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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