Easy Bake Cherry Cake

It’s cherry season! Did you know the Australian cherry season only lasts for 100 days so it’s worth making the most of it while we have sweet tasty cherries ripe for the picking.

Big bowls of cherries on the festive table is one of the perks of having Christmas in Summer. Is there anything better than sitting in the sun enjoying a big bowl of cherries? I can’t think of one.

If you ever get sick of eating fresh cherries, they make a great addition to this easy tray cake. You can also substitute tinned or jarred Morello (sour) cherries if fresh ones are out of season. Just make sure you drain them well.

I’ve been making this cake for years with all sorts of fruit, the original recipe calls for fresh figs, but in the past I’ve used peaches (tinned and fresh), nectarines and apple.

This cherry cake recipe is adapted from a fig cake recipe in one of the first ever cook books that I bought when I moved out of home – Movable Pleasures by Guy Mirabella. It’s well out of print now so I’m sure no one will mind if I share it here.

It’s a very easy cake to whip up as there is no creaming involved. Just melt the butter with the milk, mix it all together and you’re golden. I have to admit, a leftover slice of this cake and a cup of tea is quite yummy for breakfast – it’s got fruit in it so totally healthy right?

Easy Bake Cherry Cake

Yield: 12

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 40 minutes

Total Time: 50 minutes

A delicious and easy to make cherry cake that can be adapted to suit any fresh or tinned fruit.

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Ingredients

• 250ml (8 fl oz) Milk
• 75g (2.5 oz) Butter
• 3 eggs
• 100g (3.5 oz) sugar
• 250g (8 oz) SR flour sifted
• 25-30 fresh or tinned cherries pitted

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 180C (350F)
2. Grease (or line with baking paper) a 20x25cm (8x10") baking dish (or similar) and set aside.
3. Pit your cherries - I've got some tips below if you don't have a cherry pitter.
4. In a small pan heat the butter and milk till the butter has just melted and milk is just warm.
5. In a large bowl whisk eggs, sugar and milk.
6. Gradually stir in sifted flour until well combined.
7. Spread batter into tray and top with cherries.
8. Bake for 35-40 min or until skewer comes out clean.
9. Leave to cool before slicing.

Notes

If you don't want your fruit to sink to the bottom of the batter, which is quite normal, try reserving half of the fruit and adding it to the top of the cake about half way through baking.

Can be baked in a muffin tin for individual cakes, reduce baking time accordingly.

Nutrition Information:

Yield: 12 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 56Total Fat: 1gSaturated Fat: 0gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 47mgSodium: 18mgCarbohydrates: 8gFiber: 0gSugar: 0gProtein: 3g

Nutritional information is an estimate only and may vary depending on ingredients used.

How to Pit Cherries

1. Use a cherry pitter – the kids will love helping with this little gadget.

2. If you don’t have a cherry pitter, you can poke the stone out with the pointy end of a chop stick. Insert stem end of a cherry and push it through.

3. Or make a small slit in the cherry with a sharp knife and use your thumbnail to remove the stone.

Enjoy!

You may also like:

• Orange & Date Syrup Cake
• Best Ever Banana Cake

Photos by Jakub Kapusnak