I love fresh cherries, but don’t often bake with them as I’m the only one in our house who really enjoys them. At least, I was until now. Even my husband, who really does not like cherries one bit, loves this Cherry Almond Loaf Cake.
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I was inspired to make it by Nigella Lawson, who included a Cherry Almond Loaf made with glacé cherries in her wonderful book How to be a Domestic Goddess. Of course glacé cherries are a very different thing to fresh in terms of flavour and texture so I had to play around with the recipe to get the results I wanted. I even enlisted my husband’s work colleagues to taste test the final two versions of my cake. This recipe was the hands down winner.
How To Pit Cherries Easily
I have a little gizmo to help me pit cherries which I absolutely love using. There’s something very satisfying about popping all the little pits out of the cherries. The splatter shield on this design protects the work surface quite well, although it still gives my hands a case of the Lady MacBeths, especially if the cherries are very juicy!
Storing and Serving Cherry Almond Loaf Cake
The cake keeps very well covered at room temperature for a couple of days, although if the weather is very hot I suggest storing it in the fridge. And however tempted you may be to sneak a taste of this delicious cake warm, be sure to let it cool completely before slicing. It’s delicious served on its own but it’s even better with a big scoop of ice cream.
Cherry Almond Loaf Cake – Printable Recipe
Cherry Almond Loaf
Ingredients
- 1 generous cup of cherries
- 1 cup ground almonds
- 1¾ cup + 1 tablespoon all purpose flour all purpose flour is also known as plain flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 cup butter, softened (unsalted if possible)
- 1 cup sugar
- 3 eggs
- 2 teaspoons almond extract
- ½ cup milk
- 2 tablespoons flaked almonds
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
- Grease or line a large loaf pan.
- De-stem and pit the cherries. Slice each cherry in half and place them all in a bowl.
- Sprinkle the cherries with 1 tablespoon flour and stir lightly to coat. Set aside.
- Mix the ground almonds, 1¾ cups flour and baking powder together in a medium bowl. Set aside.
- Cream the butter and sugar in an electric mixer.
- Beat the eggs into the creamed mixture, one at a time.
- Beat in the almond extract.
- Add the ground almond and flour mixture and beat on low speed until it is full incorporated.
- Add the milk with the mixer still on low speed and then beat the mixture on medium speed for a minute or two.
- Gently fold in the flour coated cherries with a wooden spoon.
- Transfer the batter to the baking pan.
- Sprinkle with the toasted almonds.
- Bake for 45 to 50 minutes, or until a skewer inserted in the centre of the cake comes out clean.
- Cool in the pan for 20 minutes, before carefully removing to a wire rack to cool completely before slicing.
Notes
did you make this recipe?
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Comments & Reviews
Laura Dembowski says
Cherries are one of my favorite things to bake with. They pair so well with almonds. The almonds look very pretty on top too!
April Harris says
Thank you, Laura 🙂
mjskit says
This cherry loaf looks delicious! I’d love a slice of this with my morning tea, afternoon tea, and evening tea. 🙂
April Harris says
Thank you, MJ! It really goes well with a cup of tea any time of day 🙂 x
martha@ simple nourished living says
I have never baked with fresh cherries, but I love Nigella Lawson’s recipes. Have bookmarked this to try soon! When I saw this on Mouthwatering Mondays, I just had to drop by and let you know how much it caught my eye!!
April Harris says
Thank you so much, Martha! I really appreciate your visit and your comment 🙂
Erin @ Table for 7 says
What a lovely loaf of bread..looks yummy! I wanted to invite you to my weekly linky party Share Your Stuff Tuesdays at: http://bit.ly/18KMofU.
Hope to see you there 🙂
April Harris says
Thank you, Erin! Also thanks for the invitation. I’m just on my way over now 🙂
Erin @ Table for 7 says
Thanks so much for joining! Hope to see you again next week 🙂
Hannah says
Oooh I just saw a cherry and almond loaf in Marks and Spencer’s when I was visiting England last week and meant to buy it for my husband…sadly I forgot (and was also already too heavy in my case!!)… I will DEFINITELY give this a try, yum!
Thanks for sharing, pinning now!
Hannah ♫
Sew Lah Tea Dough
April Harris says
Thank you so much for pinning the recipe, Hannah! I hope you and your husband enjoy it 🙂
Diane Balch says
My whole family adores cherries so there are never any around for baking. This cake looks wonderful. I love the sprinkle of almonds on top. Thanks so much for sharing this with us on foodie friday.
April Harris says
My pleasure, Diane. It might be worth hiding some cherries away to make this with – I’m sure your family would love it 🙂
Aida @ TheCraftingFoodie says
April,
I love the flavor combination of almonds and cherries! The fresh cherries probably taste amazing in the cake. I love the almond slivers on top of the cake – they must add a slight crunch to the crust. Yum!
April Harris says
Thank you, Aida! The fresh cherries really do make a difference, and they make the cake really moist too.
Linda (Meal Planning Maven) says
I love the addition of cherries to your bread April! I have been in a bread baking mood lately and can’t wait to try your recipe! Looks soooo yummy!
April Harris says
Thank you, Linda 🙂 I’d love to know what you think when you make it. It is one of our family favourites!
nancy@skinnykitchen.com says
What a yummy loaf, April!
April Harris says
Thank you, Nancy!
Joanne/WineLady Cooks says
This is a terrific recipe. I love the cherries, it’s says Spring! I will add this to my ‘must make’ dessert list. Thanks so much for sharing your recipe. Pinning/sharing.
April Harris says
Thank you so much, Joanne, and thank you for pinning and sharing too!
Kecia says
I love cherries, too April! This would make me very happy!
April Harris says
Thank you, Kecia! I’m so glad you like it 🙂
Catherine says
Dear April, my son loves cherries. I know he would love this loaf. It looks so moist and delicious…a beautiful cake. xo, Catherine
April Harris says
Thank you, Catherine xo
peter @feedyoursoultoo says
I like the inclusion of the cherries – a lot.
April Harris says
Thank you, Peter, they really do make the loaf extra special 🙂
Healing Tomato says
That is the best looking Cherry Almond Loaf I have every seen. Those Almonds really make this recipe stand out.
April Harris says
Thank you so much, Rini 🙂
Cindy @ Hun... What's for Dinner? says
This looks amazing, April. I just love cherries and can’t wait for them to finally be in season here.
April Harris says
Thank you, Cindy 🙂
Debi @ Life Currents says
This looks awesome! I’d love to make this for mother’s day. I wonder if I could use jarred cherries rather than fresh, as I haven’t seen any fresh ones yet this year. Thanks for the recipe, pinning for mom!
April Harris says
Thank you, Debi! It would be lovely for mother’s day. I think you could use jarred cherries as long as you drained them well. I’ve never tried it but I can’t see where there would be a problem. Maybe dust them with a bit of the flour before using them as well. Please let me know how it goes 🙂
Tara says
This looks like a great recipe, love the big cherries in there!!
April Harris says
Thank you, Tara 🙂 Have a lovely weekend!
Joanne T Ferguson says
This looks absolutely delicious April! Wish I could try some now!
April Harris says
Thank you so much, Joanne!
Cathy says
Looks delish! I love the combination of almond and cherries! I would love for you to share at this weeks parties Sunday through Thursday! Have a terrific week!
April Harris says
Thank you so much, Cathy! I’m on my way over now! Hope you have a terrific week too 🙂
Joanne says
This sounds delicious! I was just pitting some fresh cherries this morning thinking about how I never think to cook or bake with them. Pinned.
April Harris says
Thank you so much, Joanne, and thank you for pinning too!
Heather says
This summer my mother in law dropped some sour cherries and I came across this recipe it was amazing, my new favorite. Now it’s time for the holidays and I’m going to add this loaf cake to my baking list it was such a hit the first time.
April Harris says
I am so glad you enjoyed the recipe so much, Heather! Thank you for letting me know 🙂