Cherry Crumb Cake

I mentioned finding the cinnamon raisin breakfast ring in The Modern Baker book, and after finding that, I got distracted by several other recipes. There are some quick breads I want to try, a raisin coffee cake that looks amazing, and the bakery crumb buns made me stop and look too. Then, I came upon the blueberry crumb cake page. I had already decided to make the breakfast ring, but now this crumb cake looked quite enticing. The logical solution, I realized, was to make both. While the breakfast ring was to be taken to a brunch party and shared, the crumb cake would stay at home for us to devour all by ourselves. As I read through the recipe and the side notes, I noticed a suggestion about using fresh cherries instead of blueberries and that sounded like a very good idea. I brought home some gorgeous, juicy cherries and set about removing the pits. Pitting cherries is a mundane kitchen task that I actually enjoy. It’s almost like popping bubbles on bubble wrap. It’s fun.

The crumb topping was made by combining flour, baking powder, granulated sugar, light brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and melted butter. That crumbly mixture was spread over the pitted cherries and set aside. Then, in a stand mixer, softened butter, sugar, eggs, and vanilla were mixed. Flour and baking powder were combined and added to mixer in three additions alternating with a combination of egg yolks and milk. This resulting batter was spread in a baking pan and topped with the cherries and crumb topping. It couldn’t have been simpler to prepare. The baking time was about 40 minutes, and it emerged from the oven looking as tempting as the photo in the book.

I’m sure blueberries would also be great in this cake, and plums were another suggested fruit option. However, the fresh cherries were divine, and the crumb topping was in perfect proportion to the tender, buttery cake. I may need to hide this book from myself to prevent a nonstop, baking-marathon frenzy from consuming my every waking hour, but so far I’ve been extremely pleased with each recipe I’ve tried.

Cherry Streusel Coffee Cake

The occasion of a friend’s birthday brunch and my interest in making use of my new cherry pitter collided this past weekend. Said collision resulted in a cherry streusel coffee cake and a fine tasting one at that. The coffee cake recipe is from Martha Stewart’s Baking Handbook.

As I often do, I modified the ingredients just slightly. Because cherries are in season and I have an awesome cherry pitter, I used fresh instead of frozen. Also, instead of using two cups of all purpose flour, I used one and a half plus a half cup of whole grain pastry flour. Sometimes I can’t help giving a baked item a tiny nudge in the nutritional profile. The result was fantastic.

I was a little worried that when I tried to remove the cake from the tube pan all the streusel topping would fall off, but it came out so easily it didn’t need to be inverted. I used a pan with a removable bottom, and I was able to pick it off the base with no problems. The cherries in the middle of the cake were both pretty and delectable, and the cake was enjoyed by all.

Cherry Sundae

After reading the June issue of Bon Appetit, I was inspired to create something with fresh cherries. The cherry-cornmeal upside down cake recipe suggested cooking the cherries with some balsamic vinegar, and I stole that idea for a simple ice cream topping. I used about a cup and a half of fresh cherries which I pitted. I purchased the new Oxo cherry pitter with the splatter shield, and it worked like a dream. The pitted cherries went into a saucepan with a splash of water, about a tablespoon of honey, and two teaspoons of balsamic vinegar. This all simmered away for about 15 minutes or so, and then I let it cool to room temperature before pouring over vanilla ice cream.