I love cherries. My father used to buy them whenever they were available in the market and keep thin in a colander by the sink. He’d eat a few every time he walked by, putting the pits in a little bowl beside it. Cherries grow here and I occasionally find them at farmers markets, but I mostly find them in May and June at better grocery stores, shipped in from out of state. I put some in a colander by my sink to snack on. But I don’t think do enough with fresh cherries. Maybe because they are a little fiddly to work with (though I have all sorts of cherry pitting gear), maybe because I mostly think of them as a sink-side snack. But I determined to find creative ways to use them when they appear. This crumb cake is one of my early successes. I used to make it with almonds and almond extract, but I accidently discovered the beautiful pairing with pecans when I found myself out of almond slivers. I make a dried cherry and pecan granola with lots of vanilla, so it made perfect sense. The earthy depth of the pecans is delightful with the dusky sweetness of fresh cherries. Vanilla accents it all without overpowering either.
Buy a nice pound or so of cherries, then pit enough to distribute over the cake with a little space between them – I’d say about 2 dozen. Extra cherries are never a bad thing (just keep them beside the sink to snack on). Make the crumble first – the melted butter will firm up while you work om the batter making it easy to crumble over the cake. This may seem like a lot of vanilla, and you can cut back, but I think it just adds a lovely richness to the whole. It may not look like a lot of batter, but it all comes right in the end. This cake is not overly sweet so ots perfect for breakfast or teatime, but a scoop if ice cream or a dollop of sweetened whop cream could take it to dessert.
Ingredients
- For the Crumb Topping
6 Tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
¼ cup chopped pecans
¼ cup light brown sugar
10 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
¼ teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- For the Cherries
2 cups pitted red cherries
1 Tablespoon flour
1 Tablespoon granulated sugar
- For the Cake
6 Tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
½ cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
2/3 cup buttermilk
1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon baking powder
Directions
- For the Crumb Topping
- Mix the pecans, sugar, flour, and salt together in a small bowl with a fork, making sure it is well combined. Pour in the butter and mix with the fork until there are no streaks of dry ingredients visible. Set aside will you continue on.
- For the Cherries
- Toss the pitted cherries in a small bowl with the flour and sugar until the cherries are well coated. Set aside
- For the Cake
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9-inch springform pan with baking spray.
- Beat the softened butter in the bowl of a stand mixer to break it up, then add the sugar and beat until creamy and fluffy, scraping the sides of the bowl a few times. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Beat in the buttermilk and vanilla, again scraping the bowl, until completely combined. With the motor off, add the flour, baking powder, salt and baking soda, then beat on low until the batter is completely combined and there are no streaks of dry ingredients visible, scraping down the sides.
- Spread one half of the batter in an even layer in the prepared pan. Dot the flour-coated cherries evenly over the top, then dollop the remaining batter over the cherries and gently spread to cover. Don’t worry if there are cherries poking out a little, you just want to make sure every cherry has some batter on top of it.
- Sprinkle the crumb topping over the top of the cake with your fingers, breaking it up as you go, covering the cake in a nice even layer. Bake for 35 – 45 minutes until a tester inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Cool in the pan for 20 minutes, then unmold the springform ring and cool completely.
- Covered tightly, the cake will keep for two days on the counter.
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