sticky cake and top with unsweetened whipped cream.

Steps:

• For the crust: Preheat the oven to 350 °. Pulse the cookies and sugar in a food processor until the mixture is very finely ground. Add the melted butter and pulse until combined. Press the mixture into the bottom and up the sides of a 9-inch pie plate. Bake until set and dry, about 15 minutes. Let cool while you make the filling. For the filling: Beat the cream cheese, sugar and vanilla in a medium bowl with an electric mixer until smooth. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition. Add the sour cream and beat again. Pour the filling into the crust, smooth the top and bake until the center just barely jiggles, about 25 minutes. Turn off the oven and let the pan sit in the oven for 15 minutes with the door ajar. Remove and let cool completely. For the topping: Combine the cherries, sugar and 1/2 cup water in a saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, partially cover and cook, stirring frequently, until the cherries are tender, about 5 minutes. In a small bowl, combine the cornstarch, lemon juice and 1 tablespoon water until smooth. Add to the cherries, return to a boil and cook, stirring, until thickened, about 1 more minute. Transfer to a bowl and let cool to room temperature, about 30 minutes. Mound the cherries in the center of the cheesecake. Refrigerate until set, at least 2 hours or overnight.