Cherry Buckle Cake with Fresh Cherries
Ring in cherry season with this rustic Cherry Buckle. It’s a juicy, fruit-filled cake topped with a buttery walnut streusel that literally buckles as it bakes.
I’m the queen of kitchen mess-ups. And this recipe got royally buggered. Cherry crisp sounds easy enough. There are three basic steps to summery fruit success: make a batter, top with a walnut streusel and finish with fresh cherries. But my crisp went from no brainer to no bueno in 50 minutes flat.
I didn’t notice things went away until there were 10 minutes left on the clock. That meant sometime between placing the crisp in the oven and when I first peaked through the glass for a look-see, a maniac broke in my house, stole my cute dessert and swapped it out for something resembling a baked cold sore.
Scabby, crusty and sunken in spots, my cherry crisp looked like it could use some industrial strength Abreva. My crisp had herpes and it was making me so upset I was about to break out in hives. What the hell had happened? The nutty topping and the cherries had both vanished without a trace.
I kicked my oven door with my flamingo-socked foot. This wasn’t the first time a baked good had driven me to violence but this was the first time it had been so methodical. I would’ve sworn cherries were invented solely for this recipe, but now I was swearing for a different reason.
The mutant dessert caused me to misplace my sanity. I didn’t know whether it was sheer weight and gravity that caused my cherries to sink or if it was some sort of debauchery inside my oven. Regardless, the crisp was going to see the inside of my trash can the second it cooled down.
I scrolled the internet to stay calm, looking for photos of sugary foods to lift my spirits. And that’s when Martha Stewart appeared like a Pinterest angel and gave me the will to live again. Pictured in front of me was an old-fashioned recipe for a cake that’s a cross between a cobbler and a crumble that looked almost identical to mine. According to Martha, I didn’t make a mistake, I made a buckle!
Now I feel fancy.
With a dusting of powdered sugar and a few stemmed cherries to cover the dips and dents, I was able to salvage the buckling cake. I love a simple fix, I also love how this cake tastes. Not only is it bursting with fresh cherries, but it’s outrageously moist with just the right amount of crisp on top. The best part is that you can serve cherry buckle warm or at room temperature, plain or with a dollop of whipped cream or a dusting of powdered sugar. Breakfast or dessert, it’s all up to you to decide.
Before sharing the recipe for Cherry Buckle Cake, here are a few baking tips to help you out:
Ingredient Tips
Choose bright red cherries that are plump and shiny. Avoid cherries with soft spots and brown spots.
Butter needs to be softened to room temperature. It should be soft to the touch but not melty.
Eggs should also be at room temperature. If you forgot to take them out of the refrigerator ahead of time, you can speed up the process by placing them in a bowl of warm water for a few minutes.
Use unbleached flour, not just for this recipe but for every recipe calling for AP flour. Bleach is great for summery highlights in your hair, but not for your baked goods.
Process Tips
Check on the buckle after the first 30 minutes of baking. If the cake’s top is overbrowning, cover the top with aluminum foil until baking is complete.
To pit cherries by hand, cut a circle around the outside with a sharp knife then pull the two halves apart and use a finger to scoop out the pits. Be forewarned that your hands, and pretty much everything else in a splatter zone around you, can and will be stained with cherry juice. Consequently, it’s probably not the best day to wear white.
This recipe was tested with an 8-inch springform pan, but an 8-inch cake pan can be used as a substitute.
Storage and Freezing Tips
Cherry Buckle will keep at room temperature for 1 day or in the refrigerator up to 5 days.
This cake will keep in the freezer up to 4 months if double-wrapped and placed in an airtight container.
Freezing fresh cherries gives you the opportunity to bake cherry buckle all year long so stock up on cherries while they are in season and super cheap. Then pit, stem and half cherries before placing on a cookie sheet in a single layer to freeze. Once frozen, place in an airtight container and store in the freezer up to 6 months.
Cherry buckle is the bomb and I can’t wait to hear how this recipe turned out for you! Don’t forget to leave a comment and rating at the bottom of this blog post. And, while you’re at it, sign up for my Recipe Newsletter so you never miss a tempting recipe.
Finally, if you’re looking for more cherry dessert ideas check out this Cherry Chocolate Chip Bread. Loaded with fresh cherries and dark chocolate chips this delicious loaf is moist, sweet and so easy to make.
Cherry Buckle Cake with Fresh Cherries
Ingredients
Filling
- 2 cups Bing cherries stemmed, pitted and halved
- 3 Tbsp sugar
Walnut Streusel Topping
- 1/3 cup all-purpose flour unbleached
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 tsp sea salt fine
- 5 Tbsp unsalted butter cold and cubed
- 3/4 cup chopped walnuts
Batter
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter softened
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs room temp
- 1 tsp vanilla pure
- 1/2 cup full fat sour cream room temperature
- 1 1/3 cup all-purpose flour unbleached
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder fresh
- 1/4 tsp sea salt fine
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees
- Grease the bottom and sides of an 8-inch springform pan. Set aside.
Filling
- Place cherries and sugar in a small bowl. Stir gently until cherries are coated with sugar. Set aside.
Topping
- Combine flour, sugar, sea salt and butter cubes in a food processor. Pulse until mixture is crumbly and butter is reduced to pea size.
- Stir in walnuts by hand. Place topping in the refrigerator to chill while you prepare the cake batter.
Batter
- Beat softened butter and sugar for 5 minutes until pale and thickened
- Add eggs one at a time, beating until combined
- Add vanilla and sour cream. Beat until combined.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and sea salt.
- Slowly add dry ingredients to wet, beating on low speed until just combined, Take care to avoid overmixing. Note: batter will be thick.
Assembly
- Spoon batter into the greased springform pan. Smooth and level the top with a rubber spatula.
- Drain cherries with a slotted spoon and discard liquid.
- Place cherry halves on top of batter in an even layer.
- Remove topping from the refrigerator and sprinkle over cherries.
Bake
- Bake for approximately 50 to 60 minutes or until a tester inserted into the center of the buckle comes out clean and dry. If your oven bakes hot and you notice the topping overbrowning cover it with aluminum foil until baking is complete
- Remove pan from oven and place on a wire rack until completely cooled.
- If desired, dust cooled cake with powdered sugar and garnish with flowers and stemmed cherries.
Storage
- Store at room temperature for 1 day or cover and store in the refrigerator up to 5 days.