Cherry-Almond Coffee Cake
Have you ever been convinced – absolutely sure – that something is going to go one way just to find out you were wrong? That’s what happened the morning I made this coffee cake. I have had this recipe snipped from a magazine for months and months. It resided on the top of my “must make” list but somehow continued to get overlooked as I moved onto this pudding, or that cake. 
Once, I actually set out to make it only to realize that I had purchased the wrong cherries. Finally, the day came. As I began to work my way through the instructions, the Doubting Thomas in me set in. Had I over-rated its appeal? I wasn’t convinced the cherry jam was going to set up thickly enough or remain tart enough to deliver a contrast to the sugary, crumb topping and sweet glaze. As I assembled the cake ingredients it occurred to me that there wasn’t anything particularly exciting or unique about what was gathered before me. And finally, as I spread the jam across the layer of yellow cake, I feared it was too heavy to remain suspended atop the batter beneath and I would be left with a gooey, gummy mess. By the time the cake went into the oven, I had convinced myself that it wasn’t going to be “blog worthy”, much less something I was going to enjoy eating all that much. Boy – was I mistaken!
Once the cake had cooled, I drizzled it with the almond glaze and tentatively cut myself a slice. I couldn’t have been more wrong – or pleased! – about this coffee cake. The filling was tart with a pronounced cherry flavor. The cake layer was moist with a slight tang supplied by the sour cream. And what nutty almond flavor! Is there a better combination than cherry and almond? I was thrilled that I had misjudged this gem of a breakfast treat. Flavor isn’t the only selling point of this cake. It holds up for days. It was as moist and tasty on day number three as it was when it came from the oven. In this particular case, I was happy to have been proven wrong.
Cherry-Almond Coffee Cake
Cherry Filling:
2 (15-ounce) cans tart (also called sour) cherries
¼ cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
Pinch of salt
Bring cherries (with their syrup), sugar, cornstarch, and salt to simmer in large saucepan over medium heat. Mash cherries with potato masher and cook until thick and jamlike, about 25 minutes (mixture should measure 2 cups). Pour into a shallow dish and refrigerate until cool, about 30 minutes.
Streusel and Cake:
2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
½ cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
½ teaspoon salt
7 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted, plus 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1 (7-ounce) tube almond paste, crumbled into small pieces (about 2 ½ cups)
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
1/3 cup sour cream
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon almond extract
Whisk 1 ¼ cups flour, ¼ cup granulated sugar, brown sugar, and ¼ teaspoon salt in a medium bowl. Using a fork, stir in melted butter until mixture forms pea-size pieces. Stir in ½ cup almond paste, set aside.
Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350˚F. Grease and flour 13 by 9-inch baking dish. Combine remaining flour, baking powder, and remaining salt in medium bowl. Whisk sour cream, eggs, and extracts together in small bowl. With electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat remaining almond paste, remaining sugar, and softened butter until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add sour-ream mixture and beat until incorporated. Reduce speed to low and add flour mixture, mixing until just combined, about 1 minute. Return speed to medium-high and beat until fluffy, about 1 minute.
Scrape batter into prepared dish. Dollop cooled cherry mixture over batter and spread into an even layer. Sprinkle streusel over cherry mixture and bake until toothpick or cake tester inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean, about 30-33 minutes. Cool cake completely, about 2 hours.
Almond Glaze:
1 cup confectioners’ sugar, sifted
¼ teaspoon almond extract
Pinch of salt
Combine sugar, extract and salt with 2 tablespoons water. Drizzle over cake.
Cake can be kept at room temperature , covered with plastic wrap, for 3 days.
Source: Adapted from Cook’s Country
As alway, the pictures are gorgeous – wish I could just crawl inside of them… Let me know when you have a tasting!
xoxo
julie
I promise something yummy will be forthcoming!
Gorgeous photos! I think we should find the time to make this when you are visiting
That, and much more baking, is on my list of things to do with you and the kids. Looking so forward to my trip to Santa Rosa!
Made this tonight – couldn’t wait; had to try it still warm from the oven. So yummy!!
So glad you liked it. Thanks for checking out my blog! Love to everyone!!