Kirschkuchen (Cherry Coffee Cake)

 

 

It's become an annual tradition, five years and counting!, to go cherry picking with my family to herald the beginning of summer.  My parents live in California's San Joaquin Valley and there are several U-pick places near them. Normally we go cherry-picking around Memorial Day weekend, but this year we went two weeks later and most of the trees had been picked over.  Fortunately we were still able to find a few trees that were bursting with ripe, sweet Bing cherries, our favorite variety.  

 

 

When it comes to cherry picking my family doesn't mess around. No joke, in previous years we've picked in the neighborhood of 50-60 pounds!  And no, lest you think we're complete fruit gluttons, we do not eat all the cherries ourselves!  A majority of the fruit is distributed to family and friends to enjoy.

 

Ironically, while Bing cherries are great for eating and snacking, when it comes to baking it's actually tart cherries that are preferred.  Sadly I haven't really been able to source fresh tart cherries near me.  One year I even considered having some sent from Michigan, but after seeing the exorbitant shipping costs to San Francisco I immediately changed my mind.   Luckily canned tart cherries can be easily sourced at my local supermarket.

  

 

 

 

Pie is normally the first thing that comes to people's minds with cherry baking, but I happened upon this recipe for Kirschkuchen (Cherry Coffee Cake) from Red Currant Bakery and wanted to try it instead.  If you aren't already following Audrey's blog you should because she focuses on German baking.  What I especially like about this particular recipe is the use of tart AND sweet cherries.   Nothing goes better with cherries than almonds.  I just love the fruit and nut combination so I added hints of almond to the recipe where I could.  For the cake batter and streusel I replaced some of the vanilla extract with almond extract and to give the streusel topping some extra crunch I mixed in raw sliced almonds.  

 

 

It took immense willpower to let the cake cool slightly before digging into it but once it was warm enough to cut I immediately polished off two slices.  It's THAT good!  I think I might have found a new cherry tradition because I will definitely be making this recipe again and again.

Mini Victoria Sandwich Cakes

 

Even though I'm not from England I have to admit I'm a fan of the British royal family.  (Especially the Duke and Duchess of Sussex who are favorites of mine!)  I just love the history, traditions and pomp and circumstance that goes hand in hand with the institution.  In honor of Queen Elizabeth's Platinum Jubilee celebrations this weekend I made Mini Victoria Sandwich Cakes, named after the second longest reigning monarch, Queen Victoria.  She was known to enjoy a slice of cake along with her afternoon tea.

 

 

If you've been to England I'm sure you've seen this tempting cake at a tea salon or bakery. It's  comprised of two vanilla cake layers that are "sandwiched" with berry jam and buttercream or whipped heavy cream.   What makes it so appealing to me is its simplicity; there's no need to cover the entire cake with frosting or other embellishments.  In fact, you could say it was the original naked cake.   

 

 

Recipes abound on the internet and you'll have no trouble finding one, e.g., Mary Berry's.  Most call for self-raising flour, widely used in British baking, but I've found that cakes made with self-raising flour can be hit or miss because the type sold in the US isn't exactly the same as those sold in the UK.  Plus, I like being able to control the amount of leavening in a recipe.   

 

Luckily I found Nigella Lawson's Victoria sponge recipe, which used all-purpose flour (aka "plain flour"), cornstarch and baking powder.  Cornstarch was a new ingredient I hadn't seen before and was supposed to make the cake tender and light.  The process to make the batter couldn't be simpler either.  Just throw everything into a food processor and whiz it up for a few minutes until creamy.  

 

To mini-size the cake I used a nonstick cheesecake pan with removable bottoms, which made releasing the cakes super easy.  They did bake up with a bit of a hump on top, but I leveled them off with a serrated knife after they were cooled.  Baker's treat!  The cake gets a 5-star rating from me with it's tender, light crumb and delicious taste.  

 

I sandwiched the mini cakes with some leftover Swiss meringue buttercream that I had thawed from the freezer and homemade raspberry jam.  The smaller cake was the perfect portion and would satisfy anyone's sweet tooth.  All that remained was a light dusting of powdered sugar and a nice cuppa. 

Many congratulations to the Queen for her selfless years of service.  God Save The Queen!