Cherry Almond Cake

My daughter, Lauren, requested a cherry cake for her birthday and that the white frosting (I used IMB) be decorated with pink and purple flowers. Her sister, Lisa, wanted a cheesecake. They don't care for the "t-word," so let's just say that they're the same age, and for the last 27 years, we've had two birthday cakes. When they were toddlers, I could get away with making a 9 x 13 and frosting two halves, but that won't fly any more. I can't link you to Lisa's cheesecake recipe, she selected her favorite flavor from The Cheesecake Factory. I avoid any maternal guilt about not baking for her by telling myself that I drove to the mall and fought parking lot traffic for her on the Saturday before Christmas.

I've never made a cherry cake before but I took inspiration from a couple of recipes on the internet - one that forgot to add sugar and one that was baked in jars, but you should know that I added sugar and baked my cake in 3-9 inch cake pans.

The cake was not something I would describe as moist; the texture was reminiscent of a pound cake - dense with a nice crust. I loved the addition on cherries and almonds, two of my favorite flavors.

Ingredients

Directions

Preheat oven to 325

Prepare 3-9 inch cake pans with baking spray with flour

Line the pan bottoms with parchment

Cream the butter and cheese

Beat in sugar

Beat in the eggs and vanilla and almond extract

Mix in 1 3/4 cups flour, baking powder, and salt

Slice cherries and coat in 1/4 cup flour

Fold floured cherries and ground almonds into batter

Bake for 30 - 40 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean

Frost as desired

Note: I think this cake would be great in a loaf pan or pans, unadorned as a coffee cake.