Friday, July 25, 2014

DIY cake hack with cherries from WSCSA

I'm not typically a cake eater.

Cakes these days are all about the decoration and less about the taste. As long as it looks good in a photo people are less concerned with what they're actually eating, which is why I usually opt for pie. 

None-the-less, I was in the mood for something light and fluffy last week so thought I'd give cake a go. 
I wanted to incorporate some of my fruit share from Washington Square CSA because four pounds of super ripe cherries is a lot for anyone to get through in a week. Instead of searching for an established recipe I decided to wing it and make some tweaks to my classic white cake recipe. Here's what I came up with:





Cherry Almond Olive Oil Cake (I'm working on a better name...)

Basically I made the following additions and adjustments to what was a pretty standard white/vanilla cake recipe that makes two 9" round cakes or two dozen cupcakes. 

  • substitute liquid with unsweetened Almond Milk (approx. 1 cup)
  • substitute vegetable oil with a bright floral extra virgin olive oil (approx. 1/4 cup)
  • add zest from one lemon
  • add 1/8 tsp almond extract
  • add pinch salt 

after batter is well blended, gently fold in the following:

  • add 1/2 cup crushed or sliced raw almonds
  • add 1 lb. pitted and chopped cherries, including reserved juice
Bake according to your original recipe instructions. Cake may require an extra 5-10 minutes in the oven to be fully set due to the added moisture from the cherries. You can tell if your cake is done when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. 

Remember to cool completely before frosting! (if you're frosting... I was too lazy)