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Cherry pound cake

A pound cake usually is a simple recipe with 1:1:1:1 ratio of ingredients. This means that you put inside the same quantity of butter, sugar, flour and eggs. Well, that's the theory. Practically, adding that much sugar for me is a bit too much considering that these black fresh cherries are also super sweet. I then cut the sugar in 2. Sweetness turned out just perfect for me. 


Even if I love this recipe, I am tempted to play with some of the quantities to adjust to the height of the glass pan that I have.

I made many cherry cakes over the years, and most of the time I used another method, first foaming the egg whites, then the yolks and gently mixing in the flour. That recipe has no added fats and tastes drier even the cherries add moisture inside. This recipe starts by beating the butter with sugar that will create bubbles and just then, adding the eggs. The taste and texture are on the other side of the scale: creamy, soft, wetter.  
The 2 recipes might look the same, however, they will be different in your mouth.
Testing somewhere an addition of fat somewhere in the middle makes me curious about the taste and consistency. But for now, here is the recipe...


Ingredients:

  • 250g unsalted butter (room temperature, diced)
  • 125g sugar
  • 250g flour (sifted)
  • 6 eggs
  • 700g fresh cherries (pits removed, cut in half)
  • 1 tablespoon baking powder
  • 3 tablespoons almond meal (optional)
  • 1 pinch of salt

Directions:
  1. In the mixer bowl, put the butter and sugar and mix on high speed for 10 minutes or until the colour of the butter gets lighter. This is the sign that air bubbles were incorporated into the butter and you'll need them to have a fluffy and risen cake.
  2. Add eggs, one by one, mixing in between, until fully incorporated.
  3. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, salt and baking powder and add it to the mixer bowl, tablespoon by tablespoon, while continuing to mix at a slow speed.
  4. Prepare the pan (I used a glass large pan 30x24cm), butter it and sprinkle flour on the bottom and sides.
  5. Preheat the oven to 180ºC.
  6. Pour the mixture into the pan and level it with a spatula.
  7. Add cherries by pushing them slowly into the mixture.
  8. Sprinkle almond powder on top. This step is entirely optional but I find it improves the taste.
  9. Bake for 30 minutes covered with aluminium foil at 180ºC, remove the foil and continue to bake for 15-30 minutes until it gets a light brown colour on top. The foil should not touch the cake, it serves only to prevent the top to get a dark brown colour. The cake is ready when a stick inserted into the cake comes out clean.
  10. Let it cool and cut it.

Recipe inspired from here. 

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