Cherry Cake with Buttermilk Powdered Sugar Glaze
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Moist and rich, Cherry Cake with Buttermilk Powdered Sugar Glaze is a delicious pound cake made in a sheet cake pan. Fresh pitted cherries and a sweet glaze crown the cake’s top. This cherries for dessert recipe is an amazing choice for Summer picnics.
Cherry Cake with Buttermilk Powdered Sugar Glaze
Last weekend’s Fourth of July family barbecue at my brother’s barn (yes, we had an awesome picnic in the barn out of the RAIN) was the perfect time to share this scrumptious Cherry Cake with Buttermilk Powdered Sugar Glaze with my family.
You might think having a picnic in a barn is a little strange, but it was a perfect setting for our rainy day. The horses were banned from the stable for a few hours while a long row of tables were set up in the barn’s breezeway to hold the bounty of food.
My brother smoked ribs and pork shoulder that was so good I think he’s about ready for one of those BBQ competitions! Anyway, my cherry cake was a bit hit and was perfect for sharing with a crowd.
Ingredients
- Fresh Bing cherries — the darker the cherries, the sweeter
- Unsalted butter — at room temperature
- Sugar
- Eggs — at room temperature
- Lemon juice, fresh — to subtly brighten up the flavors
- Almond or vanilla extract — either will work, but if you have almond extract on hand I recommend using that
- All-purpose flour, plus baking powder and salt — whisked together
- Milk — whole or 2 percent
- Powdered or confectioner’s sugar — for the glaze
- Buttermilk — also for the glaze, buttermilk makes it very creamy
Instructions
- When making cakes, always start with room temperature ingredients.
- Cream the softened butter until fluffy.
- Gradually add the sugar, then the eggs one at a time, blending well and scraping down the sides.
- Stir in fresh lemon juice and almond extract and continue blending until the mixture is pale yellow.
- Whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt together in a separate bowl.
- Alternate adding the flour and milk to the batter. Pour the batter into a prepared cake pan.
- Toss cherries with flour and sugar — this will keep them from sinking to the bottom of the cake — and sprinkle them evenly on top of the batter.
- Bake in a 325-degree oven for 1 hour to 1 hour and 10 minutes. Cool on a wire rack for 1 hour before glazing.
- To make the glaze, whisk together powdered sugar and buttermilk until smooth.
To make this recipe, you may need…
If you make any recipe using fresh cherries, you need a cherry pitter. I have this cherry pitter by OXO and love how easy it is to use, clean, and store.
Related recipes
Fresh summer cherries are the best for making delicious desserts! Here are a few I think you may enjoy:
- Rustic Cherry Tart
- Cherry Chocolate Chunk Bread
- Cherry Cobbler
- Cherry Pot Pies
- Chocolate Chip Cherry Bars
- More dessert recipes!
Baking tip
Line the bottom and sides of your cake pan with aluminum foil, allowing 2 to 3 inches of foil to extend over sides. Butter the foil and sprinkle with a little flour.
After baking and glazing the cake, you can easily lift it from the pan using the foil. Place the cake on a board and cut into squares to serve.
Cherry Cake with Buttermilk Powdered Sugar Glaze
Ingredients
Cake
- 1 cup butter softened
- 2 cups sugar plus 1 teaspoon ,divided
- 4 large eggs
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon almond or vanilla extract
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 3 ½ cups all-purpose flour plus 2 tablespoons, divided
- 1 cup milk
- 3 cups fresh cherries pitted and halved
Glaze
- ½ cup powdered sugar plus 2 tablespoons
- 3 tablespoons buttermilk
Instructions
Cake
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease (with butter) and flour a 9×13 inch cake pan.
- Add softened butter to bowl of stand mixer and beat on medium until fluffy. Gradually add 2 cups sugar, and beat until well blended. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Scrape down sides of bowl as needed.
- Add lemon juice and almond or vanilla extract and blend well. Increase speed to medium-high, and beat for 1-2 minutes or until pale yellow.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together baking powder, salt, and 3-1/2 cups flour. With mixer on low speed, add flour mixture to batter alternately with milk, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Pour batter into prepared pan.
- Toss cherries with remaining 2 tablespoons flour and 1 teaspoon sugar. Sprinkle evenly on top of batter.
- Bake for 1 hour to 1 hour and 10 minutes or until set and browned on top. Cool on a wire rack for 1 hour before glazing.
Glaze
- Whisk together powdered sugar and buttermilk until smooth. Drizzle over cake and let stand until glaze sets (about 5 minutes). Cut into squares.
Notes
Nutrition
Life Love and Good Food does not claim to be a registered dietician or nutritionist. Nutritional information shared on this site is only an estimate. We recommend running the ingredients through an online nutritional calculator if you need to verify any information.
This is a very good recipe. I have made it with fresh cherries and it was a big hit. I made it the other day with fresh peaches and that was also a big hit! I’m sure it could be made with any fresh fruit and people would love it!! This recipe is a definite keeper! Thanks so much!