I've made a few pretty tasty things recently. I want to tell you about the Cherry-Almond Coffee Cake now in case you wanted to give it a try this weekend (for an Easter brunch, perhaps?). I took it to work for a brunch this week, and it disappeared very quickly.
The cherries in this coffee cake come from a can of cherry pie filling. I happened to have one stashed away in my pantry, even though I normally don't buy it and can't think of anything else I've ever made with cherry pie filling. There are almonds sprinkled on top, and almond and vanilla extract in the batter. The recipe called for sour cream, but as always I substituted yogurt with great success.
The cake batter was straightforward. Cream butter and sugar; add eggs and extracts. Sift flour and leavenings, and alternate adding them and the sour cream/yogurt to the butter mixture. I mixed all of this with my hand mixer, and the batter was light and fluffy. Pour ⅔ of the batter into a greased 10-inch springform pan. Cover batter with cherry pie filling, spreading to the edges. Spoon the remaining batter over the top. I made sure to completely cover the cherry pie filling with the batter so it didn't bubble through. Top with sliced/slivered almonds. The instructions said to bake in a 350F oven for 65 minutes, but I thought that sounded awfully long, so I made sure to check at 60 minutes. I'm so glad I did. It passed the toothpick test by then, and it seemed really dark on top.
This cake was very good. I was afraid it would be overdone because it browned so much, but it was moist and tender from the yogurt, and not at all dry. The almond extract was an excellent addition to the cake and enhanced the cherry flavor of the cake. It was definitely a sweet coffee cake, but I’ve made ones before that were sweeter. The almonds on top contrasted nicely with the sweet cherry pie filling. The coffee cake disappeared quickly. Before I realized it, there was the barest little sliver for me to eat again to write my review.
I wholeheartedly recommend this coffee cake. It had a great texture and flavor. It makes for a great presentation, too, for taking to a brunch or serving to guests at home.
Want other coffee cake recipes? Try Sour Cream Coffee Cake, Fresh Pear Coffee Cake, Quick Chocolate Chip Coffee Cake, or Strawberry Coffee Cake.
📖 Recipe
- 1 cup sugar
- ½ cup unsalted butter (softened)
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- ½ teaspoon almond
- 2 cups flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup sour cream or yogurt
- ½ 21-ounce can cherry pie filling
- ½ cup thinly sliced or slivered almonds
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Cream sugar and butter with an electric or stand mixer until light and fluffy. Add eggs and extracts and mix well. Add half of the flour and all of the baking powder, baking soda, and salt; mix just to combine. Add sour cream and mix. Add remaining flour, and mix until just combined.
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Pour ⅔ of batter (about 2 cups) into a greased 10-inch Springform pan. Dollop spoonfuls of pie filling evenly over batter. Spoon remaining batter over pie filling. Use a spoon or spatula to carefully smooth the batter over the filling. Sprinkle with almonds.
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Bake at 350F for about 65 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Cool in the pan. To remove from the pan, cut around the sides of the cake and turn out of the pan. Store, covered, at room temperature.
Adapted from Bon Appetit
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