Fresh Cherry Cake

For some reason, my middle gingersnap got it in her head that she wanted cherry muffins.  Fresh cherries.  She kept asking for them for a couple weeks and was with me at the store when she spotted some.  Fresh cherries, that is.  We brought them home and I suggested we make cherry chocolate muffins.  Nope.  She just wanted cherry.  (I'm still working through that one with her)  We ended up agreeing that a cherry cake sounded nice.

I consulted a few different recipes and this is what we came up with.  It was very much like a moist coffee cake topped with cherries.  The crumb topping is an added treat and, although it doesn't need the cream, who doesn't like a dollop of whipped cream to finish things off?  

1 cup flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/3 cup sugar
1 egg
4 Tbsp milk
6 Tbsp butter, melted
1-2 cups pitted cherries, halved

Topping:
1/3 cup flour
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 tsp cinnamon
3 Tbsp cold butter, cut into small chunks


Preheat oven to 350. Grease and flour a round cake pan. 

Sift the flour, baking powder, cinnamon and sugar into a bowl. Make a well in the center and add the egg, milk and melted butter.  Combine with a whisk.  Beat well to make a thick, smooth mixture. Spoon into the pan and spread evenly.

Scatter the cherries over the batter and gently press them in.  It's okay if they're touching or overlapping a little.  They'll shrink as they bake.  

To make the topping, put all ingredients into a medium bowl. Using two knives or a pastry cutter, cut in butter until mixture begins to form a crumbly texture.  Scatter the topping evenly over the cherries.

Bake for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out of the middle clean.  Let cool completely in pan. Top with a little powdered sugar or whipped cream for an extra treat.  It tastes best on a sunny day shared with someone you love.