Almond cherry cake is simple to make, moist, and light! This stunning cake is full of almond flavor and unique in taste. The cherries are such a fun bonus too! Make this cake gluten-free by substituting with your favorite 1:1 gluten-free flour replacement.
Why I love this cake
From the moment I first started creating my own recipes, I fell completely in love with baking. While simply baking is so much fun, creating the recipes myself is what really took baking to a whole new level for me. I started with little tweaks on recipes I knew, until I was comfortable enough to make bigger changes. It was amazing to see how small changes in baking make such big difference in taste and texture. I was fascinated by the science of baking and eager to learn more and more. Now when people make something I created and LOVE it, my heart is filled with tremendous joy.
Since my first attempts in the kitchen were colossal failures, I vividly remember the first time I finally baked something that was worth its calories. It was this almond cake with cherries. My first crowd pleaser! The cake isn’t that sophisticated, but back then when I was still an amateur, this was a huge achievement.
This cake is moist, light and airy with a spongy texture, and has a burst of almond flavor. The cherries make this cake super elegant and tasty. I also have a delicious muffin version of this too!
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How to make an Almond Cherry Cake
Ingredients
- Unsalted butter, at room temperature
- Granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- Vanilla extract
- All-purpose flour (or substitute with gluten-free 1:1 flour)
- Baking powder
- Almond flour (store-bought or make your own)
- 25 sweet cherries, pitted (halved) (I used fresh dark sweet cherries)
- White chocolate, melted, to drizzle on top (optional)
How it’s made
Make this cake using the creaming method: cream together butter (at room temperature) and sugar. Then, beat in eggs and vanilla extract, and add dry ingredients.
Instead of folding the cherries into the batter, I arrange them on top of it. Cherries have a tendency to sink to the bottom of the cake and this step can slow down their way to the bottom. If you leave cherries whole, they will sink much faster in the oven, so I cut mine in half to slow the process. Usually the outer cherries sink for me and the inner cherries stay on top. Regardless of whether they sink or not, the cake will be equally pretty and delicious, so don’t worry too much about it!
Finishing touches
Once the cake cherry almond cake is baked and cooled, you can add a layer of powdered sugar or drizzle white chocolate (my favorite) over the top. White chocolate complements the cake flavors perfectly and makes it resemble a lattice pie crust, simple and beautiful.
You can use fresh sweet cherries or canned ones that are strained very well. I haven’t made this cake using frozen cherries because the excess moisture wouldn’t work. Thaw frozen cherries and strain very well before using. I would NOT recommend sour cherries in this cake.
While the cake has a perfectly subtle nuttiness, if you LOVE almond, try adding ½ teaspoon of almond extract to the batter as well. A pinch of salt will bring out a stronger flavor as well.
I prefer to use store-bought almond flour for cakes because it can be purchased with a very fine powder-like grit. This almond flour from Blue Diamond is my favorite for baking.
Almond Cherry Cake
Moist, light cake, full of almond flavor. It's like a cherry pie in cake form, but simple to make and unique in taste. It's one of my favorites and can easily be made gluten-free!
Ingredients
- ½ cup (1 stick/113 g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- ½ cup (100 g) granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup plus 2 teaspoons (70 g) all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ cup (45 g) almond flour*
- 25 sweet cherries, pitted (halved) (I used fresh dark sweet cherries)
- ½ cup (90 g / 3 oz) white chocolate, melted , to drizzle on top (optional)
Instructions
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Preheat oven to 325℉/160℃. Butter a 9-inch round (or 8×8-inch pan for thicker cake).
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In a medium bowl sift together all-purpose flour and baking powder. Add almond flour and mix. Set aside.
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In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together butter and sugar for about 3-5 minutes until light and fluffy and pale in color.
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Scrape down the sides and the bottom of the bowl as needed. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla extract. Don’t worry if the batter looks a bit curdled.
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On low speed, add flour mixture and beat just until combined. Do not overmix.
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Spread the batter into prepared baking pan and smooth the top. Arrange cherries on top of the batter. Most will sink while baking.
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Bake for 30-40 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Let the cake cool completely on a wire rack. When cool, drizzle with melted white chocolate or sprinkle with powdered sugar.
Recipe Notes
- Make your own almond flour: place blanched almonds in your food processor or blender and pulse until you get a fine, grainy consistency.
- More almond flavor? You can use ½ teaspoon of almond extract in addition to the vanilla to really boost the nuttiness in this cake.
- Double the recipe, use 13×9-inch pan, and bake for longer time.
- To make this recipe gluten free, substitute all-purpose flour with your favorite 1:1 gluten free flour replacement.
Storing and serving:
Serve cake at room temperature.
Store the cake at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
The cake can be frozen for up to 2 months. Thaw it on the counter, still covered, or overnight in the fridge.
dina says
i love the flavor of almond/cherry. this sounds great!
Shiran says
This is great Dina! It’s one of my favorites 🙂 This cake goes very well with pears too.
Maria says
Hi Shiran! Can I use oil instead of butter, or to substitute some of the butter with oil? Thank you.
Shiran says
Hi Maria, usually you can but I love using butter in this recipe, both for flavor and texture. I haven’t tried this one with oil so I can’t say for sure.
fatema says
‘m Going to try this recipe I wish I could cook like this Cake
Lisa says
Just wanted to say that this recipe is a-mazing… made it this afternoon and it as a total hit.. was wondering if you had any suggestions or thoughts around how I could adapt the recipe to be gluten free? Thanks.
Shiran says
Hi Lisa! I’m so glad you like this cake 🙂 It’s one of my favorites! For this specific recipe the flour is necessary. I’ve experimented with different flours before to see how this cake turns out. I also tried replacing the all-purpose flour with almond flour, and reduced the fat in the recipe. I still liked this version much better, since the texture was very different. I will definitely try a different recipe for flourless almond cake. It’s on my list now 🙂
Maureen says
My cakes in the oven right now and smells delish! Can’t wait for it to cook and cool so I can eat it!
Shiran says
I really hope you enjoyed it, Maureen! 🙂
Maureen says
It was delicious! I will definitely make it again! Thx!
Shiran says
That’s great! Thank you! 🙂
Aimee says
Hi, this looks delicious! I was just wondering if I wanted to use a round cake tin, what size should I use for this recipe? Thank you! 🙂
Shiran says
Thanks Aimee! You can use an 8-inch or 9-inch round cake pan. I suggest that you multiply the amount of ingredients by 1.5 (3/4 cup sugar, 3 eggs, etc.) for a taller cake. In that case, the baking time could take longer.
Dina says
can i use frozen cherries in this recipe?
Shiran says
Yes you can, thaw and drain/dry them before adding them to the batter. You can also use drained canned cherries.
Denise says
Can I use an alternative to sugar in this recipe? As I’m diabetic. Thank you.
Shiran says
Hi Denise, I’m sorry but I have no experience in baking with sugar alternatives. I think it’s best to use a different recipe in this case.
Agata says
Beautiful cake and so yummy !! Really delicate and light !! Goes to my recipe book, I topped it with chopped almonds 🙂
Shiran says
Thank you so much for your comment, Agata! 🙂
Louise says
I made this recipe 2 years using morello cherries, amazing! But I tried to make it yesterday and it doesn’t work out. I end up with a tin of hot gloop. And I really want it work out! I followed the recipe exactly
Mary says
This is a really lovely cake. I used bottled cherries – simply because they were open and waiting in the fridge – but am wondering what fresh cherries would be like in it. The cherries didn’t sink much, so next time I shall layer more on. Thankyou for this lovely recipe!
Shiran says
Thank you Mary!
Niti says
This looks amazing!
Can this be made by using 1 cup of almond flour instead of 1/2 cup all purpose flour and 1/2 cup almond flour?
Shiran says
Hi Niti, it’s possible, but the texture of the cake would be different, and it can turn out too crumbly. If possible, use some all purpose flour.
Kelly says
Delicious cake! amazing flavour and so moist but mine did not rise nearly as much as yours in the picture? Any tips?
Shiran says
I’m glad you like it, Kelly! The cake isn’t very tall, but make sure that the baking powder has not passed its use-by date, and that you cream the butter and sugar long enough until it’s light a fluffy.
Felicia Foster says
Hi Shiran, this looks like a divine recipe and want to give it a go. But being a Brit, I’m struggling with measurements. I note 3 different quantities for ‘half cup’ in your recipe, and wondering how many grams of almond flour I should use? Many thanks. Fliss
Shiran says
Volume and weight measurements are different for each ingredient. You can measure everything using 1/2 cup (which is 120 ml) or weigh them. 1 cup almond flour equals 100 grams, so you’ll need 50 grams for this recipe.
Riks says
Made this cake today. Hubby and my little one loved it 🙂 Almond flour is such an innovative idea. Wonderful way to incorporate almonds. Definitely a bit for my family. Have bookmarked this 🙂
Tanya says
Stunning recipe. My cake turned out perfect. Everyone loved it. Thank you
Janet Haga says
Hi Shiran,
I just took out the Almond Cherry Cake. I have not cut it as I want cool the cake. I made a 13×9 as I give with people that I know.
I just look at all of your recipes. There are so many that I would make. I will go to the Savory Recipes soon. The cake was very easy to make.
Thank you so much,
Janet
Shiran says
I’m glad you like it Janet, thank you!
Maria says
I was looking for a cherry cake and came across your blog. Holy Moly! The cake was amazing!!! It was sooo fluffy and soft. And sooooo easy. I cut the cherries into half. They didn’t sink completely. My husband secretly ate more than half of the cake during the night (I made it after he went to sleep). He said he really liked it so I made it the following day again. Just to surprise him. This time with blueberries because I used all our cherries the previous day. He liked it again and said it tastes like a blueberry muffin. Well, guess what! ? I made it the 3rd day again. In a row. This time with frozen blueberries. Thank God we run out of butter (we only had 3/4 of the stick) otherwise I would most brobably end up baking it the next day too. I had to subscribe to your blog and can’t wait to try out more of your recipes ?
Shiran says
Thank you, Maria! I’m glad you enjoy this recipe so much 🙂
Lydia says
Hi there I’m keen to make this recipe but don’t have a standing mixer with the paddle attachment. Could I use a hand held beater with the two beater attachments?
Thanks!
Shiran says
Yes you can!
Navi says
I have made this cake twice in two weeks, holy moly is it ever delicious!! Both times I have doubled the recipe and used fresh summer cherries. It is beautiful, simple, elegant, and the taste is so light and unique! I LOVE it! I have tried both with vanilla extract and almond extract, both are great. Thank you for this gem of a recipe!
Alison says
This is a amazing cake. Made no amendments and it was perfect. Thank you ? xx
Frances Adams says
Just made the almond cherry cake. As a novice baker I was worried but it has turned out perfectly!! I’m going to try your blueberry muffin cake next. Thank you.
Samantha says
Hi Shiran,
Would you recommend making this cake with fresh or sour cherries?
Shiran says
I like to use sweet cherries but if you like the flavor of sour cherries then sure, you can use them. Fresh cherries are best.
Caroline Lamont says
I bake a lot, and this was a fantastic, simple, easy and oh so delicious recipe. Using things I already had in my store cupboard it was light and delicate with succulent cherries hidden inside. I scattered mine with flaked almonds before baking to add a little texture. I will defo be baking this one again! Thanks for the recipe and for having metric measurements (I’m in the UK)
Emily Muldoon says
Thank you so much for this recipe, this has been our go-to! So easy and we love how it’s not overly sweet! 🙂 Making it again tonight, trying diced rhubarb instead.
Daiva says
year after year i come back for this recipe!!love it!
Andrea says
I never liked to eat cherries and thought maybe there is a cake recipe out there that will have me eating cherries since we have cherries in abundance. then and I found your recipe. A hit for the whole family. Thank you so much.
Prarthana says
I tried this recipe today and it turned out just amazingly delicious!!
I used cane sugar, but otherwise stuck pretty much to the recipe. So, the cake looked a bit brown, but the taste was excellent.
Looking forward to try other recipes here.
Just a request if you could add some recipes or notes on using healthier options like for sugar or flour, it would be great !
Caroline Willder says
Loved this cake. Absolutely delicious and the cherries stayed in place perfectly. Thank you.
Brodie says
I made this last week and it was so delicious!! Such a bit that my boyfriend has asked me to make it for his work. I’m going to double the recipe this time and use a Bundt tin – how much longer would you recommend baking for?
Shiran says
I’m glad you like it, Brodie 🙂 About 50-60 minutes, but start checking at 40-45 minutes.
Sara says
Any chance I could use a different fruit? Not a fan of cherries.
Shiran says
I like to use pears and it’s amazing!
vicki says
Hi,
I have made this recipe many times. Today I whipped two egg whites i had extra and folded them into the batter in the end. It was such a fluffy cake. I used plums instead but they were too sour. Next time i will use some pears 🙂
SB says
Hi Shiran, I’m excited to make this recipe from your blog (probably my 4th one so far….!) Can I substitute all-purpose flour (which I assume is normal flour) with self-raising and what implications does this have for the cake? Thanks
Kristene says
Great go to cake recipe.
I have baked it with all different fruits,whatever I have
Tonight it’s a chopped up apple and fresh blueberries
I sprinkle Raw Sugar on top before baking
Yum with Dollop Cream
Tks for your recipes Shiran