Hi Everyone!
Last weekend for Mother’s Day, Little Jenny and I went cherry picking and we came home with 6lbs of yummy, juicy, cherries. I love cherries, but I had no idea what to make with them. On Mother’s Day my Husband asked if I could make the Blueberry Coffee Cake but with Cherries instead. I thought, sure why not. It was a great idea, I must admit. The cake turned out amazingly! It’s fluffy, light and almost tastes like cherry pie. I’m all for that!!
I have to admit sometimes my Husband gets great ideas and making this cake with cherries was a wonderful idea! The cake is perfect for breakfast or a nice light snack. I love that you get 12 nice size slices for only 123 calories. Yah!
The only substitutions I made was on the flour. I used white whole wheat flour and all purpose flour. I have to admit using all purpose flour really made the cake rise a tad bit more than with whole wheat pastry flour. I also used almond extract instead of vanilla. I think almonds and cherries go so nicely together. Here is the cake before it went into the oven.
When I started to cut the cake, I realized I didn’t get a picture of it, fresh out of the oven. Here it is with a cut down the middle. Speaking of cutting, the cherries do stick a bit, so the slices are not as perfect as the blueberry coffee cake.
I can’t believe how much time I have spent in the past couple of days pitting cherries. Thank goodness for a cherry pitter. I couldn’t even imagine doing this without one. I did end up with stained hands too, but that’s ok, it was well worth it.
- ¾ cup whole wheat white flour
- ¾ cup all purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp salt
- 2 tbsp coconut oil (melted) or canola oil
- 2½ tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature
- ⅓ cup sugar (I used ½ cup NuNaturals Presweet Tagatose)
- ¼ cup egg substitute or 1 egg
- 1 tsp almond extract
- ½ cup unsweetened coconut milk or non-fat milk
- 1 cup cherries, fresh, cut in half
- 1 tbsp. Turbinado sugar (Sugar in the raw)
- Preheat the oven to 375°F. Spray a 9-inch square baking dish with cooking spray.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flours, baking powder, and salt; set a side.
- Using an electric mixer, beat the coconut oil, butter and sugar. Beat in the almond extract and egg until blended.
- Add the flour mixture in three additions, alternating with the coconut milk, beating after each addition until just combined.
- Spread the batter in the bottom of the baking dish. I used my fingers to spread it out. Lay 1 cup cherries on the batter and sprinkle with turbinado sugar.
- Bake the cake for 20-23 minutes or until it is golden brown.
I figured since I was pitting cherries, I might as well make some cherry quick jam. I love the jam! I use it in my yogurt and ice cream. It’s so good!! I love that you don’t need to can it either and it will last a couple of weeks in the refrigerator.
Well I’m off to do some kitchen cleaning, not fun, but it must be done!
Have a great day!
Toodles,
Jennifer
