At this point in our lives, I get it: Who needs another cherry cake recipe? Cherries are like melons, cucumbers and, most fittingly, the freshest of stone fruits in that they’re best eaten raw. Cobblers and coffee cakes are nice because you want a relatively inoffensive batter to let the cherries shine through but they can be, well, boring.
Growing up in the South, where almonds are not typically used in baking, I had never used them as the main flavoring component for desserts until I moved up north, where European-style pastries, with their almond creams and flavorings, dominate. My colleague’s were a revelation, and they tasted shockingly like cherry more than anything. I learned later that cherries and almonds are both botanical stone fruits, and cherry pits taste just like almonds.
And to keep the cherries the star, I chose to create a thick layer of them on the bottom of the cake, which then becomes a ruby-studded beauty when turned out. To keep the cherries from waterlogging the cake, I cook them a bit beforehand, with sugar, salt and a splash of cherry liqueur, just to bump up their flavor even more. The result — equal parts juicy cherries and moist, chewy cake — is a gorgeous, just-thick-enough cherry dessert that’s worth all the pitting it took to get you to it.
latimes And if you pour it on top with cheese and bake, you get a California pie. I was taught this in an American cuisine restaurant. It is now closed. A small piece of America. ❤️
latimes There are many American pies, and they are not only apples. 😀 But the pie is not an iPhone, that’s why 🍽.