Sunday Brunch Meme: Sweet Cherry & Almond Coffee Cake
Several weeks ago lovely Rosa at Rosa's Yummy Yums came up with the wonderful idea of a Sunday Brunch Meme and tagged me. Then the amazing Gattina at Kitchen Unplugged tagged me as well. I was quite happy to be tagged because brunch is my favorite meal. It always seems a good occasion because the day is still young and there's a sense that it's OK to stuff yourself with food, because you have lots of time left in the day to work off the calories with various adventures. Frankly, I don't have brunches on the weekend very often. We usually get up and have cold cereal, with a blank expression on our faces. But, my mother-in-law is visiting and it seemed the perfect time to make a proper Sunday brunch. So, I invited my Official Taster, Nancy, and we all gathered for a nice carby meal, with good conversation and warm feelings.
When I was planning the brunch, one recipe I wanted to try was the marvelous strawberry coffee cake recipe that Butta Buns shared with us some time ago. It was so yummy when I made it, I knew I would make it again, and wondered how it would taste using other fruits. Sweet cherries are in their prime right now, so a cherry coffee cake seemed like a good way to experiment with the recipe.
Cherries and almonds are a great combination, so I replaced the vanilla extract with almond extract, and sprinkled some slivered almonds on top of the coffee cake. I also had to pit three cups of sweet cherries, which made the recipe a little more labor intensive. But, it was worth it, because the coffee cake was absolutely delicious. We all exclaimed over it and spent time discussing how this recipe is a keeper. I've now had it with strawberries and cherries and look forward to having it with other fruit. Thank you Butta Buns!
Eating this marvelous coffee cake was a very happy thing for us all. I urge everyone to take some time to prepare a Sunday Brunch. I'm going to tag Butta Buns--and anyone else who is reading this! Have a Sunday brunch and tell us about it!
Sweet Cherry And Almond Coffee Cake
(Butta Buns)
Crumble Topping
1 c. flour
1/2 c. sugar
1 stick of margarine (stick form is necessary), cold from the fridge (I'm a hopeless butter fanatic--so I used it instead.)
To make crumble topping, sift the sugar and flour together in a large
bowl. Place the margarine in the center of the bowl and sprinkle a
little of the sugar and flour mixture over it. Place all 10 fingers on
the stick and start crumbling it by making cat-kneading gestures with
your fingers so the margarine turns into little pea sized bits. If you
need a visual, refer to this little fella. Keep crumbling until the
stick is completely whittled down.
Keep the bowl of crumbles in the fridge until you’re ready for it.
Cherry And Almond Coffee Cake
2 c. flour
1 c. sugar
2 tbsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp. cinnamon
2 tsp. almond extract
1 c. milk
2 eggs
1/4 c. margarine, melted (Again, like Paula Deen, I use butter!)
3 cups sweet cherries, pitted. I didn't slice the cherries because they had been pitted and were "open"
about 1/3 cup slivered almonds
-Sift the first four ingredients together in a bowl and set aside
-Whisk the milk, eggs, almond extract, and melted margarine together in a bowl.
-Add the mix of wet ingredients to the bowl of dry ingredients.
-Beat together by hand or with a mixer until well incorporated.
Pour into a pre-greased 13×9 pan. Arrange the cherries and on top of the batter. Sprinkle the crumble topping and almonds on top.
Bake at 350F for 35-45 minutes.
Sher that looks like just the thing for a fabulous brunch! Love the cherries and almonds. I have a coffee cake that I love and next time I do it I'll try to remember the cherries.
Posted by: Tanna | June 03, 2007 at 09:57 AM
I see this cake over and over and over, but it NEVER gets old. I've made it 3 times since the last posting and have another 2 to go before the month's out. I now buy fresh berries as an excuse to make it. Cherries here still cost a bomb but when farmer's markets roll out soon, I'm going to give this a try.
As for Sunday brunch, we had leftover lobster rolls this morning. Hmm, I'll see what I can come up with for next weekend. It'll be a doozy for sure.
Posted by: Butta Buns | June 03, 2007 at 11:32 AM
Thank you Sher and thanks Butta Buns I am also going to try this one out, looks delish. I can't help laughing at the idea of you eating cereal out of a box with a blank expression on your face!
Posted by: Callipygia | June 03, 2007 at 11:38 AM
This is the perfect kind of cake to bring to a potluck brunch -- I'm always looking for dishes that will travel well. Thanks!
Posted by: Lydia | June 03, 2007 at 01:33 PM
oh no you did not just make cherry coffee cake! YUM
Posted by: aria | June 03, 2007 at 04:07 PM
My sisters MIL always makes a coffee cake similar to this and it is one of my favorite breakfast treats! Yum.
Posted by: Kristen | June 03, 2007 at 09:05 PM
That does look good. I'm not much of a breakfast fan (and sweet breakfasts do a number on my stomach), but this would make a good afternoon snack. :-)
Posted by: Alisha | June 03, 2007 at 09:39 PM
I love sweets for breakfast and this look fantastic. I'd never get up to make it, though, so it would be for afternoon tea when fresh, leftover the next morning. We should have cherries soon...if the birds leave us some.
Posted by: Katiez | June 04, 2007 at 12:42 AM
Sher, this is wonderful just by the sound of it! I love the combination of cherry and almond... A perfect brunch for sure. :D
Posted by: Anh | June 04, 2007 at 01:14 AM
I bet this cake smells heavenly due to the cinnamon, and must taste great as wel :)
Posted by: angie | June 04, 2007 at 06:20 AM
Ooooooooooohh looks sinfully delicious
Posted by: sandeepa | June 04, 2007 at 07:14 AM
Thanks for taking part to my event!
That coffeecake looks extremely gorgeous! I love such baked treats very much, but I've never had one of those for brunch...
Posted by: Rosa | June 04, 2007 at 07:35 AM
Delicious! Coffee Cake here literally means a cake made with coffee flavouring so we don't have this type of breakfast cake - it seems like I should start a new tradition! Yours looks delicious!
Posted by: Freya | June 04, 2007 at 08:17 AM
What a delicious combination of flavors, Sher!
Posted by: Patricia Scarpin | June 04, 2007 at 08:34 AM
The cake looks delicious. Cherries have started coming in the market and I can't wait to try this. Hope you're feeling better sher!
Posted by: mandira | June 04, 2007 at 12:46 PM
God that looks good, Sher! It's enough to make me want to jump right off my low carb wagon, make it and eat it. All of it! Way to go!
Posted by: Christine | June 04, 2007 at 02:56 PM
Looks really good. I have some rhubarb to use up that would be great with this!
Posted by: Helen | June 04, 2007 at 07:12 PM
Yum! Love cherries. Love almonds. And together, they make for my perfect coffee cake. If I pay for your ticket, will you fly across the country and make this for me on Sunday? ;)
Posted by: kristi | June 05, 2007 at 06:25 AM
Carb schmarb. What I say is YUM YUM! Because I can't make this as I have no oven,...and because I can't taste this, as you refuse to mail me your baked goodies, I hereby tag you.
The meme is called 1000 faces of Upsie, Sundance, and Sqirrels.
Get right on that, eh?
Posted by: Jenn | June 05, 2007 at 09:56 AM
Oh, I've got to try this, Sher. You know, I love cherries, and baked into a moist cake topped with crunchy toasted almonds? Yikes! That's fantastic!
Posted by: Susan from Food Blogga | June 05, 2007 at 02:31 PM
And I thought the strawberry cake looked good. This is truly beautiful looking. I can almsot taste it just from the pic and the recipe.
Posted by: Glenna | June 05, 2007 at 06:45 PM
Love it! Cherries are A's favorite, so I'm tagging your recipe for a special treat for him!
Posted by: Claudia | June 06, 2007 at 04:35 PM
That looks melt-in-your-mouth good!
Posted by: s'kat | June 11, 2007 at 07:27 AM