Summer

Cherry Almond Crumb Cake

by:
July  8, 2014
4
5 Ratings
Cherry Almond Crumb Cake
  • Makes one 9-inch cake
Author Notes

This cake can easily be made with sweet or sour cherries, but I love to use sour cherries when I can find them (their season is frustratingly short). Sour cherries tend to be soft, so I usually just pit them with my hands. Sweet cherries tend to hold onto their pits a bit more fiercely, so I would suggest picking up a real-deal cherry pitter for that task. —Yossy Arefi

What You'll Need
Ingredients
  • For the streusel:
  • 1/4 cup sliced almonds
  • 1/4 cup light brown sugar
  • 10 tablespoons all-purpose flour
  • 1 pinch salt
  • 1/8 teaspoon baking soda
  • 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
  • For the cake and cherry filling:
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • 2/3 cup sour cream
  • 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
  • 1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
  • 1 1/2 cups pitted cherries (sour or sweet)
  • 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
  • 1 tablespoon granulated sugar (sweet cherries may not need additional sugar)
Directions
  1. For the streusel:
  2. Gently stir the almonds, sugar, flour, salt, and baking soda together in a medium-sized bowl. Add in the butter and mix to combine. Set aside while you prepare the cake.
  1. For the cake and cherry filling:
  2. Preheat oven to 325° F and grease and flour a 9-inch cake pan. A springform pan works great for this, but is not necessary.
  3. Toss the pitted cherries with 1 tablespoon flour and sugar, if using. Set aside while you prepare the rest of the cake.
  4. In a small bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
  5. In the bowl of a stand mixer or with an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar together for 5 minutes or until very light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing for 30 seconds after each addition. Make sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl to ensure even mixing.
  6. Add in the sour cream, lemon zest, and almond extract. Then fold in the flour mixture, gently, until just combined.
  7. Pour half of the cake batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top with an offset spatula. Scatter the prepared cherries over the top, then gently spread the rest of the batter over the cherries. It's okay if they aren't completely covered, just make sure the batter is evenly distributed over the top. Break up the prepared streusel with your hands and evenly distribute it over the top.
  8. Bake the cake until it's golden brown and a tester comes out clean, 30 to 40 minutes.
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Yossy Arefi
Yossy Arefi is a photographer and stylist with a passion for food. During her stint working in restaurant kitchens, Yossy started the blog Apt. 2B Baking Co. where, with her trusty Pentax film camera, she photographs and writes about seasonal desserts and preserves. She currently lives in Brooklyn but will always love her native city of Seattle. Follow her work at apt2bbakingco.blogspot.com & yossyarefi.com.

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15 Reviews

susan
susan November 26, 2017
Could you make this using dried cherries? If I use dried should I soak them in water to plump them up first?
 
Elaine S.
Elaine S. July 10, 2017
Can this cake be made one day ahead?
 
Rebecca Z.
Rebecca Z. March 25, 2017
I just made this using frozen cherries; cooked it for 50 min. at 325 using the convection oven, the tester came out clean, but it was still raw in the center. Next time, I'll increase temp. to 350, and I'll also stir the cherries into the flour mixture before folding it into the butter. I hate to defrost the cherries and turn the cake greenish-purple. Might try tossing them with a tablespoon of cornstarch, too.
 
Rebecca Z.
Rebecca Z. March 26, 2017
After some searching, I found that both Alton Brown and Thermipen recommend cooking a cake to an internal temp of 205℉ to 209℉. I'm going to repeat the recipe using frozen cherries, increase the temp to 350℉, and bake until the internal temp is with that range.
 
inflytur
inflytur June 13, 2015
Suggestions please! I floured the cherries yet they still sunk to the bottom of the cake.
 
Amy M.
Amy M. December 11, 2014
This recipe is amazing! the cake turned out unlike anything I have ever had, but it was SO good. I will definitely be making it again.
 
Kukla
Kukla August 23, 2014
Dear Yossy, looking at your profile, I see that you live in Brooklyn and although I live in Los Angeles, I am sure you can easily find frozen sour cherries (if you don’t mind to use them) in many of the Russian or Eastern European Grocery Stores all year around.
BTW I am defrosting now sour cherries and later in the afternoon am going to bake this cake.
 
Sarah J.
Sarah J. January 6, 2015
Did the cake turn out well using frozen cherries?
 
Sarah K.
Sarah K. April 3, 2015
I would love to know if the frozen cherries would work, too!
 
Caro G.
Caro G. July 29, 2014
Delicious! Made this last night, my cake took close to an hour in the oven to finish but was worth the wait. This is the perfect summer cake, it's light and not overly sweet. Thanks for posting!
 
bsturt
bsturt July 17, 2014
I made this for card night with the girls. Everyone loved it! And it looks so beautiful when cut. Thanks for the recipe.
 
Yossy A.
Yossy A. July 18, 2014
I'm so glad you liked it!
 
Melanie Y.
Melanie Y. July 17, 2014
Just made this recipe and it's incredible! I only had 1 stick of butter, so I used 4 Tbsp of butter + 2 Tbsp coconut oil in both the batter and the streusel, and it turned out great. Great way to use up all the cherries I bought on sale!
 
Yossy A.
Yossy A. July 18, 2014
That sounds great!
 
Gemma /.
Gemma /. July 10, 2014
Looks yummy and cute! :-)