These cute little cherry almond cakes are a sweet way to use cherries when they’re in season. Each cake has a single cherry baked inside the cake. The cakes have a wonderful almond flavor which pairs perfectly with the cherries.
I love cherries. With cherry season being so short every year, I buy cherries like crazy once they come in season and I eat a ton of them. For the most part, I don’t like to part with my cherries. So, the idea baking with them usually doesn’t appeal to me because I don’t like the taste of baked cherries as much as I like them raw.
This past weekend I picked up some cherries that were pretty soft. I usually like them better when they’re firm so I decided to use this batch for baking. While browsing for recipes, I found some cute mini cherry almond cakes on The Cookie Shop that looked so cute I had to try them.
Each almond cake has a single cherry baked inside. I loved the presentation with the cherry stem sticking out and the cakes looked pretty easy to make.
What I Loved about this Recipe
- The cherry cakes have a wonderful almond flavor. They don’t have any almond extract, but the almond flour has a lot of flavor that complements the cherries baked inside.
- The cake is made with kirsch which is a clear fruit-flavored brandy that is made with cherries. It’s definitely not an ingredient I bake with often, but it adds a great flavor to the cakes and I can see using it in other recipes now that I have some.
- The batter is also made with lightly browned butter which adds a richer flavor. I’ve made brown butter cookies before so I knew the browned butter would add a lot to the cakes when I saw it in the recipe.
- Since these are mini cakes they bake quickly and only need about 12 to 15 minutes in the oven.
- The cakes are sweet and light and I love the cherry surprise baked inside. Almonds and cherries are a classic combination.
Things I’ll Do Differently Next Time
Overall, I really enjoyed these cherry almond cakes and I would definitely make them again. Even though I prefer to just snack on raw cherries, these little cakes are a nice way to bake with them.
There are a few things I’ll change for next time, though, so if you make them you might like to try these ideas, too:
- The cherries have pits in them which I didn’t really mind, but Boyfriend really didn’t like eating the cakes without taking the pits out first. It’s no problem to pit the cherries next time because it just gives me an excuse to use my adorable cherry chomper*.
- I used my standard muffin pan to make the cakes, but I think these almond cakes would work better baked in a mini muffin pan*. There was a little too much cake and the cherry got a little lost inside.
- Since my cakes were a little bigger you couldn’t see the cherry poking out of the top of the cake since I covered the cherries completely with batter. Making mini cakes would make this better so I’ll definitely do that next time.
Update: Since writing this post I’ve made mini cherry tea cakes so be sure to check them out.
More Cherry Dessert Ideas
*Some of the links contained in this post are affiliate links. Much like referral codes, this means I earn a small commission if you purchase a product I referred (at no extra charge to you).
Cherry and Almond Cakes
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 sticks (10 tbsp) unsalted butter plus more for muffin tin
- 1 cup all-purpose flour plus more for tin
- 1 1/4 cups finely ground unblanched almonds
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 tsp coarse salt
- 5 large egg whites
- 4 tsp kirsch
- 30 sweet Bingcherries
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F/ 180°C. Brush 30 cups of 2 mini-muffin tins with butter, and dust lightly with flour. (I used regular muffin tins and it made about 12) Melt butter in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. When it begins to sputter, reduce heat to medium. Cook, swirling skillet occasionally, until butter has lightly browned. Skim foam from top, and remove skillet from heat.
- Whisk together flour, ground almonds, sugar, and salt in a bowl. Add egg whites, and whisk until smooth. Stir in kirsch. Pour in butter, leaving any dark-brown sediment in skillet, and whisk to combine. Let stand for 20 minutes.
- Pour 1 tablespoon batter into each buttered muffin cup, filling about halfway. Push a cherry into each, keeping stem end up. With a small spoon, smooth batter over cherries to cover. (I think next time I won't smooth the batter on top so that the cherries pop out more.) Bake until a toothpick comes out clean and cakes are golden brown, 12 to 15 minutes.
- (Mine were already turning dark brown around the edges at 15 minutes for the regular muffin sized ones. Therefore, for mini ones, I would reduce to 8-10 minutes.)
- Let cool 10 minutes. Run a knife around edges to loosen, and unmold. Cakes can be stored in airtight containers at room temperature overnight.
Notes
The nutrition information provided are only estimates based on an online nutritional calculator. I am not a certified nutritionist. Please consult a professional nutritionist or doctor for accurate information and any dietary restrictions and concerns you may have.
