Homemade Fresh Cherry Cake
This fast and easy Cherry Cake is deliciously moist, made with yogurt and bursting with fresh cherries. Serve it plain or with a dollop of whipped cream and a fresh chocolate dipped cherry!
When we think of summer food what do we think of? BBQs, Ice Cream and of course all the amazing fresh fruit. From Peaches, to Watermelon to Cantaloupe to yup, one of my favourites Cherries.
So needless to say I had to make a cake with Cherries. When it comes to cherries I adore fresh cherries not candied cherries or Maraschino Cherries. Nope fresh all the way.
The only thing was pitting them seemed to be a big project in my opinion! But surprise surprise it wasn’t.
How to Pit Fresh Cherries
- After a lot of searching to see the best way to pit a cherry,
- from a chop stick to an actual Cherry Pitter to what I used.
- One of my newly acquired Stainless Steel Straws .
- Because not only are they great for the environment but they make the best cherry pitters!
- Just remove the stem, stick the straw through the top and gently push to remove the pit. Worked every time!
I remember back in Toronto when my sister had the most amazing Cherry Tree! The tree was full of cherries every year! So of course when I moved to Italy I told my husband we had to have a Cherry Tree, unfortunately I think that tree has been listening to our Lemon Tree.
The thing is huge but if we get 3 cherries we are lucky! Although the blossoms are absolutely gorgeous the beginning of Spring, so that kind of makes up for it.
This Cherry Cake Recipe is very easy, full of cherries and deliciously moist. It’s perfect on its own, with a cup of tea or coffee in the morning for breakfast (Italian’s love a slice of a simple cake in the morning) or snack in the afternoon.
How to Make a Cherry Cake
- In a medium bowl whisk together flour, baking powder and baking soda.
- In a the bowl of your stand up mixer on medium speed beat the eggs and sugar and until light and fluffy.
- Then add the zest and vanilla and beat for one minute.
- Then slowly add the vegetable oil and continue beating.
- Add the yogurt and milk and beat on low speed to combine, add the flour a third at a time, beating on low and scraping the bowl after each addition just until smooth.
- Fold half the pitted cherries into the batter, then pour into the prepared cake pan, top with remaining cherries, be sure to press down lightly with a spatula.
- Sprinkle with 1 tablespoon of granulated sugar before baking.
- Bake for approximately 40-45 minutes.
How to Store a baked Cherry Cake
The Cherry cake may be kept at room temperature for a day if the area is not too warm, after that the cake should be covered with foil or plastic wrap and refrigerated for up to a week.
Cherry Cake
Can I freeze a Baked Cherry Cake?
The cake can also be frozen be sure to wrap the cake tightly with plastic wrap and place in an airtight container or freezer bag. The cake should keep up to 4 – 6 months.
How to keep Cherries from sinking in the batter
Toss the cherries with a couple of teaspoons of all purpose flour and mix to coat. Then add the cherries to the batter and continue with the recipe. If using frozen cherries, don’t thaw them but lightly toss them in flour, the flour will help absorb some of the liquid.
More Summer Fruit Desserts
- Homemade Fruit Pizza
- Fresh Fruit Tart with Italian Cream Filling
- Easy Fresh Strawberry Mousse
- Homemade Apricot Jam Crumb Pie
However you serve this Cherry Cake with a dollop of whipped cream and a chocolate dipped cherry or with just a dusting of Powder Sugar I hope you enjoy it. Enjoy!
Homemade Fresh Cherry Cake
Ingredients
- 2 cups fresh cherries pitted (270 grams)
- 1 1/4 cups + 2 tablespoons flour (180 grams)
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 egg*
- 1 egg yolk*
- 1/2 cup + 2 1/2 tablespoons sugar (80 grams)
- zest 1/2 lemon
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil (I use corn or sunflower oil) (50 grams)
- 1/2 cup regular yogurt* (125 grams)
- 1/4 cup milk* (60 grams)
- 1 tablespoon sugar
*Remove from fridge 30 minutes before using.
TOPPING
- 1-2 cups whipped cream
- 10-12 cherries (whole)
- 2-3 ounces chocolate (melted) (50 grams)
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 350F (180C), grease and flour an 8 inch cake pan (springform pan is the best if you have it).
- In a medium bowl whisk together flour, baking powder and baking soda.
- In a large bowl beat on medium speed the eggs and sugar and until light and fluffy, (approximately 2-3 minutes), then add the zest and vanilla beat for one minute, then slowly add the vegetable oil and continue beating. Add the yogurt and milk and beat on low speed to combine, add the flour a third at a time, beating on low and scraping the bowl after each addition just until smooth.
- Fold half the pitted cherries* into the batter then pour into the prepared cake pan, top with remaining cherries, press down lightly with a spatula. Sprinkle with 1 tablespoon of granulated sugar. Bake for approximately 40-45 minutes.
- Let cool completely before serving if desired top powdered sugar, whipped cream and chocolate dipped cherries. Enjoy!
* Toss the cherries with a couple of teaspoons of all purpose flour and mix to coat.
Nutrition
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Updated from June 10, 2018.
Made it on Sunday, my whole family enjoyed every crumb. Can the recipe be altered to make large muffins?
Hi Berenice, thanks so much, glad everyone liked it. I don’t think you need to alter it to make muffins, they should come out fine, although be sure to bake for less, about 20-25 minutes. Let me know how it goes.
This was delicious! I love that it isn’t super sweet. A lovely summer cake.
Thanks Jessica, glad you enjoyed it. Take care.
Turned out amazing! I followed the recipe exactly but had some cream cheese frosting leftover that I really wanted to use so ended up piling it in the middle on top of the cake, along with a big bunch of pitted cherries. Great combination and makes it look a bit fancier if you don’t want to go for a simple tea-time cake.
Hi Minahil, thanks so much, so glad you enjoyed it. Take care.
A lovely recipe! I made dairy free by substituting milk and yoghurt with a homemade buttermilk- non dairy milk of choice plus one tb of vinegar left for 10 mins to curdle. I also added some slivered almonds and 1tsp of almond essence to cover the taste of the oil (I used olive). Yum!
Hi Shanon, thanks so much, glad you enjoyed it.
The ease of the directions are awesome, thank you!!
Thanks Anna Marie, so glad you enjoyed it.
Did you use fresh bing cherries or tart cherries in the recipe
Hi Barb, I used fresh bing cherries.
Delicious! I used bing cherries and followed your directions. This cake is not to sweet, just right, especially with a cup of coffee. I like to slice off a little wedge and eat. Since I am on my own I store in the fridge in a container. Do you think it will last about a week in the fridge?
Hi Christine, so glad you like it and yes it should last a week in the fridge.
This is an excellent recipe! Have you tried to make a chocolate version and if so, how much baking cocoa would be needed to adjust the amount of flour being used. My hubby is a chocolate fanatic☺
Hi Lisa, thanks, glad you like the cake. I have never made this cake into a chocolate cake, but I would suggest removing 1/4 of flour and replacing with 1/4 cup cocoa. Let me know how it turns out.
This was a delicious way to use up an abundance of fresh cherries. The only change I made was that I used sour cream instead of yogurt. Will definitely become an annual summer treat!
Hi Penny, thanks so much, so glad you liked it. Have a great weekend.
Hi Rosemary,
This recipe is so tasty and lends itself to adaptations very well. I have made it just as written and with peaches, orange zest, and olive oil. Both ways were very tasty, and I’m glad I discovered your site!
Hi Stefanie, thanks so much, so glad you enjoyed the cake. I love the idea of peaches. Have a great week.
My husband is lactose intolerant and I’m wondering if coconut yogurt would be an ok substitute?
Hi Elise, Im sure it would work, let me know how it turns out.
Hi Rosemary! I follow your blog from Italy. Just wanted to point out that there is a discrepancy between the US Customary and Metric weights……the US lists ONE EGG + 1 EGG YOLK whereas in the metric it’s TWO EGGS + 1 YOLK. Which is the correct one?
Hi Teresa, thanks for letting me know, it should be 1 egg and 1 yolk, I just changed it. 🙂
Perfect recipe. Thank you so much. I just made it for my daughter’s birthday and it turned out to be delicious.
Hi Madhu, thanks so much, so glad you enjoyed it. 🙂
Hi, do you think this could be made with drained canned cherries?
Hi Andrea, I think it would work if you drain them well. Let me know how it goes.
Followed the exact measurements of Ingredients and the result was a delicious and moist cherry cake!! Perfect with a steaming cuppa. Thanks so much 🤗
Hi : I followed your recipe and tried to make the Cherry cake. However at the completion of the 40-45 min bake time, the top of the cake appeared to be cracked and apparently the top layer of cherries was visibly standing out. I did use a spatula to pad the top cherries down a bit but I did not fully submerge them in the batter prior to putting it in the oven. I am wondering what I did wrong. Thanks for your kind attention!
Hi Michael, my cake was actually a bit cracked also from the addition of extra cherries, it could be you added more than I did and or you didn’t push them down enough into the batter. Hope that helps.
Ahhhh I guess I was a bit greedy in the Cherry department. I’ll try again and report back. Grazie mille Rosemary!
Hi Michael, haha maybe, let me know.