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This super easy, light, yet moist with the right amount of sweetness sweet cherry cake is a perfect easy cake to make when the fresh cherries are in season. It’s perfect as a breakfast cake or to accompany that cup of coffee or tea.
Another reason I love summer is the cherry! We love cherries, from tart to sweet cherries, and anything in between. We have eaten plenty of cherries this summer and now that I’m really into baking bread and cakes, I want to put some cherries into my baking.
Why you’ll love this recipe
1. Easy
This sweet cherry almond cake is really easy to put together. Such minimal effort with a great result. It does require mixing butter and sugar with a hand mixer briefly, but that’s about it
2. Great taste and texture
It’s just lightly sweetened yet it’s enough to satisfy that craving for a cake. It has that hint of butter. The cake also has light and airy texture, yet moist at the same time
Ingredients and substitutions
1. Fresh sweet cherries
You can use any kind of cherries you want or a combination of several fresh cherries. I use all dark sweet cherries because that’s all I had
2. All-purpose flour
This recipe doesn’t require the use of cake flour, which is great, because most people have all-purpose flour instead of cake flour
3. Unsalted butter
4. Plain Greek yogurt
I use whole milk plain Greek yogurt for a richer texture. I don’t recommend using non-fat, but you can if you want to cut down on calories, just know that it won’t be as rich, but still tasty. You can also substitute with full-fat sour cream, or whole milk.
5. Eggs
I usually use large eggs, which is about 60 grams if weighed with the shell
6. Sugar
I usually use granulated sugar. You can also use fine sugar like caster sugar
7. Baking powder and baking soda
These two do the main lifting in this recipe. They are responsible for the light and airy texture. Please make sure they are fresh and not expired
8. Salt
A small pinch of salt helps to bring out the flavor. I usually use fine sea salt
9. Almond extract
I love the addition of almond extract to the cake. I know some people may not like it, but the almond extract helps to amplify the flavor of the cherry in the cake
10. Sliced almonds
The addition of sliced almonds adds that extra crunch to the cake
11. Raw turbinado sugar
My kids love the crunch this sugar adds to the cake
Easy Fresh Sweet Cherry Almond Cake
Ingredients
Dry ingredients:
- 170 g all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp baking soda
Wet ingredients:
- 85 g unsalted butter softened
- 180 g sugar
- 2 large eggs room temperature
- 156 g plain whole-milk Greek yogurt see notes 1
Other ingredient:
- 12 Fresh cherries stemmed, pitted, quartered
Toppings:
- 10 Fresh cherries stemmed, pitted, cut in half
- 20 g sliced almond
- 1 Tbsp turbinado sugar or any coarse sugar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 F (180 C) for conventional oven, 330 F (165 C) for convection oven with oven rack positioned in the middle
- You can use 8 or 9 inch round cake pan. Line the bottom with parchment paper
Prepare the cake batter:
- Pat the cut fresh cherries with some paper towel to remove any excess moisture
- Please make sure the butter is soft and eggs and yogurt are at room temperature
- Combine all the dry ingredients and set aside. Place the butter and sugar in a mixing bowl. Use an electric hand mixer to cream the butter and sugar until creamy and then add the egg, one at a time and continue to beat until the mixture is creamy and pale
- Add yogurt, almond extract and beat for another minute. Sift in the dry mixture and use a rubber spatula to fold to combine. Add the quartered cherry pieces and just gently combine. Pour into the prepared pan
Bake the cake:
- Bake the cake in a preheated oven for 25 minutes or until the top of the batter is set, remove the cake from the oven and quickly arrange the halved cherries, sliced almonds, and a sprinkle of turbinado sugar on top. Quickly put it back in the oven and continue to bake for another 20-25 minutes or until a cake tester inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean
Cool down:
- Let the cake cool down in the pan for 20 minutes and then loosen the side of the cake with an offset spatula and remove the cake to cool completely on a cooling rack
To serve:
- Serve the cake as is at room temperature. You can also dust it with powdered sugar if you like. We like it as is without any additional sugar or glaze
To store the cake:
- The cake can be kept in an air-tight container at room temperature for up to 3-4 days
- For longer storage, the cake can be kept frozen for up to one month. Simply transfer to a freezer-friendly container and thaw at room temperature before serving
Marv’s Recipe Notes
- You can also use 120 ml whole milk or 152 g full-fat sour cream instead of Greek yogurt
*Nutrition facts are just estimates and calculated using online tools*
How to bake an easy fresh sweet cherry almond cake
1. Preheat oven to 350 F (180 C) for conventional oven, 330 F (165 C) for convection oven with oven rack positioned in the middle
2. You can use 8 or 9 inch round cake pan. Line the bottom with parchment paper
3. Pat the cut fresh cherries with some paper towel to remove any excess moisture. Please make sure the butter is soft and eggs and yogurt are at room temperature
4. Combine all the dry ingredients and set aside. Place the butter and sugar in a mixing bowl. Use an electric hand mixer to cream the butter and sugar until creamy and then add the egg, one at a time and continue to beat until the mixture is creamy and pale
5. Add yogurt, almond extract and beat for another minute. Sift in the dry mixture and use a rubber spatula to fold to combine. Add the quartered cherry pieces and just gently combine
6. Scrape the cake batter into the pan and level the cake evenly with the spatula
7. Bake the cake in a preheated oven for 25 minutes or until the top of the batter is set, remove the cake from the oven and quickly arrange the halved cherries, sliced almonds, and a sprinkle of turbinado sugar on top. Quickly put it back in the oven and continue to bake for another 20-25 minutes or until a cake tester inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean
8. Let the cake cool down in the pan for 20 minutes and then loosen the side of the cake with an offset spatula and remove the cake to cool completely on a cooling rack
9. Serve the cake as is at room temperature. You can also dust it with powdered sugar if you like. We like it as is without any additional sugar or glaze
Did you make this easy fresh sweet cherry almond cake recipe?
I love it when you guys snap a photo and tag it to show me what you’ve made. Simply tag me @WhatToCookToday #WhatToCookToday on Instagram and I’ll be sure to stop by and take a peek for real!
