Sunday 19 April 2009

Cherry streusel cake


This isn’t a show stopping cake that dazzles with the height of its layers or luxurious buttercream, but it is absolutely delicious. It falls into the category of rustic or farmhouse style cakes and, as regular readers will know, these are my favourites!


You could use a variety of fruits – I think plums would work well, but I went for cherry as I thought it would be delicious with the crumbly, nutty topping. This photo shows the three layers well; sponge, cherry and crumble:


The topping is extremely crumbly and, for that reason, I recommend you eat this cake in a dignified manner using a plate and a fork. No cramming it in leaning over the kitchen sink or you’ll lose half the topping!

Yes, that is a huge amount of cream. I can’t think of a single way to mitigate it....unflattering camera angle perhaps? Unfeasibly small piece of cake? I think you know me better than that...


Serving the cake with cream works particularly well as you can use the cream to pick up the crumbs – I’ve got it all sussed out!



Ingredients:
For the streusel topping:
85g chopped hazelnuts
85g plain flour
55g unsalted butter, cut into cubes
55g Demerara sugar

For the cake:
110g unsalted butter, at room temperature
100g caster sugar
2 eggs
75g self raising flour
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Approx 20 cherries – I used tinned

How to make:
- Preheat the oven to 190°C/fan oven 170°C/375°F/Gas mark 5.
- Line a 20cm round cake tin with baking paper.
- Start by making the topping: take half the hazelnuts and blitz in the food processor until you have fine crumbs. Chop the other half of the hazelnuts roughly.
- In a bowl rub together the ground hazelnuts, flour and butter until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs.
- Stir in the sugar and chopped nuts. Put to one side.
- Now make the cake: beat together the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy.
- Beat in the eggs one at a time.
- Beat in the vanilla.
- Stir in the flour.
- Spoon the thick cake batter into the prepared tin and level the surface.
- Place the cherries on top.
- Sprinkle over the streusel topping.
- Bake for approximately 1 hour or until a skewer inserted into the cake comes out cleanly. Mine took exactly an hour.
- Leave to cool in the tin before removing and storing in an airtight container.
- Serve with whipped or clotted cream.
- Bask in glory at the wonderful thing you have made.
- Eat.

16 comments:

trash said...

mmmmmm.... i think I see this ending up on the table after dinner one night this week.

Caroline said...

I too love cakes like this - ones that don't look all singing and dancing, but deliver the goods all the same! And it's always a bonus not having to mess around making buttercream etc (delicious though it is).

Love the dollop of cream!

Katie said...

Wow the cherry crumble cake looks fantastic! The cream looks so thick too - is it clotted cream? Send a slice my way please!

Maggie said...

I have made this cake a couple of times now.......you have certainly done justice to it......now you are making me want to cook this again!

Elyse said...

I always knew that cream served more than just aesthetic and tasty functions! It's a great crumb-picker-upper, too!! This cake looks incredible. I'd say it's definitely a show-stopper. You don't need piles of buttercream to make me hungry. And I just love that the recipe uses cherries!

A_and_N said...

moist cake, crunchy streusel...what more can you ask for!

I just read the 'about me' section. I was literally rotfl! hilarious :)

Sam said...

That looks fantastic! I love this kind of cake, especially when there's a huge dollop of cream with it!

Cakelaw said...

What a gorgeous sounding cake - cherries plus hazelnuts = delicious!

Maria said...

I love all of that streusel!

Fiona Reynolds said...

Not a show stopper? I beg to differ! I'm drooling.

Emily said...

Oh my goodness I have to try this cake! I just bought cherries. I love cherry and streusel together.

Anamika:The Sugarcrafter said...

Absloutely yummy.. and to be frank though I make beautiful designed cakes.. when come to my birthday, i love farmstyle cakes... not a crumb to be wasted.My friend Christine loves baking cakes.. surely going to give her this receipe for this weekend and me just enjoying it...

Jacqueline Meldrum said...

I nearly cried when I saw the picture with the dollop of cream :)

glamah16 said...

My type of cake. And that big dollap of cream just makes it heavenly.

silverpebble said...

Is it a bird? Is it a plane? Is it a cake? Is it a crumble? I don't really care, I want to eat it x

Sophie said...

The crumb topping looks divine, I haven't had a cherry dessert in so long and this is definitely making me miss them :0).