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For the Love of Cherries

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Cherries_2 

Of all the stone fruits, cherries are my very favourite. Come June and July, my thoughts turn to cherries again and again as the anticipation of their arrival builds. Before I know it, I’m enjoying fresh cherries harvested from our own trees or those of family and friends.

Growing up, we had a particularly beautiful cherry tree in our backyard. As lovely as the cherry blossoms were, I always enjoyed the days after they fell from the tree, when our entire backyard looked like a carpet of white and pink. When my father announced one day that the cherry tree was old and sick and would have to be cut down, it was a great loss indeed.

Thus far, the summer has been particularly kind to Southern Ontario. Fruits and vegetables abound and most gardeners will tell you that their gardens haven’t grown this well in years. It’s a small blessing in the middle of this large life. Be it a good or bad day, I can’t think of many things that match the simple, breathtaking beauty of a sweet cherry, warmed by the sun, exploding in your mouth. The flavour is like nothing else.

And just as I used to wait anxiously for the cherry blossoms to bloom and then gracefully fall, each summer, I wait anxiously for the ripe cherries to arrive so that I can make this cherry coffeecake. I came across the recipe for this cake several years ago. Since then, I cannot imagine cherry season passing us by without this glorious little cake gracing our family table.

I hope it will grace yours as well.

Ciao!

Cherry Coffeecake

Adapted from Scones, Muffins, and Tea Cakes:  Breakfast Breads and Teatime Spreads by Heidi H. Cusick.

Note:  This lovely little cookbook is one of those gems that you sometimes come across while perusing the sales table. (That’s how I found it!) It’s delightful with lots of pretty pictures and simple, yet elegant recipes. I highly recommend the book if you can find a copy!

For the topping:

  • 1/2 cup pecans or walnuts, roughly chopped
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
  • 1/2 cup all purpose flour
  • 2 cups cherries (preferably red), washed and pitted
  • 4 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted
  • 1/2 tsp. cinnamon (optional)
  1. Thoroughly combine all of the topping ingredients in a bowl with a fork or with your fingers. Set aside.

For the cake:

  • 8 tbsp. unsalted butter, softened
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1 large egg
  • 1/2 cup plain yogurt
  • 1 tsp. vanilla extract
  • 1-1/2 cups all purpose flour
  • 2 tsp. baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp. baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp. salt
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9-inch square baking pan.
  2. Either with a wooden spoon or with a mixer, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the egg and mix well.
  3. Add the yogurt and vanilla extract and mix until combined.
  4. In a bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add to the batter all at once and mix just until the ingredients are wet. Don’t over mix the batter.
  5. Spread the batter into the prepared pan. The batter will be a bit sticky and might be difficult to spread but don’t worry. Level it off as best you can.
  6. Sprinkle the prepared topping evenly over the batter.
  7. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until a tester comes out clean when inserted into the middle of the cake.
  8. Let cool completely before removing the cake from the pan.
  9. Enjoy!

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39 Comments

linda

07/7/06 at 11:45 am

I can nearly taste your lovely cake…yum!

Jennifer

07/7/06 at 12:49 pm

I usually make myself sick by eating too many cherries once they arrive. Thanks for an excuse to cook them, instead of just gourge myself on them.

Of course, I might have the same problem with that cake…!

So strawberries and cherries are in season at the same time in Canada? I’m so jealous!

Tanna

07/7/06 at 2:11 pm

I love cherries except when they act as bullets in my garbage disposal, did you see that on my blog.
Your photo is as usual so beautiful I always think about a lick. I may just have to cook one of these up. One thing I don’t have in my kitchen is a cherry pitter and this might be just why I have to get one. Thanks again Ivonne.

Dianka

07/7/06 at 2:12 pm

Oh cherries are my favorite too! This looks delish!! Happy Friday to you!

Bron

07/7/06 at 3:01 pm

Swiper Bron, No swiping! Bron, No swiping!
Aaaawww Man! I just so want some of that right now!!

Seriously!!!

Francesca

07/7/06 at 3:06 pm

sforni dolci favolosi ogni giorno! quanto li vorrei assaggiare ;P

Barbara

07/7/06 at 4:14 pm

This is the most beautiful blog I think I have ever seen. I would have never thought of “doing” food even though I am a lover of wonderful food. I plan to try your recipes soon. If they taste half as good as they look, I’ll be in heaven.

Britt-Arnhild

07/7/06 at 4:35 pm

Wow, as a slow food lover, a travel lover, a lover of Italian travel and food books, a blogger - I have found my dream blog :-) I live in Norway, but travel as often as I get the chance. Have been twice in Venice this past year, and tomorrow I am going to Prague for three days with my husband. Hopefully we will find some yummy cream cakes :-) I’ll be back here…..

Laura Rebecca

07/7/06 at 5:27 pm

Wow. Gorgeous - I’m salivating.

One question: I’ve read a number of recipes that call for sour cherries; what did you use here?

From Our Kitchen

07/7/06 at 7:20 pm

Cherries are one of my favorite fruits too. I wish we could actually pick some off the trees though. Unfortunately the birds get to them and eat them all when they are still bright green and the flesh is barely thicker than the pit. I guess I’ll just have to buy some to try this recipe.

Greg

07/7/06 at 8:46 pm

When you decide to start selling these goodies I’ll give you my credit card number and have you FedEx me some pronto.

Bea at La Tartine Gourmande

07/7/06 at 8:50 pm

Ah yes, the cherries, and the cherry trees. i am with you! Same story here! Love them and have fond memories of buckets of cherries from our trees! Lovely recipe!

gilly

07/7/06 at 9:00 pm

Simply a work of art… I’ve yet to meet a coffeecake that I didn’t like!

…Now I’ll HAVE to get Scones, Muffins… - it’s on my Chapters wish list - AND you certainly didn’t steer me wrong with Once Upon A Tart! It’s fate!

Cathy

07/7/06 at 9:05 pm

Hi Ivonne - I’m crazy about cherries too - your coffee cake looks fabulous!

farmgirl

07/7/06 at 9:14 pm

Oh my goodness that looks tasty! Super photo. I love coffeecakes but have never heard of making one with fresh cherries. YUM.

mari

07/7/06 at 10:23 pm

Hi, I just found your lovely blog. The cherry coffee cake looks absolutely delicious. I just had a slice of cherry pie at one of the local coffee shops in my neighborhood here in LA. Of course they wouldn’t give me the recipe, but I’ve had cherries on my mind lately. What a pleasure to find this recipe! And your site! best, m

Calista

07/7/06 at 10:54 pm

This looks divine! I must try to bake this. Yum!

I found you on the Typepad featured blog. I love :-)

Emily

07/8/06 at 12:31 am

Ivonne - I found your site through your comment on my ice cream, and thanks for stopping by! I’m glad you left me a chance to discover your writing. The cherry cake is as if you’d read my mind - I was going to ask if you thought the tiramisu could be made with dark cherries instead of strawberries, but the coffeecake looks so good I think I’ll turn my attentions to that. What a beautiful site!

sweets_treats

07/8/06 at 4:02 am

I will definitely enjoy making this recipe.
I am going to try making individual serves in muffin papers. At this time of year we don’t have fresh cherries but I will use the sour cherries in syrup.

Megan

07/8/06 at 6:21 am

Good lord, Ivonne, you make the yummiest things! This one reminds me of one of my cherry favorites: cherry clafoutis! I always think - who is she making all this beautiful food for, and why am I not one of them?!

Bruno

07/8/06 at 9:33 am

Yum, cherries… they’re my absolute favorite!! Your coffeecake is beautiful!

Bruno

Kieran

07/8/06 at 10:19 am

Just got a gift of some cherries. They are back in season. Hurrah!

Alicia P.

07/8/06 at 10:36 am

Jeesh — just discovered you through featured blogs on Typepad and need to cut this short so I can rush out to put you on my blogroll immediately. GORGEOUS blog. Thank you.

Karina

07/8/06 at 11:29 am

Ooh. Yes! So gorgeous! I’m a cherry girl myself. And I’ve been dying to get into our new house so that I can bake again [first on the list - cherry cobbler!].

Donna Lynes-Miller

07/8/06 at 2:43 pm

Congratulations on your TypePad feature and these lovely posts. You are right about cherries - what would we do without them. There are more ideas about cherry uses on the site for the official U.S. cherry festival in Traverse Michigan.
http://www.cherryfestival.org/

emily

07/8/06 at 5:32 pm

This looks so good.Sadly,my cherry intake mostly consist of cherries taken from my drinks.lol.
I must expand myself and my cookbook collection.

maura

07/8/06 at 11:56 pm

oooh, cherry streusel! I was actually thinking about (shhh, don’t tell) starting a, um, diet.

I just changed my mind!

shimelle.~*

07/9/06 at 5:00 pm

i was just gifted a big basket of cherries from a friend’s tree…i think *this* will be what i’ll make!

thanks for the inspiration. ♥

Geneve

07/9/06 at 9:16 pm

I love cherries - this looks positively delicious!

Paz

07/10/06 at 2:13 am

Like Linda wrote above, I can nearly taste your cherry coffee cake. Yum, yum, yum!

Paz

SimplePleasure

07/10/06 at 7:57 am

hmmm….i haven’t tasted fresh cherries but we do have an abundance of glazed cherries is that the same? could i use that as substitute?

Alice Q. Foodie

07/10/06 at 4:44 pm

Ooooh - that looks delicious! Lovely site too!

mj

07/12/06 at 8:04 am

I saw organic cherries yesterday at the produce stand and knew just what I had to do! So good, and just enough to share with friends while it was hot from the oven.

cw

07/12/06 at 10:39 am

I’m here not far from Traverse City, cherry central, and have been looking for recipes to use all this great fruit. Most of them are for frozen or canned cherries. I am so happy your recipe calls for fresh and I will be trying this tonight. Thanks for such a great blog!

Randi

07/13/06 at 10:54 am

Hey, do you have a No Frills by you? They are on sale this week for 1.99lb. I’m going to get lbs of them and freeze them so I can make a cherry pie in the winter. Imagine how good that would taste?

Sue Vancil

07/13/06 at 4:41 pm

Cherry trees - My Dad also loved his cherry tree. He would gather the cherries and have Mom make cherry pies for me and Mark - of course he really wanted one for himself! I remember helping him buy a replacement tree when his old one died also. Great memories. I am enjoying your site so much. Your photos are beautiful and I do want that cookbook you mentioned!!

rebekka

07/14/06 at 9:15 am

Oh wow….making that tomorrow for my husband, he is in love with all things cherries!

Diane Rodriguez

07/20/06 at 9:10 pm

This coffee cake turned out wonderful! I could only find Bing cherries in the market, so it was a bit sweeter than it would have been with tart red cherries. Next time, if using Bings, I would reduce the amount of sugar in the base to 1/4 cup.

Ivonne

07/24/06 at 10:27 am

I’m glad to read and hear that you all enjoyed this cherry coffeecake. It is truly one of my very favourites and because it has cherries in it, it’s very special to me.

I hope all of you had the opportunity to enjoy some fresh cherries this year!

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