Italian Cherry Pound Cake
Category
Dessert
Prep Time
25 minutes
Cook Time
60 minutes
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 cup sour cream
3 eggs (at room temperature)
- 3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon almond extract
-
1 ¾ cup all purpose flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
2 heaping cups fresh cherries (pitted*)
Powdered sugar (for dusting)
Amarena Cherries, if desired, for topping
*Cook's Note: Frozen cherries can be substituted in for fresh. Thaw completely and drain any excess liquid before using.
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter a 9x5 inch loaf pan and line the bottom and sides with a strip of parchment paper.
- To a large bowl, add the butter and sugar. Using a handheld or stand mixer, beat the mixture on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the sour cream and mix on medium, scraping the sides if necessary, until thoroughly mixed. Reduce the speed to low and add the eggs, one at a time, making sure each addition is fully incorporated before adding the next egg. Add the vanilla and almond extract, and beat to combine. Add the flour, baking powder and salt. Mix the ingredients together until just combined, being careful to not overmix.
- Set aside 1/3 cup of cherries for topping the cake, and slice them in half. Set aside. Add the remaining 1 2/3 cups cherries to a bowl or plastic bag, and add the 2 tablespoons of all purpose flour. Coat the cherries evenly with the flour and set aside.
- Add 1/3 of the cake batter to the prepared loaf pan. Next, evenly sprinkle ½ of the floured cherries on top of the layer. Add another 1/3 of the cake batter, and top with the rest of the floured cherries. Add the last third of batter, and decoratively top it with the reserved slice cherries.
- Bake for 65 to 80 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean and the top is evenly golden brown. Remove to a rack to cool for at least 30 minutes.
- Dust with powdered sugar for serving. Slice and enjoy.
Nutrition
Nutrition
- per serving
- Calories
- 642
- Carbs
- 63 grams
- Protein
- 8 grams
- Fat
- 41 grams
- Saturated Fat
- 25 grams
- Trans Fat
- 1 grams
- Cholesterol
- 183 milligrams
- Sodium
- 633 milligrams
- Fiber
- 1 grams
- Sugar
- 35 grams
- Unsaturated Fat
- 13 grams
6 comments
Love this! I have my third one in the oven cooking. This past summer the cherries were particularly good, I made it with fresh cherries, cherries I froze (from the summer) and now with frozen organic cherries. My husband absolutely loves it! The first tine I made it, I had some ricotta that I had to use up, so I used that instead of the sour cream. It worked perfectly. Brava, Giada!
Delicious and easy to make! Had a bunch of cherries a few months back and the recipe was a perfect way to use them up.
This a great and easy recipe for anyone. Unfortunately I decided to finally make this after fresh cherries were out of season near me. But frozen organic cherries worked well after letting them drain thoroughly for a couple days. At 60 minutes, it was under-done. I think I left it in just a couple minutes too much, as I hoped it would have been moister. But next time I'll dry a little different. But the flavor of the vanilla and almond vs. the cherries is great. It'll be a great recipe to try different variations also.
Great balance of flavours. Will definitely use this recipe again. Used the seeds from half a vanilla bean pod instead of extract, it made all the difference. I also added the zest of half a lemon during this step.
Yummy! I substituted full-fat Greek yogurt for the sour cream and added some sliced almonds on the top.
Perfect balance of flavors among the cherries and almond extract. The sour cream adds the right amount of dense texture. If someone ordered it to be sweeter, one could drizzle a simple confectionery almond glaze. Personally, I enjoyed the lower sugar content allowing the cherries to be the sweet stars!