Sweet cherries and a simple vanilla cake featuring all-purpose flour, almond flour, and almond extract come together to make this light and flavorful fresh cherry almond cake made completely from scratch. Fresh cherries are mixed throughout the batter and also nestled on top of the cake for a pretty finish.
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Keyword cake, cherry almond cake, summer
Prep Time 45 minutesminutes
Cook Time 1 hourhour
Total Time 1 hourhour45 minutesminutes
Servings 8slices (9-inch cake)
Author Katiebird Bakes
Ingredients
2cups (10 oz; 285g)fresh sweet cherries(measure before pitting)
1 and 1/2cups (188g)all-purpose flour
1/2cup (48g)almond flour
1 and 1/2teaspoonsbaking powder
1/2teaspoonsalt
1/2cup (113g)unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
3/4cup (150g)granulated sugar
Zest of one lemon(approximately 1 tbsp)
2large eggs(ideally at room temperature)
1teaspoonvanilla extract
1/2teaspoonalmond extract
1/2cup (118 ml)milk of choice (dairy or non-dairy both work)
1Tablespoon (12g)granulated sugar (for sprinkling on top)
Instructions
For the cake:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Pit the cherries (a cherry pitter is great for this) and slice in half; set aside.
In a medium bowl, whisk together all-purpose flour, almond flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
In a large bowl, with a hand mixer or stand mixer with the paddle attachment, beat butter, sugar, and lemon zest together at high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
Add eggs one at a time, beating on medium speed after each, until fully incorporated. Add vanilla and almond extracts, and beat briefly to combine.
Add a third of the flour mixture and beat on low speed until combined, then add half the milk and beat on low speed again. Repeat with remaining third of flour mixture, the rest of the milk, and end with the last third of the flour mixture. Beat on low speed until the batter is smooth, but do not overmix.
Reserve a handful of the cherry halves for arranging on top of the cake, and add the rest to the cake batter. Fold cherries into the batter gently with a rubber spatula.
Spread the batter into a greased 9-inch springform pan (or a high-sided 9" round cake pan, if you don't have a springform). Arrange remaining cherry halves in whatever pattern you like over top of the batter.
Brush melted butter evenly over top of the cherries and cake batter. Sprinkle the remaining tablespoon of sugar evenly over top. Bake for 45-47 minutes, until risen, browned, and a tester inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs.
Cool completely before serving at room temperature!
Storage: Cake with keep, well-wrapped at room temperature, for up to 24 hours. It will keep up to 5 days in the fridge. I think it’s best served at room temperature! You can freeze the cake for up to 3 months, tightly wrapped. Let it come to room temperature on the counter for at least 2-3 hours before serving.
Milk: any dairy or non-dairy milk will work here. I used almond milk!
Almond flour: if you don’t have almond flour, you can substitute 1/4 cup (31 grams) additional all-purpose flour in its place.