Recipe courtesy of Vallery Lomas

Brown Butter Cherry Coffee Cake

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  • Level: Easy
  • Total: 2 hr 10 min (includes cooling time)
  • Active: 35 min
  • Yield: 8 servings
This colorful, fruity coffee cake is the perfect treat for a family brunch. You may be surprised to see sour cream in the recipe, but it’s one of my favorite baking ingredients for keeping cake extra tender and adding a pleasant tang. This recipe also uses brown butter; when you melt butter until golden brown, it becomes nutty and toasty, deepening the flavor of baked goods. Freeze-dried and roasted cherries counter the cake’s richness by offering a burst of tartness with every bite.

Ingredients

Almond-Cherry Streusel:

Cherry Cake:

Directions

  1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
  2. For the cherry-almond streusel: Place the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat and cook until the melted butter is golden brown and smells nutty, 3 to 4 minutes. Immediately transfer to a heatproof bowl and place in the freezer to cool and solidify, 10 to 15 minutes.
  3. Pulse the almonds and freeze-dried cherries in a food processor fitted with the blade attachment until medium ground (not too fine!). Remove 2 tablespoons of the mixture and set aside for garnish.
  4. Add the almond flour, all-purpose flour, sugar and salt to the food processor and pulse again to combine. Spoon in the chilled brown butter and pulse until the mixture forms pea-sized crumbles. Transfer to a bowl and refrigerate until ready to use.
  5. For the cherry cake: Place the cherries on the parchment-lined baking sheet and roast just until they soften and begin to release juice, 9 to 10 minutes.
  6. Remove the cherries from the oven and lower the temperature to 350 degrees F. Allow the cherries to cool to room temperature. Cut the cherries into 1/2-inch pieces and set aside (about 1 1/2 cups chopped).
  7. Spray the bottom and sides of an 8-inch springform pan with baking spray.
  8. Whisk together the eggs, sour cream and almond extract in a large bowl until pale yellow and combined.
  9. Add the all-purpose flour, sugar, almond flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Whisk together until a thick batter forms, 1 to 2 minutes. Place half of the batter into the springform pan. Top with half of the cooled cherries. Top with remaining half of the cake batter, then the remaining cherries and then the Almond-Cherry Streusel.
  10. Bake until the streusel begins to brown, the center is set and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 55 minutes to 1 hour.
  11. Allow to cool in the pan on a wire rack for 20 minutes, then remove from the pan and cool for another 20 minutes. Sprinkle with the reserved 2 tablespoons ground cherries and almonds. Slice and serve.