Cherry Chocolate Almond Cake is so easy to make, freezes well and will feed a crowd. I used a quick bread, muffin-like recipe for the cake. The cake has a delicate, soft crumb, and a nubbly crunchy topping thanks to toasted sliced almonds and a generous sprinkling of coarse sugar. Use frozen, canned or fresh cherries. I used frozen, pitted cherries for ease and because it’s almost December – definitely not cherry season here in North America. Enjoy this cake with a mug of bracingly strong coffee or a cup of tea. Add a dollop of clotted or whip cream to take it up a level.
Jump to RecipeUse white, dark or milk chocolate chips, or if you’re feeling a little wild, use a combo. They all work. I’ve tried them all; milk chocolate is my favorite. Because I used buttermilk and butter in the recipe the crumb is very moist and soft so although Cherry Chocolate Almond Cake is infinitely easier to cut when it is completely cooled, it is particularly delicious served warm. Although I did state I used frozen cherries in the recipe, I wouldn’t be against using the garnet-colored glacé or maraschino cherries instead. Regardless of your sugar desire, don’t skip the caramel-like coarse demerara sugar sprinkle over the top of the almonds for both texture and aesthetics. This is definitely one of those cakes you can experiment with changing the fruit and the nuts but start with this recipe first. And, I’m going to be bossy again, if you’re making this version do not leave out the almond extract. For me it’s what makes this cake sing. And “almond”. Until next time. Toodles, Lovoni xo
CHERRY CHOCOLATE ALMOND CAKE
Ingredients
- 3 cups self-rising flour
- 1 1/4 cups brown sugar
- 1 1/2 cups chocolate chips white, milk or dark
- 8 oz frozen pitted cherries, halved a pair of sharp scissors work well for this
- 1 1/3 cups buttermilk
- 1 cup melted salted butter
- 2 large eggs
- 1 tsp almond extract
- 1 cup sliced almonds
- 2- 3 tbsp demerara sugar or other coarse sugar
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C). Grease & then line a 9 x 13-inch (23 x 33cm) baking pan with parchment paper bringing the paper up higher on the long sides.
- In a large bowl, combine flour, brown sugar, chocolate chips and cherries.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together buttermilk, butter, eggs and almond extract until well combined. Add to the flour mixture. Stir until well combined. Scrape the mixture into the prepared pan; smooth top.
- Sprinkle the top with the almonds and then the demerara sugar. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes until set & a skewer with inserted in the center comes out clean. Let stand in the pan until completely cooled before cutting into 15 pieces. Warm in the microwave for a few seconds to serve warm with cream or ice cream