cherry cake

How Manu can wake up whistling and singing and counting in English (?) is beyond me. I need my coffee, breakfast and a few long, drawn out yawns before I am able to be a human being. Today, for example, Manu was zipping around, singing and counting (1,2,3 in his little accent sounds like won, chew, tree!) while I tried my best to get my moka pot on the stove and shuffle over to the computer with my big ol' slice of cherry cake. I may be cranky in the morning, but if I had cherry cake year round to greet me when I woke up? Well, I think I'd be whistling and counting too.

Cherry Cake

(adapted from this recipe)

1 pound fresh cherries, pitted

1 cup whole wheat flour 

1/2 cup all purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 eggs

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled

1/3 cup milk

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon orange zest

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Butter and flour an 9 inch spring form pan and line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper. Rinse, dry, and pit all the cherries. Then take about 1/4 of the cherries, cut them in half, and set them aside. Roughly chop the remainder of the pitted cherries (to be folded into the cake batter). In a separate bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. In another bowl, beat the eggs and sugar until thick and lemon colored (about 3-5 minutes). Add the melted butter, milk, vanilla and orange zest and beat just until incorporated. Add the flour mixture and stir just until moistened. Gently fold in the pitted cherries (not the cherries that you have halved for the top of the cake). Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 15 minutes, remove from oven. Quickly arrange the remaining cherries, cut side down, on the top of the cake. Return the cake to the oven and bake for a further 20 minutes or until golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the cake portion comes out clean. Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool slightly.

Tomorrow is going to be sweltering so we're heading north to escape the heat at our friend Antonio's villa by the sea! There's no electricity, but plenty of board games, beach toys and delicacies to throw on the grill. I can't wait.

Have a great weekend!