Cherry Heaven on Earth Cake

5 from 1 vote

This Cherry Heaven on Earth Cake is a simple and delicious layered cake. Make it from scratch and enjoy all the fun cherry flavor!

Prep Time30

Waiting time4

Total Time4 30

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: French

Servings:

Calories: 333kcal

Open a tin of cherry pie filling can or prepare it from scratch using my recipe.

Whisk the sugar and egg yolks until pale and fluffy, then incorporate the cornstarch, flour, and vanilla, mixing until the mixture is smooth and lump-free.
Heat the milk until it just begins to simmer, then slowly pour it into the egg mixture while whisking constantly. Transfer everything back to the saucepan and cook for a few minutes, stirring continuously, until the mixture thickens.
Gradually stir in the softened butter until it is fully incorporated. Let the pastry cream cool completely before folding in the heavy cream.
Cover it with plastic wrap pressed directly onto the surface to prevent a skin from forming.
Once cooled, whisk the pastry cream for a minute to get a smooth texture. Make sure you do not over-whisk it, as it can get runny. Give it a few whisks only until smooth.
Whip the very cold heavy cream to soft peaks. Gently fold the whipped cream into the pastry cream in three stages, mixing carefully after each addition. Refrigerate your vanilla cream layer while preparing the rest of the layers.

Using an electric hand mixer, whip the very cold heavy cream, mascarpone, and sifted powdered sugar for about a minute, then add the vanilla extract.
Continue whipping for 2 to 3 minutes, or until the cream reaches a fluffy, pipeable consistency (after soft peaks but before stiff peaks). Be sure to stop whipping right away to avoid over-beating. If you continue, the chantilly cream will separate and become runny.

Cut the Angel food cake or sponge cake into small, 2 cm / 1 inch cubes. In the meantime, prepare your 9x13-inch / 23x33 cm sheet pan.
Layer the Cherry Heaven on Earth cake from the bottom to top in the following way:
- ½ cake layer
- cherry filling minus three tablespoons that will go to the top
- ½ cake layer
- vanilla layer
- whipped cream layer and the three tablespoons of cherry pie filling swirled into it
Make sure to spread the layers evenly in the pan, smoothing each level with an offset spatula before adding the next.
Refrigerate for 4 hours for the cake to set. Just before serving, add some toasted almond slivers on top.
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.

INGREDIENT NOTES:

Measure your ingredients with a digital scale for accuracy.
For best results, use full-fat heavy cream (at least 36% fat) and full-fat mascarpone (around 41%). Lower-fat versions contain more water and will not whip properly.
You can make whipped chantilly with heavy cream and powdered sugar only. However, the mascarpone adds further stability to the cream.
To make the vanilla diplomat cream, use high-quality vanilla extract and high-fat milk.
For the sponge layer, angel food cake, fluffy sponge cake, ladyfingers, or any other light and airy sponge cake can work.
For the cherry pie filling, canned works fine, but homemade is even better.

TECHNIQUE NOTES:

Chantilly cream is very easy to overwhip. When whipping, stop as soon as the mixture has reached a fluffy consistency (this will take 2-3 minutes) and form early stiff peaks. It won't get stiffer after this point. In fact, if you overbeat it, it will only get runnier and then break.
When folding the whipped heavy cream into the pastry cream, make sure to fold it carefully so the mixture stays light, airy, and smooth.
While assembling the cake, make sure each layer is smooth before adding the next one. You can also chill the cake for about 15 minutes between layers to help everything set neatly.
The most difficult part of this recipe is the waiting. However, do not skip the chilling time, as that helps to develop the layers and flavors together.