Fresh Cherry Loaf Cake

Fresh juicy sweet cherries baked into a soft and fluffy sponge. This fresh cherry loaf cake is just so good, if you find yourself with a glut of fresh cherries (lucky you!) get baking this classic loaf cake. And then watch how quick it vanishes... :)

Fresh Cherry Loaf Cake

Where I live fresh cherries are available locally grown for a pretty short period of time, from July through to August, so the window to buy locally grown cherries is not a huge one.

You can buy fresh cherries throughout the year but if you're looking to buy locally, this is a Summer loaf cake which is fine by me, it's fresh, light, moist and perfect for the cherry loving family!

I use cherries a lot in baking, in fact in lots of my cooking and for the most part because of the seasonality issues I most often use frozen cherries.

I always have a few bags knocking around in the freezer, they go in smoothies on a regular basis and while I love love love them, you really need to use fresh cherries for this loaf.

The water content in frozen cherries is to much for this cake and the bake will become soggy, so go fresh for this one!

I like to make this in a loaf tin and then cut it into slices. You can of course turn this into a round tin and have a more traditional looking loaf tin, I just prefer this as a loaf but feel free to make the one you prefer.

If you're going to use a round tin, I'd recommend using a 6 inch cake tin.

I don't add a frosting to this cherry loaf cake as I like to have snacks around on a frequent basis and I don't think the added sugar adds much to this already sweet cake.

If you wanted to have something on top, you could whip some heavy cream and serve a slice of this with a generous dollop of cream. Oh yes!

Creamy Sponge

I've used a new classic (to me!) recipe to make the sponge which uses sour cream and buttermilk. I find this gives you a really fresh tasting creamy loaf, it feels luxurious and indulgent. It's the same recipe I've used for this Orange Loaf cake and it's seriously delicious.

Since this has buttermilk and sour cream in it I keep this ion the fridge, especially as it's a Summer cake and the kitchen gets pretty hot during the day. If you like to eat your loaf cakes un-chilled, just take it out of the fridge a couple of hours before you want to serve it and that'll bring it up to room temperature.

I should say though this is really nice straight from the fridge particularly if the weathers warm. Think...long afternoons in the garden in the sunshine with a slice of this. Yum :)

Pitting cherries as you need to for this recipe is a nuisance. There's no getting around it, I'm not sure there's a person around that enjoys pitting cherries.

You can buy a cherry pitter if you don't already have one. I don't have one, it's been on my shopping list for about 5 years now and I've still not got around to it! They look like they make the job super easy, maybe this will be the year I finally get one :)

More Clean Eating Recipes

• Fresh orange loaf cake
• Chocolate flapjacks
• Easter muffins
• Healthy vanilla cake
• Cinnamon mug cake
• Clean eating carrot cake

How To Pit Cherries

If like me you don't own a cherry pitter, this is how I pit cherries:

• Take your washed cherries and take off any stalks
• Put them on a chopping board and grab yourself a small very sharp knife
• Take one cherry and run the knife around the middle of the cherry, so you can feel the stone
• Holding one half, twist the other half with your fingers in an anti clockwise direction until it comes away from the stone
• I do this to all my cherries before starting on the half still with the stone
• Either cut the stone out or use a teaspoon to wriggle the stone until it comes out
• Then quarter all your cherries before you start baking

Make Ahead & Storing

This cake stores well for up to 3 days. I wrap it in parchment paper so it's totally airtight and then pop it in the fridge.

Once your cake is cooled down after baking you can either slice it before storing it or wait until it's fridge cold before slicing it up. You'll find that once the cake is fridge cold it's really easy to get a lovely neat cut, so if this is being made for an occasion maybe think about waiting for it to become cold so you get a neater cut!

Add Ins

The sponge cake this loaf cake is made with is really versatile. Not only is it an easy bake but there's quite a lot of adaptations and add ins you can make to it.

While you need to watch the water content of anything you're going to add because for the same reason you can't use frozen cherries, too much water will mean you get a soggy cake! Here are some ideas you could add to the fresh cherries:

• Choc chips - Try adding half a cup of chocolate chips, if the kids like them, dark chocolate works well with cherries
• Nuts - If your kids like nuts try adding a small handful of almonds, hazelnuts or unsalted Pistachios. You get a nice crunch and they go well with cherries
• Cinnamon - Adding two teaspoons of cinnamon when you add the flour and baking powder
• Dried apricots - If you can find a pack of dried apricots in your local shops, these are also yummy in this cake!

How To Make Fresh Cherry Loaf Cake

Ingredients

• 1½ Cups Flour I used white spelt flour
• 2 Eggs Whisked
• ½ Cup Butter
• 1 Cup Coconut sugar
• ½ Cup Buttermilk
• 1 Cup Cherries Fresh, pitted
• ¼ Cup Sour cream
• 1 tsp Baking powder

Instructions

• Heat your oven to 190° and line or grease a regular sized loaf tin with parchment paper
• In a large mixing bowl add the butter and sugar and use electric beaters to beat the mix until it's light and fluffy, usually a few minutes of mixing
• Add the whisked eggs and beat for another 30 seconds
• Then add the sour cream and buttermilk and gently combine, going really slowly to start: it can take a while for the mixture to combine well. I use a wooden spoon to bring it all together
• Add the flour and baking powder to the batter and gently combine, making sure not to 'over mix' and then fold the pitted cherries into the batter
• Pour the loaf cake batter into the lined loaf tin and bake in the oven for 30-35 minutes
• Take the cake out once the top looks golden and had risen well. Insert a sharp knife or skewer into the middle and if it comes out clean, it's cooked. If not, pop it back into the oven for another 5 minutes
• Once the loaf cake is cooked allow it to cool down in the tin and then turn it out onto a wire cooling rack
• Allow the loaf to fully cool down before slicing it!

Fresh Cherry Loaf Cake Recipe