Cherry Almond Muffins

When I buy cherries it’s usually with the Grand Design to make Something Wonderful. Then, when I’m faced with the challenge of pitting a heap of cherries, I back down. I end up just eating them out of hand (nothing wrong with that), or giving in to my procrastinator self and letting them waste away undeservedly in the fruit drawer of the refrigerator (lots wrong with that.)

My Phase 1 Baby Steps solution to this problem was to make muffins. My solution to a lot of problems is to make muffins.

These Cherry Almond Muffins are a simple variation of these plum muffins. In fact, I think plums, peaches, and other stone fruits could be substituted for cherries in this recipe, or really in any similarly rustic application.

I, of course, played on the cherry’s affinity for almonds but I wanted a bit of spice, too. I couldn’t decide which warm spice (cinnamon, cloves, etc.) to add, so I sort of chose not to choose and put in some Chinese five spice. (If you read enough of Dorie Greenspan’s baking books, she’ll convince you to try it in your baking.) There’s just a smidge in there, which worked really well, lending an aura of warm spice in the background without overwhelming the cherry-almond bliss or pushing the muffins out of summer and into fall.

Overall, these were a satisfactory cherry treat. They’re delicious, gently sweet, fruity, and a little crunchy. They are breakfast, mid-morning or afternoon snack, or dessert. And, they’re plentifully fruity with just a cup of chopped cherry flesh, which means I don’t have to be so intimidated by the chore of pitting cherries.

Cherry Almond Muffins

You can swap in cinnamon, cloves, or any other warm spice for the Chinese five spice.

I used sweet Bing cherries in these muffins, but I think sour cherries would be good, too. You may want to add a little more sugar with sour cherries.

6 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 cup all-purpose flour
½ cup whole wheat pastry flour
¾ teaspoon baking powder
¾ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon Chinese five spice
1 large egg
¼ cup granulated sugar
¼ cup dark brown sugar
½ cup buttermilk
¼ teaspoon almond extract
1 cup coarsely chopped pitted fresh sweet cherries
½ cup finely chopped almonds

1. Preheat oven to 375 F. Spray a 12-cup muffin pan with cooking spray (or grease it with butter or oil.) Or you can line the muffin cups with paper liners if you prefer.

2. Melt the butter and set aside to cool.

3. In a medium-size bowl, combine the all-purpose flour, whole wheat pastry flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and Chinese five spice. Stir together with a whisk (or you can sift if you prefer).  Set aside.

4. In another medium-size bowl beat the egg lightly with a whisk. Whisk in the melted butter. Whisk in the granulated and brown sugar, then whisk in the buttermilk and almond extract until smooth.

5. Pour the egg mixture into the flour mixture and stir until just a few dry spots remain. The batter will be thick. Stir in the cherries and almonds.

6. Distribute the batter evenly among the prepared muffin cups. Bake at 375 F for 15 to 18 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out free of wet batter.

7. Cool in the pan on a wire rack for about 5 minutes. Carefully remove the muffins from the pan. If they are difficult to remove, cool a little longer. Cool completely on a wire rack, or at least until they are just a little warm.

Makes 12 muffins

Other recipes like this one: Peach Pecan Muffins with Brown Sugar Streusel Topping, Poppy Seed and Plum Muffins with Almond, Cherry Almond Loaf Cake

One year ago: Strawberry Galette with Cream Cheese

Recipe Revisit: Cherry Plum Crisp

Even though I haven’t been posting here as often as often as I would like, I still love to try out new things in the kitchen. The curse that accompanies this passion is that I don’t find myself repeating good recipes as often as they deserve.

Take this lovely Cherry Plum Crisp, for example. I don’t remember that I ever made it again after I posted it (many years ago!). Even though the dessert was delicious, I wasn’t perfectly satisfied with it. I remember the fruit being a little undercooked for my taste, so when I revisited the recipe recently, it was with the very simple idea of baking it a little longer. (And possibly getting some better photos. These aren’t great, but they’ll do.)

I also didn’t have any whole wheat pastry flour, which was in the topping mixture in the originally posted recipe. I’ve been making some version of this topping for quite a while, however, (usually in this apple-cranberry version) and have come to the conclusion that just about any kind of flour will work. I’ve used unbleached all-purpose, whole wheat, whole wheat pastry, and oat flour with great success and very little difference in the results. The recipe below reflects that.

This dessert did come out a little better with the extended oven time. The chopped plums, which were small and sweet and juicy, broke down into an almost sauce-like consistency. The Bing cherries, which I pitted but left whole, stayed intact, plump bursts of fruitiness nestled in the stewy plums. I think you could use other stone fruits in this recipe, although you might want to adjust the sugar to taste.

I love this basic formula for fruit crisp topping. It’s nutty and sweet, and I like it best with some kind of whole grain flour. I really recommend almonds in the mix with stone fruits in the filling, although walnuts or pecans work well, too. I also love this fruit filling to topping ratio. The topping stays crunchy on top, but there’s a lovely zone in which it comes into contact with the filling. It’s a little gooey there, and the flavors of the bright summer fruits mixed with the oats and nuts and brown sugar…that’s what fruit crisp is all about! Add a dollop of vanilla ice cream, to a serving of warm Cherry Plum Crisp and summer is complete!

Cherry Plum Crisp

filling
2 cups pitted dark sweet cherries
3 cups coarsely chopped pitted plums
2 tablespoons cornstarch
½ cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon almond extract

topping
1 cup rolled oats
½ cup flour, preferably whole wheat or oat flour
½ cup packed brown sugar
¼ cup chopped almonds
¼ cup unsalted butter, melted

1. Preheat oven to 350 F. In a large bowl, combine the cherries and plums. Add the cornstarch, granulated sugar and almond extract. Gently stir together to combine well.

2. Spray an 8-inch square baking dish with cooking spray or grease it with oil or butter. Pour in the cherry and plum mixture. Set aside

3. In a medium-size bowl, combine the oats, flour, brown sugar and almonds and stir to combine. Pour the melted butter over the mixture and stir together until the dry ingredients are well-moistened by the butter.

3. Cover the fruit filling mixture with the topping mixture, spreading it evenly over the top. Bake at 350 F for 45 to 50 minutes or until the top is golden brown and the filling is bubbly. Cover the dish with foil if the topping is over-browning.

4. Remove from the oven and cool on a wire rack 20 minutes or more. Serve warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or a dollop of whipped cream.

Makes about 6 servings.

Other recipes like this one: Apricot and Raspberry Tart with Crumble Topping, Apricot Strawberry Tart, Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp with Graham Cracker Topping, Pear Apple Crumble Pie, Apple and Cranberry Crisp

One year ago: Recipes with Blueberries

Cherry Almond Loaf Cake

I love it when I’m paging through a cookbook, dreaming (or drooling) over a seasonally specific recipe, and then, as if by some sort of suggestive faerie magic, I come across the perfect featured ingredients from a local source. That’s what happened last week when I took notes from the library’s copy of Local Flavors by Deborah Madison just before a trip to the farmer’s market, during which I found some beautiful sour cherries.

 

Fresh sour cherries need to be purchased near the source, simply because they are so delicate. They also, in my opinion, need a well-sweetened recipe to properly shine. This Cherry Almond Loaf Cake is a great one for just that purpose. It’s not super-sweet, but it’s simple and, except for actually pitting the cherries, quick as well. 

This cake goes together in the food processor, which I found intriguing. First, almonds are ground into coarse meal, then processed with the flour. That dry mixture is removed and the wet ingredients are processed. The dry ingredients go back in and with a few touches of a button, cake batter comes about. That batter is scraped into a loaf pan, covered with cherries and some more almonds, and baked.

While those cherries start off as a great pile on top of the almond-laced batter, that batter rises up and partially engulfs them as it bakes. The resulting loaf cake is slightly dense rather than fluffy, more like a pound cake, and tastes of toasted almonds. The cherries, miraculously transformed into tender, lightly sweetened, fruity gems, stud the top of each slice, making the whole experience moist and delicious.

I will freely admit that pitting cherries is not my favorite kitchen task. With these little, soft, sour ones, my hand-held cherry pitter just wouldn’t do the job, so I attacked them with my fingers and worried about cleaning up later. Such a chore gives me a bit of appreciation for the fact that fresh cherry season is so short, but such deliciousness as a cherry almond cake that comes together so easily turns that chore into a labor of love!

Cherry Almond Loaf Cake

Adapted from Local Flavors by Deborah Madison

While I had sour cherries available and used them here, you could use any cherries, or even a combination of different varieties to make this cake.

1 cup slivered almonds, divided

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature

¾ cup granulated sugar

3 large eggs

¼ teaspoon almond extract

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

2 ½ cups pitted cherries

1. Preheat oven to 375 F. Grease and flour an 8 x 5-inch loaf pan. Set aside. Set aside ¼ cup almonds.

2. Place the remaining ¾ cup almonds in the bowl of a food processor. Process until finely ground. Add the flour, baking powder and salt. Process until smooth. Transfer to a bowl and set aside.

3. Place the butter and sugar in the food processor and process until well-creamed. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and continue to process until pale and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, processing until each egg is fully incorporated before adding the next. Stop and scrape down the sides of the bowl occasionally. Add the almond and vanilla extract and process until very smooth.

4. Add half of the ground almond mixture. Process until smooth. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the remaining almond mixture and process until very smooth. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan. The batter will be thick.

5. Add the cherries to the top of the batter to cover. Sprinkle the reserved almonds over the top. Bake at 375 F for about 1 hour or until a tester comes out clean.

6. Cool completely in the pan on a wire rack. Turn the cake out of the pan onto a plate or platter and slice to serve. Keep covered for a few days.

Makes about 8-10 servings.

Other recipes like this one: Cherry Clafouti, Blueberry Muffin Coffee Cake with Crumb Topping, Plum Upside-Down Yogurt Cake

One year ago: Farro and White Bean Salad with Fennel and Walnuts