Sunday, November 11, 2012

Lemon and Sour Cherry Tea Cake







From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...I've had a bag of dried cherries in my pantry for several months now and this morning I decided that it was time to use them. The question was how. Scones came to mind, as did a sauce I like to use for roast pork. I briefly considered cookies, but decided to take a pass because of the calories involved. I finally decide to use them in a coffeecake that I hoped could be frozen for Thanksgiving breakfast. I found a recipe for a sour cream cake on Epicurious that I decided to adapt. It work out nicely, but I found the texture of the cake to be more like a pound cake than something I would serve for breakfast. While the cake would not work for breakfast, at least here, it would be perfect for an afternoon tea or evening snack. The cake is very easy to make and I know that those of you who like lemon desserts will really enjoy it, especially if you are beginning to overdose on pumpkin and apple treats.. I do hope you'll give this recipe a try. Here's how the cake is made.

Lemon and Sour Cherry Tea Cake
...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite inspired by Gourmet magazine

Ingredients:

1-1/2 cups dried sour cherries
3 cups cake flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
3 cups sugar
6 eggs, room temperature
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon grated lemon peel
1 cup sour cream
Glaze
1 cup sifted confectioners' sugar
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest

Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 325°F. Grease 16-cup tube pan. Line bottom of pan with parchment paper and dust pan with flour. Tap out excess flour. Set aside.
2) Place dried cherries in a bowl and cover with hot tap water to rehydrate. Soak for 10 minutes. drain and set aside.
3) Sift flour, baking soda and salt into medium bowl. Using electric mixer, beat butter in large bowl at medium speed until fluffy. Gradually add sugar and beat 5 minutes. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating just until combined after each addition. Beat in lemon juice and peel. Using a rubber spatula, mix in dry ingredients, then mix in sour cream. Gently fold in cherries Transfer batter to prepared pan.
4) Bake cake until tester inserted near center comes out clean, about 1 hour 30 minutes. Let cake cool in pan on rack 15 minutes. Cut around cake in pan. Turn out cake.
5) Carefully turn cake right side up on rack and cool completely.
6) To make glaze: Combine confectioners' sugar, lemon juice and zest in a small bowl. Mix with until smooth. Drizzle over cooled. Yield: 12 servings.








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16 comments :

Katarina said...

This sounds like a really good recipe and the cake is beautiful!

Alessandra said...

I like it, not sure if I can find dried sour cherries here, I have only seen candied cherries, but maybe some specialist stores.

Happy Sunday

Alessandra

Alicia Foodycat said...

Lemon and sour cherry is such a good combination! This looks really tempting.

Merisi in Vienna said...

Imagine, to wake on Thanksgiving morning to a feast before the feast! I would wonder, is it Christmas already? ;-)

I am still sad about the demise of Gourmet Magazine.
One of my favorite finds during my recent stay in the USA was a "Gourmet Holiday" special edition (132 Festive Favorites). I also bought a dozen or so of other magazines. American food magazines are simply the best!

From the Kitchen said...

This looks like a taste of summer on a blustery November day. I have a bag of dried cherries in the pantry as well. They are always begging to star in one thing or another!

Best,
Bonnie

Joanne said...

I love the texture of this cake! And it's fun tart flavors!

SImple and Serene Living said...

What a gorgeous cake. :)

Vicki Bensinger said...

This sounds delicious. I love the cherries and with the addition of sour cream these have to taste delicious. Yum! I will be printing this recipe - it sounds like the perfect winter morning treat with a hot cup of Coffee!

Chiara said...

Lovely recipe Mary,have a nice day, blessings...

Anita Rowe Stafford said...

This is such a beautiful cake, and the recipe sounds so good! Sour cream is a great ingredient and the lemon and cherries are two of my favorites!

Kim said...

What a lovely cake Mary. I too have a bag of dried sour cherries!!! I may have find a use for these:)

Unknown said...

This cake looks like it would be delicious any time of the day depending on what you call it .......

Anonymous said...

this sounds lovely, we love anything lemon in this house!

David said...

Mary, This is a great looking cake...love sour cherries! Thanks for the recipe... Take Care, Big Daddy Dave

RSA Online said...

It's very juicy delicious cake!

tender b. said...

Awesome looking cake. I have been growing more fond of the lemon/sour cherry combo.

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