This cherry and almond tea cake is a delicious buttery cake loaded with fresh or frozen cherries and a hint of orange zest!
This tea cake is made with fresh sweet cherries as a rich butter cake batter with a hint of orange. It can be served warm or cold with chai, or with drizzles of lemon glaze with coffee!
I ended up with more than 2 kg of fresh cherries so while we relished some of the sweet cherries as-is, some went into a large batch of eggless cherry muffins. I did freeze some and the rest went into testing this Tea Cake recipe that is based on my spongy cherry loaf cake.
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📋Why you'll love this recipe?
This sweet cherry almond cake recipe was on repeat because each time I tried with a few tweaks it only got better! Yes, I tested with frozen cherries too!😋
I am calling this "tea cake" though traditionally the tea cakes I grew up eating in India are single slices of butter or sponge cakes sold in all popular bakeries. Sometimes they have dried fruits but mostly they are rich butter cakes that can be served with a cup of chai.
🎂Ingredient Notes
The ingredients to make fresh cherry and almond tea cake are easily available. I have included alternate options where possible. Do check the recipe card below for a detailed version.
- all-purpose flour
- almond flour
- baking powder
- salt
- unsalted butter
- white granulated sugar
- large eggs
- labneh
- vanilla extract
- orange zest
- cherries
- slivered almonds
🔪Steps to make cherry tea cake recipe
You cannot walk into the kitchen and start making this cherry and almond tea cake. You need to plan and keep all the ingredients ready before you start the cake batter preparation.
- Keep ingredients measured and ready in their required state like room temperature, softened, etc. If using frozen cherries, do not thaw them.
- Prepare the cake pan and oven: You may use baking paper to line the pan but I have greased and floured the cake pan and it works well too. Preheat the oven.
- Prepare the batter: The cake batter starts with the creaming method where we cream butter with sugar using an electric mixer. I don't own a stand mixer so I have used a handheld electric mixer with two whisks. Whisk in eggs and hung curd followed by flour and lastly fold in the chopped cherries.
- Bake: Transfer the batter to a lined cake pan and let the pre-heated oven do the magic!
💡Tips
Large eggs: I have used 2 large eggs where each egg weighs around 57-60gms. You may use 2 medium or 3 small eggs. As we are using a portion of gluten-free flour like almond or sorghum, it is a must to use the right quantity of eggs. This is what helps to hold the cake structure and prevent the crumbly from falling apart crumb.
Quickly soften butter: I cut the butter into small cubes and let it sit in the bowl to soften faster.
📝Substitutions
- Almond flour: I tried replacing the almond flour with the same quantity of sorghum flour (jowar atta) and it worked great.
- Labneh: I love using Labneh because I always have stock. You may replace it with hung curd thick Greek yoghurt or sour cream.
- orange zest: You may use lemon zest or almond extract. But my favourite batch was the one with orange zest.
- cherries: This recipe works well with either fresh or frozen cherries. If using frozen cherries, do not thaw them. If you don't have cherries, you can replace them with any other stone fruit or berries.
🥣Equipment
- 2 mixing bowls
- electric hand mixer
- rubber spatula
- 8-inch round cake pan or 7-inch square pan
☝️Frequently Asked Questions
When it comes to cakes, you'll want to go for sweeter cherry varieties. The classic sweet bing cherries with a deep red colour and rich flavour.
A canned cherry filling can be a handy substitute for fresh cherries in baking, with a few considerations for sweetness, texture, and recipe type. It works well in crumbles, crisps, coffee cakes, and bars.
Toss the cherries with a bit of flour before folding them into the batter. This will help them distribute more evenly throughout the cake.
Overmixing the batter can lead to a dry cake. Be careful not to overmix after adding the cherries. Canned cherries can add extra moisture, so you might need to adjust the amount of wet ingredients in your recipe.
Cherry tea cake can be enjoyed warm or at room temperature. Dust it with powdered sugar, drizzle with a glaze, or serve it with whipped cream and a cherry on top.
More Cherry-Related Recipes to Try
📖 Recipe Card
Cherry Almond Tea Cake
Ingredients
- 1 cup all-purpose flour, (maida)
- ¼ cup almond flour, or sorghum flour (jowar)
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 90 grams unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- ⅔ cup white sugar
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- ¼ cup full-fat labneh, or use hung curd or sour cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon orange zest, or lemon zest
- 1 cup pitted cherries, halved (fresh or frozen)
- almonds, for garnish
Instructions
Prep the cake pan and oven
- Preheat the oven to 180℃ and grease and flour an 8-inch round pan or 7-inch square pan.
Prepare the cake batter
- Add both the flour, baking powder and salt to a small bowl and whisk to combine.1 cup all-purpose flour¼ cup almond flour1 teaspoon baking powder¼ teaspoon salt
- In a larger bowl, add the softened butter and sugar. Cream the butter and sugar with an electric hand mixer at high speed for 2 to 3 minutes or until smooth and creamy. Make sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed.90 grams unsalted butter⅔ cup white sugar
- Add the eggs, labneh (hung curd or sour cream) vanilla extract, and orange or lemon zest. Whisk on high speed until combined. The mixture may look curdled and that is okay!2 large eggs¼ cup full-fat labneh1 teaspoon vanilla extract½ teaspoon orange zest
- Add the flour mixture and mix at a low speed until smooth. Do not overmix. Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl as needed.
- Lastly, fold in the halved and pitted cherries and transfer the batter to the greased and floured or lined cake pan. (You may reserve some halved cherries to place on the top of the cake before baking)1 cup pitted cherries
Bake the cake
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top with an offset spatula or the back of the spoon. Tap the pan on the countertop once or twice to remove any trapped air bubbles. Sprinkle sliced almonds all over the top.almonds
- Bake for 35-45 minutes. Baking time may vary, so keep an eye on your cake. If you find the top of the cake is browning too quickly in the oven, loosely cover it with aluminium foil. The cake is done when a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean.
Serve
- Remove from the oven and place the pan on a wire rack to cool for at least 15 minutes. Slice and serve slightly warm with coffee or tea.
- Cover any leftover cake and store it in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Nadia mehkri says
Hi, this looks delicious. Would love to try it