Southern Fresh Cherry Cake is a quick, easy, deliciously moist cake made with self-rising flour, cornmeal, buttermilk, eggs, and butter. Serve it plain with a dollop of whipped cream or as we did with a dusting of powdered sugar.
FRESH CHERRY COFFEE CAKE
Southern Fresh Cherry Cake is perfect on its own with a cup of tea or coffee in the morning for breakfast or, like us Southerners, in the afternoon as a snack. It is dense yet tender, with the ideal amount of cherries peeking through the cake and deliciously moist.
The cherries are so plentiful in the grocery stores right now, and what better way to showcase them than to make a Southern Fresh Cherry Cake.
I actually had to buy a couple of bags of cherries to have enough to make the cake. My grandsons are huge fans of these little jewels.
Like most fruits, fresh cherries have the pros and cons. Fresh Cherries do not have a lot of nutritional value, but they are high in water content and are super beneficial to eat in the summer to hydrate.
My Father was born on George Washington's birthday. The story goes that when little George was 6, he received a hatchet as a gift. I guess back then, that was the norm, not today.
Well, anyway, after which he promptly went and cut down his father's favorite cherry tree.
It was said that when his father found out about it, he was upset, confronted his son, and asked if he had indeed done it, to which little George replied he had.
His words were, "I shall not tell a lie."
And with little George's honesty came an embrace from his father, who expressed to his son that honesty was worth more than a thousand trees.
I was visiting my father's first cousin in South Carolina a few years after my father passed away. His cousin's wife had a picture of my father when he was 9 months old and asked if I would like it.
Do you know what he was holding in the picture? Yes, a small hatchet. I cherish that picture to this day.
One of the qualities of my father that I loved about him is he always wanted me to be honest.
I start off by creaming the butter and sugar, adding the eggs, buttermilk, and vanilla, and blending well. Mix the self rising flour and the white cornmeal together and fold along with half of the cherries into the wet ingredients.
Lastly, arrange the remainder of the cherries on the top of the batter.
I baked the cake in a parchment paper lined 9-inch springform pan. This way, it is easy to remove from the pan.
The parchment paper is easy to remove from the cake before placing it on a cake plate.
We enjoyed our first piece with a sprinkle of powdered sugar, the next piece was heated with a pat of butter, and the final piece was done before it was all gone with a scoop of ice cream.
However, if you choose to eat this beautiful Southern Fresh Cherry Cake, I hope you enjoy it!
WHERE CAN I FIND THE RECIPE? TAKE ME TO THE RECIPE FOR FRESH CHERRY COFFEE CAKE
Below, under the next heading, I give a list of preferred ingredients, tips, and cooking instructions for Fresh Cherry Coffee Cake and similar recipe ideas you can have.
Or you can scroll down to the bottom, where you will find a full printable recipe card with amounts of the ingredients and complete instructions with notes.
TIPS AND TIDBITS TO MAKE THE BEST FRESH CHERRY COFFEE CAKE
WHAT YOU NEED TO PREPARE FRESH CHERRY COFFEE CAKE
Mixer (handheld or stand)
Large spatula9-inch cake pan (or springform pan)
9-inch parchment paper
Non-stick cooking spray
Sugar
Butter
Eggs
Buttermilk
Vanilla
Self-rising flour
White cornmeal
Fresh black cherries
Powdered sugar
HOW TO PREPARE FRESH CHERRY COFFEE CAKE
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter a 9-inch spring-form pan and line the bottom with parchment paper.
In the bowl to a stand mixer, using the paddle attachment, beat together butter and sugar for 3 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, beating after each one on low until well mixed and light in color. Add the buttermilk and vanilla. Mix until all is combined; set aside.
Mix the self-rising flour and white cornmeal in a small bowl. Using a large spatula, fold the flour mixture into the wet ingredients until all is combined; set aside.
In a large bowl, mix and toss together the almond extract with the sliced cherries, being careful not to break up the cherries; set aside.
Pour half of the batter into the prepared pan. Arrange the sliced cherries over the top of the cake batter.
Pour the remainder of the batter over the carries. Smooth out the cake batter to the edge of the pan.
Arrange the whole cherries across the top of the cake batter, slightly pushing down.
Bake for 45-50 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean.
Remove the cake from the oven and let it rest on a cooling rack for 15-20 minutes before removing the outside ring.
Remove the outside ring and let it rest until it is cool enough to remove the parchment paper and place it on a cake plate.
Dust with a light sprinkle of powdered sugar.
