Oh, Cherry Me Away with this Beautiful Dessert!

Breads and Muffins / July 23, 2014

It’s that time again, when cherries are everywhere. Like beautiful organic earrings, hanging ample and confident from a long, graceful stem, these orbs are as versatile as any food on the planet. As I purchased the large container from our local market, I mused about what to do with them: Maybe a pickled pearl onion and cherry chutney, or reduced with port wine and shitake mushrooms to cascade over a pork loin. Maybe heated with lemon and sugar to create a deep claret colored jam, or, chopped into juicy, ruby slivers and added to…ah yes…A SOUR CREAM POUND CAKE filled to the gills with CHERRIES, frosted liberally with pink, cream cheese frosting.

I guess I gravitated to the evil choice first. Lucky you.

Sour Cream Cherry Pound Cake

Makes three mini loaves

Ingredients:

2 medium eggs, whisked
1 stick of already soft salted butter (1/2 C)
1 C white sugar
½ t vanilla extract
½ t fresh squeezed lemon juice
¼ C sour cream
1/8 t nutmeg
½ t salt
1 ½ C all-purpose flour
1 ½ t baking powder
1 ½ – 2 C fresh cherries, washed, pitted
and chopped roughly

Direction:

Preheat oven to 350. Grease and flour three mini bread loaf pans.
Blend sugar and butter together until creamy. Add whisked eggs and blend. Add vanilla, lemon juice and blend again. Add all dry ingredients a little at a time, in at least three increments. Blend again. Add all cherries, and gently fold them in with a spatula. Spoon into loaf pans, filling just a little above half.
Bake in center of oven for 35 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Remove and set on racks to cool for about 30 minutes. Invert pans and remove cake. Store under cake dome. Do NOT seal tightly to store and no need to store in fridge. Heck, they’ll be gone in no time so why worry!
To serve, frost or top with whipped cream.