Cherry Almond Cake

This easy recipe for a tender and moist Cherry Almond Cake has a delicate almond flavour and is studded with delicious fresh sweet cherries.

Homemade desserts are the best and this Cherry Almond Cake will not disappoint! Made with fresh cherries this cake is really delicious when cherries are in season and at their peak.

This cherry and almond coffee cake makes an excellent casual dessert but is also light enough to be enjoyed as a snack. If you love cakes made with fresh fruit be sure to try this Fresh Peach and Blueberry Cake, it's a reader favourite!

How to Make it

This simple recipe for a one-layer cake is baked in a springform pan for easy removal. Since it's made with fresh cherries there's a little bit of work involved in pitting the cherries, but this task is made much easier and quicker by using a cherry pitter.

This is an easy cake to make and once the cherries are pitted and sliced it comes together pretty quickly.

Here's an overview of what you'll need to make this tender and moist cake and how to make it. Exact amounts are listed in the recipe card at the end of this post.

Ingredients Overview:

• Fresh sweet cherries
• All-purpose flour
• Almond meal or almond flour
• Baking powder
• Salt
• Unsalted butter 
• Granulated sugar 
• Eggs
• Sour cream
• Pure almond extract - Since almonds and cherries complement each other so well, I opted for almond extract instead of vanilla. But you can use vanilla if you don't have any almond extract.
• Powdered sugar - For dusting the cake before serving. This ingredient is optional.

Steps Overview:

1. Preheat the oven. Grease and line the bottom of a 9-inch springform pan.
2. Rinse and remove stems from the cherries. Set aside 15 cherries for the top of the cake.
3. Pit and quarter the rest of the cherries. Using a cherry pitter will make this a much easier and quicker task. Place the halved and quartered cherries on separate sheets of paper towel, cut side down.
4. Take the remaining 15 cherries and pit and halve them. Set them apart from the quartered cherries.
5. In a medium bowl, combine the dry ingredients and set aside.
6. In the bowl of your mixer, beat butter and sugar until pale and fluffy.
7. Add the eggs, one at a time beating just until combined.
8. Add the sour cream and almond extract and beat until mixed.
9. With the mixer on low speed, gradually add in the flour mixture and beat just until the flour is mixed in.
10. Fold the quartered cherries into the batter.
11. Spread the batter into the pan and then arrange the halved cherries, cut side down, on top of the cake.
12. Bake until the top is golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the cake comes out clean.

Tips:

• The cake has a delicate almond flavour coming from the ground almonds as well as from the pure almond extract. Adding pure almond extract to the batter adds a delightful nutty flavour to your baked goods. But a little goes a long way, so be sure to measure carefully.
• This cake has cherries mixed in the batter but is also studded with additional halved cherries. Adding some halved cherries to the top of the cake ensures there are cherries throughout the cake and that they don't all sink to the bottom.
• If you don't have a cherry pitter, you can use a small paring knife to cut around the cherry. Simply split the cherry in half and remove the pit with your fingers.

Serving Suggestions

This fresh cherry and almond cake is perfect served at room temperature with a hot cup of coffee or tea. It can be served with a light dusting of powdered sugar or a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Storage Instructions

This cake can be stored loosely covered at room temperature for two to three days. For longer storage, cover the cake and store it in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. 

To freeze the cake, wrap it well with plastic wrap and then aluminum foil. Freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw cherry and almond cake overnight in the refrigerator. Since it's best served at room temperature, remove the cake from the refrigerator 30 minutes before serving.

How to Freeze Cherries

Did you know that you could freeze fresh cherries? If you have too many cherries and don't want them to go to waste, you can easily freeze them to use later.

To prepare cherries for freezing, start by rinsing them, pat them dry and remove the stems.

You can freeze them whole but since you'll have to pit them before using in a recipe it's better to pit the cherries before freezing them. If you have a pitter use it, if not cut them in half (like you would cut a peach or nectarine) and remove the pit with your fingers.

To avoid having the cherries clump together in the bag, freeze them on a baking tray first and then put the frozen cherries in a freezer safe bag.

Frozen cherries will last for about 12 months in a freezer. You can use frozen cherries to make a Cherry Smoothie, cherry pie or fruit crumbles.

Enjoy!

More Cakes Made with Fresh Fruit

• Plum Upside-Down Cake
• Raspberry Buttermilk Cake
• Mini Apple Spice Bundt Cakes

Cherry Almond Cake

Author: Adapted from Joy of Baking

This beautiful and simple fresh Cherry Almond Cake has a delicate almond flavour and is studded with delicious fresh cherries.

4.75 from 8 votes

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Prep Time 30 mins

Cook Time 25 mins

Total Time 55 mins

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Servings 10

Calories 268 kcal

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 2 cups whole fresh stemmed sweet cherries 350 grams
• 1 cup all-purpose flour 130 grams
• ½ cup finely ground almonds (or almond meal) 55 grams
• 1-1/2 tsp. baking powder
• ¼ teaspoon sea salt
• ½ cup unsalted butter 113 grams
• ¾ cup granulated sugar 150 grams
• 2 large eggs
• ⅓ cup sour cream (I used full-fat) 80 ml
• ½ tsp. pure almond extract
• 1-2 tbsp. powdered sugar optional

Instructions

 

• Place a rack in the centre of your oven and preheat oven to 375ºF. Grease the bottom of a 9-inch springform pan, line it with parchment paper and grease the sides and paper with butter.
• Rinse the cherries well. Set aside 15 cherries for the top of the cake.
• Pit and quarter the rest of the cherries. If you have a cherry pitter then this will be a much quicker task. If not, you can use a small paring knife to cut around the cherry, split it in half and remove the pit with your fingers.
• Take the 15 cherries you set aside and pit and halve them. Keep them apart from the quartered cherries.
• Place the halved and quartered cherries on separate sheets of paper towel, cut side down. This will help absorb the extra juices.
• In a small bowl, whisk together flour, almond meal, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
• In the bowl of your mixer, combine butter and sugar and beat on medium speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 to 5 minutes.
• Add eggs, one at a time beating just until combined.
• Add the sour cream and almond extract and beat until mixed. The batter will look slightly curdled at this point but that’s ok.
• With the mixer on low speed, gradually add in the flour mixture and beat just until the flour is mixed in.
• Add the quartered cherries to the batter and fold in with a rubber spatula.
• Evenly spread the batter into the pan and then arrange the halved cherries (cut side down) on top of the cake.
• Bake for approximately 25 minutes, until the top is golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the cake comes out clean.
• Remove the cake from the oven and let it cool to room temperature.
• If desired, you can dust the cake with a bit of powdered sugar once the cake has cooled.
  

Notes

1. Pure almond extract imparts a delightful flavour to your baked goods. Be careful when measuring, a touch goes a long way.
2. This cake has fresh cherries mixed in the batter but is also studded with additional halved cherries. Adding some halved cherries to the top of the cake before baking ensures there are cherries throughout the cake and that they don't all sink to the bottom.
3. If you don't own a cherry pitter, you can use a small paring knife to cut around the cherry, split it in half and remove the pit with your fingers.
4. Cake is best served at room temperature.

Nutrition

Calories: 268kcalCarbohydrates: 32gProtein: 4gFat: 14gSaturated Fat: 7gCholesterol: 61mgSodium: 78mgPotassium: 122mgFiber: 1gSugar: 20gVitamin A: 395IUVitamin C: 1.9mgCalcium: 44mgIron: 1.1mg

Keyword Cherry Almond Cake, Cherry Coffee Cake, Fresh Cherry Almond Cake

Tried this recipe? Have any questions, comments or suggestions? Leave a comment below!Mention @sweetandsavourypursuits or tag #sweetandsavourypursuits!

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