Chocolate Cherry Crumble

YES, YOU READ THAT RIGHT. AND YES, I CAN’T BELIEVE IT IS THAT GOOD.

Okay, now I’ve calmed down... hi, hello and welcome to your new favourite dessert: Chocolate Cherry Crumble.

I genuinely can’t quite believe my mind sometimes because this might be one of my favourite things I’ve made in a while. It’s rich, chocolatey, fruity, buttery, slightly tart and basically everything you want from a warm pudding.

Cherries are currently in season and I knew I wanted to bake something with them. My first thought was obviously Black Forest because chocolate and cherry is one of those combinations that just WORKS, but Black Forest can get a little mundane sometimes. I wanted to do something different.

So I was thinking and thinking, and then it clicked. My Apple and Pear Crumble went absolutely viral, so why couldn't I take that same cosy crumble concept and completely switch up the flavours?

And just like that, Chocolate Cherry Crumble was born.

Why Chocolate and Cherry Work So Well Together

Initially, I was slightly worried this dessert was going to be too tart or too sweet. Cherries have quite a strong flavour and once you start adding sugar AND a chocolate crumble topping, there’s always the possibility of it becoming a bit much.

But it just works.

The cherries soften as they bake and release all of their gorgeous juices, which mix with the caster sugar and cornflour to create this thick, glossy cherry sauce underneath the crumble.

But the part I really don't want you to skip is the almond extract.

Cherry and almond are genuinely PERFECT together. The almond enhances the natural flavour of the cherries without making the whole dessert taste overwhelmingly almondy. Alongside the vanilla, it gives the cherry filling so much more depth.

Please don't skip it. I know one teaspoon looks insignificant, but I promise you will notice the difference.

Then you have the chocolate crumble sitting on top, and suddenly you've got that classic chocolate and cherry combination without making another Black Forest cake.

GENIUS. Sorry.

Fresh Cherries vs Frozen Cherries

Now, I won't lie to you. Pitting 650g of fresh cherries with a straw was a humbling experience.

There was cherry juice everywhere. My fingers were stained. At one point I did question whether this dessert was worth it.

It was.

After testing the recipe, fresh cherries definitely give me my favourite result. When cherries are in season they're naturally juicy, sweet and slightly tart, and their texture after baking is SO good. They soften without completely disappearing into the filling.

However, I know fresh cherries aren't available all year round and I refuse to gatekeep this dessert to cherry season.

You can absolutely make this chocolate cherry crumble with frozen cherries. You don't necessarily need to completely defrost them first, but frozen cherries will release more liquid as they bake, so keep that in mind. If they're covered in lots of ice crystals, let them thaw slightly and drain off the excess water before using them.

Canned or jarred cherries can also work. The most important thing here is to drain them REALLY well before adding them to your baking dish. You don't want all of the liquid from the tin going into the crumble because your filling can become watery rather than thick and jammy.

And if your canned cherries are stored in syrup rather than juice or water, remember they're already sweetened, so you may want to slightly reduce the caster sugar in the filling.

Fresh is my first choice, but frozen and canned cherries mean we can have chocolate cherry crumble all year round, which is really the important thing here.

The Perfect Chocolate Crumble Topping

For me, a crumble needs to actually crumble.

I want buttery chunks. I want crispy bits. I want little pieces that break off into the cherry sauce underneath.

But because this is more of a pudding-style crumble, I didn't want the entire topping to be completely dry and crunchy. I still wanted that slightly soft, gooey texture underneath where the chocolate crumble meets all of those hot cherry juices.

And this topping does EXACTLY that.

Cold cubed butter is rubbed into plain flour and chocolate powder before adding brown sugar and caster sugar. The combination of the two sugars gives you the best of both worlds: brown sugar adds that slightly deeper caramel flavour and softer texture, while caster sugar helps with the sweetness and crispness.

Then there's a small amount of whole milk.

It might seem strange to add milk to a crumble topping, but that little splash helps some of those crumbs clump together into bigger pieces. Those bigger pieces bake into gorgeous chocolatey chunks while the underside absorbs some of that cherry sauce.

SO GOOD.

Chocolate Powder Is Important!

Now we need to discuss the chocolate.

Please use a good-quality chocolate powder here.

And before anyone asks: hot chocolate powder is NOT the same thing as chocolate powder.

Hot chocolate powder is usually made to be mixed into milk and tends to contain a lot more sugar alongside milk powders and other ingredients. If you use it in this recipe, your crumble can end up much sweeter while not actually tasting particularly chocolatey.

You want something with a strong, proper chocolate flavour.

I recommend Dr. Oetker Chocolate Powder because I find it perfect for baking. It has a much stronger, richer chocolate flavour than the regular stuff, which is exactly what this crumble needs. You only need 25g, but because the flavour is concentrated it gives the entire topping this gorgeous deep chocolate taste without overpowering the cherries.

You can find the Dr. Oetker Chocolate Powder I use here.

How to Serve Chocolate Cherry Crumble

There is only one correct answer.

CUSTARD.

Hot chocolate cherry crumble with warm vanilla custard poured all over it is actually ridiculous.

The cold weather dessert part of my brain is already VERY excited about this one.

You've got the warm, slightly tart cherry filling, rich chocolate crumble and then silky vanilla custard soaking into all those little gaps. It's everything you want from a proper pudding.

If you've never made custard from scratch, don't panic. My Beginner Friendly Vanilla Custard is super easy and takes around 15 minutes. It’s creamy, vanilla-y and exactly what I would serve with this.

You could also serve your cherry crumble with vanilla ice cream if that's more your thing. The ice cream melting into the warm chocolate crumble is obviously going to be incredible too.

Or, and hear me out here... custard AND ice cream.

I won't judge.

Can I Make Chocolate Cherry Crumble Ahead of Time?

Absolutely.

You can prepare the cherry filling and crumble topping separately ahead of time and keep them covered in the fridge. When you're ready to bake, assemble everything and pop it straight into the oven.

If you've already baked the crumble, leftovers can be stored covered in the fridge and reheated until piping hot. The topping will naturally soften slightly once refrigerated because it absorbs moisture from the cherry filling, but it will still taste DELICIOUS.

For the best texture, I would always choose freshly baked though. That first spoonful when the chocolate topping is still crumbly and the cherry filling underneath is bubbling is just unmatched.

The Ultimate Alternative to Black Forest Cake

If you love chocolate and cherry desserts but fancy something different from the usual Black Forest cake, I genuinely think you need to try this.

It's got everything I love about a traditional fruit crumble, but the chocolate makes it feel completely different. The cherries are sweet, tart and jammy, the almond extract brings out their flavour beautifully, and that buttery chocolate crumble gives you a mixture of crisp, crumbly and gooey textures in every spoonful.

It's also ridiculously easy to make. No mixer, no complicated decorating and no waiting hours for anything to cool.

Just cherries, chocolate crumble and a VERY generous amount of custard.

Sometimes my brain really does come through.

Enjoy!