It's cherry season here in California and here I have Roasted Cherry Cake, which even beginners can bake. It's easy to make the batter and needs no special gadget. Follow all the tips I mentioned and watch the video to understand the texture of the batter. The end result will be a beautiful, delicate crumb with roasted cherries in between. Not overly sweet and so delicious!
During the peak cherry season, we always make a visit to one of the u-pick cherry farms. It's such a fun activity to pick fresh cherries from the trees. We came home with 8 lb of cherries.
I definitely had to spend some time photographing these gorgeous cherries.
Roasting Cherries
As much as I love this fruit, I find it extremely annoying to pit those seeds one by one. So, the best way I like to use these sweet cherries in my desserts and drinks, is by roasting the cherries.
Roasting not only enhances the flavors, but it also makes it so easy to remove those pits.
You can roast cherries either in oven or stove top. Add some fresh herbs for the boost of flavor. Rosemary or thyme are my two favorite herbs to use in fruits while roasting.
Ingredients for the Roasted Cherry Cake
Fresh Cherries - The darker the shade of the cherries, the sweeter they taste. Roasting fresh cherries enhances their flavors.
Fresh Rosemary - Fresh rosemary or thyme works beautifully in cakes. It adds a perfume floral note to the cake.
Butter - I have made this cake with oil and butter. Butter adds a richness, while oil make the texture fluffy. You can also use brown butter for a nutty aroma.
Sugar - I have always used white sugar for this cake, but brown sugar will work fine too. It might alter the color a little.
Eggs - You can definitely make this cake eggless too by replacing it with thick yogurt. I have however not tried an eggless version of this particular cake.
All purpose flour - You need regular white purpose flour. If you wish to use cake flour or wheat flour, the measurement might be different.
The other ingredients are baking powder, baking soda and salt.
Please note that the butter should be softened at room temperature. Not melted, but softened.
WATCH THE VIDEO
HAVE YOU TRIED THESE RECIPES:
Mini Pavlova with Fruit and Thyme Compote
Can you bake Roasted Cherry Cake, eggless?
Yes you can. Instead of eggs, use ½ cup thick yogurt to the batter. Make sure to whisk the wet ingredients and then fold the dry ingredients. This will make sure the texture of the cake turns out light with delicate crumbs.
How to make the Roasted Cherry Cake
1-Roast the cherries with some fresh rosemary, and then once it's cooled down, take the pits out. You can also roast it after taking the pits out.
2- To prepare the cake batter, mix the softened butter with sugar until it's combined well.
3- whisk the egg in the mixture.
4- Sift all the dry ingredients and, using a rubber spatula or wooden spoon, fold the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Don't use a whisk. (WATCH the video to understand this step better)
5- Prepare the baking pan by greasing with butter and layering with parchment paper or baking mat. Preheat the oven. And cover the outside edge of the pan using a baking strip or aluminum foil.
6-Mix some roasted cherries in the batter. And then, after layering the batter to the pan, spread some more on top.
7- Make sure to wait for 5 minutes, before releasing the baked cake from the hot pan.
8- Once the cake is cooled down completely, decorate with whipped cream or your choice of frosting and decorate with fresh cherries on top.
How to get flat top on the cake?
You can avoid that dome in your cake by wrapping the edge of the cake pan with baking strips or aluminum foil. This will ensure even heat spread and baking, which will there by result into a flat top on the cake.
The cake had a lovely delicate crumb, it was not overly sweet, and I added some whipped cream on top for a small decoration. I personally can enjoy this cake just as is without any whipped cream or frosting on top.
I hope this cherry season, you will enjoy this cake.
Try these summer cakes
Roasted Cherry Cake
Ingredients
for roasted cherries
- 1 lb sweet cherry
- few sprigs of rosemary
- 1 tablespoon sugar
for the cake
- 1 stick butter (softened at room temperature)
- ¾ cup white granulated sugar
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 sprig of rosemary
for decoration (optional)
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream
- few fresh cherries
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 F.
- Scatter the cherries, sprinkle the sugar and rosemary. Bake for 20 minutes. Once it cooled down enough, using your clean hand, remove the pits and the rosemary spring.
- For the cake, preheat the oven to 350 F and prepare an 8-inch round baking pan by greasing it with butter. Place a baking silpat inside the pan or place a parchment paper. Wrap the outer edge of the pan with an aluminum foil or baking strips.
- In a mixing bowl, add the room temperature softened butter along with the sugar. Using a rubber spatula, mix it around to combine the butter and sugar.
- Crack the egg and whisk to make a smooth, fluffy texture.
- Place a sifter on the bowl and to that, add the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Sift the dry ingredients in the bowl.
- Discard the whisk and, using a rubber spatula or a wooden spoon, fold the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Don't over mix the batter.
- Chop the leaves of 1 sprig of rosemary and add it to the batter. Also add ¼ cup of the roasted cherries. Fold the batter once again.
- Pour the batter to the prepared cake pan and layer a bit more of the roasted cherries on top.
- Bake at preheated 350F oven for 40 minutes.
- Let it cool down completely before you release the edge of the cake from the pan and flip it to a cake stand or a plate.
- Once the cake has cooled down completely, whipped the cream and pipe it on top. Add a few fresh cherries to decorate the cake.
- Slice and enjoy the delicious cake!
