Julie Clark
Posted: Updated:
Cherry Almond Cake
If you love cherries, you’ll love this Cherry Almond Cake. 100% from scratch with a maraschino cherry frosting.
Cherry Almond Cake Recipe
Are you a talented cake decorator? Not many people are, but the simple maraschino cherry and almond slice flowers on this Cherry Almond Cake makes everyone look like a star.
This from-scratch cherry almond cake gets its flavor from almond flavoring and beautiful color from maraschino cherries. The cherries make this a sweet cake…paired perfectly with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
One hint….many stores now sell maraschino cherries without red food coloring in them. If you want your cake to be pink, be sure to choose cherries with the red color…or simply add a few drops of red food coloring to the batter. Otherwise your cake will be white.
Other Cherry Cakes
Tools to Make This Cake
- Stand Mixer: A hand mixer will work, but I always find it easier to make frostings with a stand mixer.
- Cake Flour:A must-have for anyone who loves to bake from scratch.
- Beater Blade with Scraper: The best invention ever!
- Ninja Express Chop: Mini food processor…this is one of my most-used kitchen tools!
- Straight Icing Spatula: The long straight spatula makes it easy to smooth frosting.
- Wire Cooling Racks: This will help your cakes cool more quickly.
Cherry Almond Cake
If you love cherries, you’ll love this Cherry Almond Cake. 100% from scratch with a maraschino cherry frosting.
Servings 15
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 1 hour
Ingredients
For the Cake:
- 2 1/2 cups cake flour
- 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 3 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup butter (softened)
- 1/2 cup milk (2% or higher fat)
- 1/4 cup maraschino cherry juice
- 16 maraschino cherries (finely chopped)
- 4 large egg whites
For the Buttercream:
- 2 cups butter (softened)
- 8 cups powdered sugar
- 4 tablespoons maraschino cherry juice
- 4 tablespoons heavy cream
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
- Few drops of red food coloring (optional)
For Decorating:
- Maraschino cherries (drained and dried)
- Sliced almonds
Instructions
- Sift together the cake flour, sugar, baking powder and salt into the bowl of a stand mixer. Add the softened butter, milk and cherry juice. Beat on medium speed for 2 minutes. Fold in the chopped cherries.
- Add the egg whites and beat for an additional 2 minutes.
- Grease and flour two 9" round cake pans. Divide the batter between the cake pans.
- Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes, or until the cake springs back when you touch the center of it. Allow the cakes to sit for 5 minutes, then remove them from the pans to a wire rack to cool completely.
- While the cakes are cooling, prepare the buttercream.
- In a stand mixer bowl, with the mixer on medium speed, whip the butter for 2-3 minutes until it is almost white in color. Add in the powdered sugar, cherry juice, heavy cream and almond extract. Add a drop or two of red food coloring if you'd like the cake to be a little pinker. Beat on low speed again for 2-3 minutes.
- Once the cakes are cool, place one cake on a cake plate. Put a layer of frosting on top of the cake. Then place the second cake on top of the frosting. Using a knife, spread frosting on the top and sides of the cake, covering it completely and getting the frosting as smooth as possible.
- Decorating (optional): Use a knife or spoon and drag it up the cake sides, starting at the bottom and going to the top. This will create nice lines up the sides of the cake.
- Use a coupler to attach Wilton tip #11 to a decorating bag. Fill the bag with buttercream and pipe simple stars around the bottom and top edges of the cake.
- Place the drained and paper towel dried maraschino cherries on the top of the cake in the placement that you'd like them. Place almond slices around the cherry, sticking them into the buttercream so they look like flower petals around the cherry.
- Refrigerate the cake until serving.
Video
Notes
The calories shown are based on the cake being cut into 15 pieces, with 1 serving being 1 slice of cake. If you'd like to lower the calories, use less frosting. Since different brands of ingredients have different nutritional information, the calories shown are just an estimate.
Nutrition
Calories: 710kcal | Carbohydrates: 103g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 32g | Saturated Fat: 20g | Cholesterol: 87mg | Sodium: 370mg | Potassium: 150mg | Sugar: 86g | Vitamin A: 1015IU | Calcium: 62mg | Iron: 0.4mg
I tried this recipe and honestly I think nothing worked together! Lol from the flavor of the cake to the icing. I literally had to tweak the recipe of the icing to make it work. Oh and it’s not the 1st time I bake. I’m a cake decorator/Baker for almost 10 yrs now. So I give this recipe a thumbs down. Very dissapointed sorry
Hi! I’m excited to try this cake, but I was wondering if the current recipe creates a strong almond flavor or a mild one? I love almond, so if the recipe normally results in only a faint almond flavor, I’ll probably add more extract. Do you have any suggestions as to how much and whether to add to the frosting or the cake? Thank you!
Have you tried this with almond flavoring in the cake mix?
This looks amazing !
Have you made a gluten free option?
If so what flour is best to use ?
Julia
Good afternoon ,My husband would love this cherry almond cake. Can you use all purpose or self rising flour instead of cake flour. I have never used cake flour but i have seen it in the store
Thanks, Melanie Coffey.