Cherry Almond Cake
Updated October 06, 2020
Last week we had our friends over for dinner. Josh made Grilled Honey Mustard Pork Tenderloin and I was in charge of dessert. I love being in charge, especially when dessert is involved:) I was tempted to bake cookies because you can never go wrong with cookies, but I decided to mix things up. We bought a big bag of cherries from the market so I made a Cherry Almond Cake.
I love fresh cherries, minus the pits. You would think with all of the cooking and baking we do we would own a cherry pitter. Nope! I think it is the one gadget we don’t have. So my hands got nice and red while making this cake. Oh well, it was worth it, but buying a cherry pitter is on my to do list:)
The buttermilk cake is tender with juicy cherries and an almond streusel topping. I also added an almond glaze and toasted almonds to finish off the cake. The cake is pretty to serve and delicious to eat. I was very pleased with my cake and so were our guests.
This Cherry Almond Cake makes a great dessert, but I can also see myself serving and eating it for breakfast or brunch. Cake in the morning is always a good idea:) Go find some fresh cherries…and a cherry pitter and make this Cherry Almond Cake.
Cherry Almond Cake
Ingredients
For the cake:
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter at room temperature
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1/2 cup buttermilk
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
- 1 1/2 cups fresh cherries stemmed, pitted and halved
To make the Almond Streusel Topping:
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 1/4 cup almond paste crumbled
- 2 tablespoons cold unsalted butter cut into small pieces
- Pinch of salt
To make the Glaze:
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon almond extract
- 2 to 3 tablespoons milk
- 1/4 cup toasted sliced almonds optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter a 9-inch springform pan or pie plate. Set aside.
- Sift flour, baking powder, and salt together into a medium bowl. Set aside.
- Put butter and 1 cup sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add in egg, buttermilk, vanilla, and almond extract. Mix until combined.
- Gradually mix in the dry ingredients. Transfer batter to prepared pan. Arrange cherries on top of batter.
- To make the almond streusel topping-in a small bowl combine flour, brown sugar, almond paste, butter, and salt. Mix together with your fingers until crumbly. Top the cake with streusel topping.
- Bake cake for 10 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees. Bake until cake is golden brown and firm to the touch, about 50-55 minutes. Let cool in pan. T
- While the cake is cooling, make the glaze. In a medium bowl, combine powdered sugar, almond extract, and just enough of the milk to make a pourable glaze. Drizzle over the cake and garnish with toasted almond slices, if using.
- Cut the cake and serve.
- Note-the cake will keep up to 2 days, stored in an air-tight container on the counter.
Have you tried this recipe?
Leave a comment below and share a photo on Instagram. Tag @twopeasandpod and hashtag it with #twopeasandtheirpod
Such a pretty cake. I love cherries and finally just picked some up for the season! Been in cherry bliss!
What a beautiful cake! Heavenly tasting too, I’m sure.
Cheers,
Rosa
I want to be invited over for dinner ;). The topping on the cake looks amazing.
Just gorgeous!
I recently bought a cherry pitter and I don’t know what took me so long to decide to do so – I love how quickly and easily I can have fresh cherries to cook with!
Looks like a lovely summer cake- even for breakfast!
I have a weakness for any cake topped with streusel!
Yum! I love the look of that drizzle, and almond cake is always a good idea!
I would definitely serve this for brunch! It looks beautiful!
Just pinned a couple other cherry recipes….this is getting added to the list!
Beautiful! If you ever visit England you should try cherry bakewell’s – they are lovely but often have a slightly more sickly icing topping. This looks perfect.
So beautiful!!! I love cherry almond recipes. 🙂
And a cherry pitter is on my to-do list too. Somehow I still make do when the cherry cravings hit!
I’ll trade you a waffle for some cake for breakfast!
I’ve been craving cherries (and other fruit!! Such a surprise) big time lately…and just happen to have a big bag in the fridge…guess I know what I’m making with them!! This cake is GORGEOUS and I love the cherry/almond combo 🙂
I could totally go for a big slice of this for breakfast!
seriously adore this cake!
This is a gorgeous cake!!
I need a cherry pitter as well! Would make life a lot easier some times!
Yes, a cherry-pitter…once you have one you’ll wonder why you didn’t get it sooner…especially because it also works on olives. So now, because you have a cherry pitter you can now buy all those big and fancy pitted olives from the olive bar and pit them with ease!
The cake looks beautiful, Ilove cherry with almond extract, suh a great flavor it imparts.
This cake is wonderful. We don’t have fresh cherries, only for some days in December, but I guess we can use another kind of berries, right?
A friend of mine(with a big sweet tooth) just had a baby and I wanted to bake her a cherry dessert. I was thinking cherry bars, for ease and portability, but I bet this cake would work just as well! Looks delicious.
Maria-I love this cake! Almonds and cherries always go together, the addition of the streusel on the cake is awesome.
This cherry cake look phenomenal. I think I might need to bake this soon since I’ve never made a cherry cake before!!
That looks amazing! I love the flavor combination of almonds and cherries. I sure hope they have cherries next week at my local farm so I can make this!
You should make your own cherry pitter out of a fork! That’s what I did and it works perfectly. Just google how to do it 🙂
I don’t have a cherry pitter, either. I always figure cherry season is so short – but then when I go to make something with them, I’m kicking myself for not having one!! Your cake is gorgeous!
With all the cherries popping up everywhere, this cake is a must-make! Especially if guests are coming 🙂 Thanks, Maria!
This looks delicious! I just made a similar cake myself and cherries + buttermilk = the perfect combination! Yummy!
I have been obsessed with cherries lately- this looks delicious!
This looks glorious Maria! Putting in on the menu for this weekend.
LOVE cherry + almond ~ delightful cake Maria!
I was one of the lucky people to be at Maria and Josh’s that night for dinner and dessert. Josh’s Pork tenderloin was absolutely wonderful, and Maria’s Cherry Almond Cake was so yummy, it was very hard to not ask for seconds! I had such a great time with my son, daughter-in-law and teir precious little pea, Caleb. I am one lucky Momma & Gramma. Thank you both for such a wonderful week with you, you treated me like i was a queen! Love & Miss you!
I am in desperate need of a cherry pitter too! The cake looks wonderful and I can’t wait to make it!
I love the cherry almond flavor combo! I just saw this video recently that i wanted to share about pitting cherries: http://www.betterrecipes.com/blogs/daily-dish/2012/07/06/how-to-pit-cherries/
Haven’t tried it yet so not sure if it works, but if it does….brilliant! And no cherry picker needed 🙂 I’m going to try it and make this cake! Yum!
My tummy is seriously growling looking at this cake. A piece would go so nicely with my coffee right now 🙂
oh yum Maria! This looks great with a cup of coffee! Can’t wait to see you in a few days!
This looks delicious! Gotta make it soon. cherries on sale 1.79 lb
I adore fresh cherries, and always love them with almond too. This looks amazing!
I just bought a bunch of fresh cherries that would be perfect for this cake! Can’t wait to make it!
What a beautiful cake, this looks amazing! 🙂
A perfect dessert for summer!
Cherries + almond, what a perfect simple combination Maria. I’d love to make this cake for my parents. They both lived on farms when they were younger and when I was young, we all went cherry picking together. 🙂
I haven’t baked with cherries yet (just eating them plain) bc we don’t have a cherry pitter either…but this looks like it’s worth red hands!
This looks really wonderful! As soon as I can get my hands on some cherries and a cherry pitter, I’m going to give it a go! Cake for breakfast is definitely awesome and should happen more regularly! 🙂
This looks lovely! Any idea what would be a good substitute for the almond paste? Haven’t seen it around here in Greece. Maybe marzipan? Or could I make my own?
Thank you!
This looks delicious! I recently discovered an easy way to pit cherries without a pitter–you use a hard plastic drinking straw and just jam it straight through the cherry. It’s a little messy and harder than a real cherry pitter, but works quite well!
This is a really pretty cake! My hubby loves cherries so he’d love this for sure 🙂
I love cherries! Though they’re so good fresh that I often forget to bake or cook them into things 😉
I have to be honest, I SO wish I saw this recipe a couple of weeks ago when my refrigerator was over flowing with fresh cherries! This recipe looks delicious and the almond streussel topping sounds divine! Looks like I may have to pick up another batch of cherries to bake your cake!
Yes, you can make your own cherry pitter! Here’s a handy link for you! http://barefeetinthekitchen.blogspot.com/2012/06/homemade-cherry-pitter.html?m=1
That was weird, my phone decided it was going to post my comment before I was done. Silly phone! I was going to say I also wish I had this recipe this weekend!
Brilliant use of cherries.
Maria, I don’t have cherry pitter either! I think it’s the one kitchen gadget I don’t own!
Yummy! The cherries have been awesome this year. I LOVE everything about this cake. It is so beautiful too!
perfect for any day! looks really moist, too
Love the cake! I’m already on my second slice. And it’s a hit with the family too.
So glad you liked the cake!
This looks so amazing!!
oh yum, this looks so delicious!
ooo- love the look of this cake and love cherries and almonds together – I too don’t own a cherry pitter but a pairing knife will do!
this is such a gorgeous cake, Maria! Can a pull a seat up and have you cut me a large slice? 🙂
swooning a little over here, Maria! this looks like perfection…and your pictures are gorgeous! no cherry pitter here, either…I think it’s time. 😉
I love cherries!
Maria, this cake is lovely. I do not own a cherry pitter, either, but I think I will invest in one before I try this recipe. Looking forward to seeing you in a couple of days! 🙂 xo
I seriously can’t get enough of cherries lately and there’s no better way to enjoy them than in cake-for-breakfast form! Gorgeous!
Seriously beautiful! But yes, you need a pitter for sure! I can see that being a mess 🙂
I love being in charge of dessert too 🙂 And any dessert that involves cherries is high on my list! Yum!
E an
E and I were putting cherries tonight and were trying to figure out what to do with all of them. I think I found the recipe!
What a great dessert and perfect use of fresh cherries! If I don’t have cherries, I may use another berry. Yum!
Looks beautiful! I recently became the owner of a cherry pitter and the difference is totally night and day..you must get one! ;0)
Cheers..
this is on my list of things to make for when my sister visits!!! She loves almonds and cherries. 🙂
Looks so pretty and perfect, I just love glaze on top too!
We had 4 lbs of fresh cherries and no pitter….my husband took a pair of needle nosed pliers, bent the outer prongs all the way down and then took the middle two prongs and bent them just enough to hook the pit…..PERFECTION…I won’t be spending $25 for a pitter. I had tried the paper clip trick, and that was difficult. The fork trick worked like a charm!
I want some for BF! Looks delish, Maria! 🙂
Looks amazing, my idea of a perfect desert!
I can’t wait to make this cake. Love the idea of cherries and almonds. (too bad for Josh, I thought I saw on a post that he can’t have nuts.)
I have 2 kinds of cherry pitters. One is a hand held one – sort of like sissors which pits one cherry for small recipe amounts. I have a Leifheit cherry stoner (that’s what they call it) from Chefs which I get out when I need a large amount of cherries pitted for fruit salad or recipe. It works great and is probably one of the best tools I have purchased.
Have a great day.
that looks delicious! love the combination of cherry and almond!
Yum. This looks delicious. I love this time of year when fresh cherries are a plenty!
Can I have this cake before dinner? It looks fabulous! Thank you for the link love, Maria, hope you’re doing well!
Cake in the morning is a fantastic idea! It has nuts and fruit in it after all:-)
wow! looks fantastic.
This is such a gorgeous cake! I don’t do nearly enough baking with cherries; I need to change that!
This is the perfect cake for sitting on the patio after a long summer day. Excellent!!
I love pretty much any dessert with cherries, particularly if it is cake. And I never mind pitting cherries without a pitter; it’s part of the fun of the baking process.
Beautiful! I love cherries and almonds together. This looks like such a comfort cake.
Almond and cherry is a perfect combo. Add some almonds and it is perfect. Can’t wait to make this. It’s pinned.
I just made this cake. I thought that the cake came out awesome and then I made the glaze and I tasted it before I put it on and I thought in my head…oooo this is way tooooooo sweet… But I put it on anyway. I tasted the cake glaze and all and I have to say… IT WAS PERFECTION.!!!! Not too sweet and very very tasty… I also pitted the cherries like the video you provided… using an old bottle and a chopstick… I did not have a chopstick,but I did have a wooden skewer for kabobs. It worked very well.. Thank you… I am going to make this one again definitely
I love cherries but like most hate that whole pitting part so I did buy a cherry pitter a couple of years ago and it does make quicker work of getting them done. A friend was recently when I was making something with cherries and wanted to help me pit 3 pounds of them so we needed more than one. We did a MacGyver. One soda bottle and one chopstick later and we each had our own! I actually loved that the bottle collected the pits but the downfall is we lost a couple of cherries to that netherworld down below.
Lovely cake; love the simplicity.
Oh my goodness, so decadent, I love this. Since having my son two weeks ago, I’ve been on a huge cherry kick. Perhaps it’s a subconscious yen to pass along the melatonin in cherries to my little infant. But whatever it is, I need to make this. Or at the very least, get someone to make it for me!!
Maria, this cake is SO good! I had a bag of lovely fresh cherries and was looking for a way to use them. I love cherries and almonds together, so this cake was calling my name. I didn’t have almond paste, but I found a recipe online and easily made a small batch. The combination of the moist cake, the cherries, the almond-flavored streusel, and the almond glaze was just so incredibly delicious. I’m filing this recipe away and will no doubt make it every year when cherries are in season. Thanks so much for sharing!
Oh, I think this will replace the almond paste cake I’ve been making for Ramadan this year! Thanks!
This is such a pretty cake Maria!
I just posted my version of the cake on my blog. It is one of my new favorite treats! It would mean so much to me if you’d please take a look 🙂 Here’s the link: http://piesandplots.net/cherry-almond-cake/ Thanks for such a great recipe!
Just checking…do you use sweet cherries or sour cherries?
Any fresh cherries will work! Enjoy!
Just wondering if (unsweetened) canned & pitted tart cherries could work? Maybe save some of the juice to add in — might alter the color of the cake, but might still taste good. Would appreciate feedback.
I haven’t tried canned cherries, but they would probably work. I would drain them so there isn’t too much liquid. You don’t want the cake to be soggy.
I just made this cake today, it was awesome, it has such a great flavour and tender crumb, I used frozen organic cherries from Costco, I let them defrost and drain overnight in a sieve, I also doubled the recipe to bake in a 9×13 pan as we were having a BBQ, it baked for 70 minutes.
Glad you liked the cake!
glad to hear frozen and doubling work!
i would really love to bake this amazing cake, but we’re out of cherries this season . so could you please suggest any other fruit rather than cherries
My Gold Medal flour was recalled, I used King Arthur flour. Came out great!
I heard that if you don’t have a cherry litter you can use a drinking straw. Sounds a good idea to me but I haven’t yet tried it.
I made this cake exactly as written and it was the most delicious cake I think I’ve ever made !! I have already decided that I will make another one just as soon as this one is finished …and that will be tomorrow !! It lasted two days in my house and I live here with my husband and my Dad and we are fighting over the last piece. Thank you soooooo much for sharing this recipe – it is definitely a keeper !!
Glad you liked the cake!
I have been making this cake since 2P&P came out with the recipe. I had a friend who asked me for it and when I went to the website to email it to her, I decided to leave a comment. It is beyond fantastic. It never lasts long in my home and when I take it somewhere, people always rave about it.
I have now made this cake, oh, maybe 6 times in the last 2 months. It has become the go to cake lately. Anyway when I made it this time the cake came up over and swallowing the crumb??? DID NOTHING DIFFERENT!
HELP!!!
Ok! My Almond Cherry cake came out looking like the Peach Almond cake? Pie? Why
Did you use cherries?
I’m curious. Can you use a toothpick to check for doneness? Im anxious to make the cake but dont want to overbake it. Thank you!
Yes!
Can I use frozen cherries?
My husband loved this recipe. I gave it 4 stars instead of 5 because it is more cake like than danish like.
Does tart cherries work in this recipe?
I haven’t tried them, but that sounds good to me!