SOUR CHERRY CRUMB CAKE

A streusel topped crumb cake with a fruity, jammy filling

Photograph by Rana Düzyol, food styling by Pearl Jones, prop styling by Beth Pakradooni

There’s just nothing better than a plush, buttery cake topped with crispy crumbly bits of cinnamon sugar goodness. And adding a jammy swirl of sweet-tart cherries to the batter results in a summery twist on this otherwise evergreen classic. If you can’t get your hands on fresh sour cherries, frozen will work; they’ll just need some extra time on the stove to get jammy. And if you can’t find sour cherries, you can use standard sweet cherries. You'll want to reduce the amount of sugar to ¼ cup and add the zest and juice of 1 lemon to the cooled cherry mixture before adding it to the baking pan.

12 SERVINGS/ 1 HOUR 50 MINUTES, PLUS COOLING

INGREDIENTS

For the cherry swirl:

1½ lb. fresh sour cherries*, pitted

½ cup (100g) granulated sugar

½ tsp. Diamond Crystal kosher salt

For the streusel:

1¼ cups (156g) all-purpose flour

1 cup (200g; packed) light brown sugar

1 tsp. Diamond Crystal kosher salt

1 tsp. ground cardamom

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted, slightly cooled

For the cake and assembly:

2 cups (250g) all-purpose flour

1 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. Diamond Crystal kosher salt

1 cup (200g) granulated sugar

½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature

2 large eggs

1 cup sour cream

⅓ cup buttermilk

2 tsp. vanilla extract

* Instead of…

Fresh sour cherries, use frozen cherries

METHOD

Bring sour cherries, sugar, and kosher salt to a boil in a medium saucepan. Cook, stirring often and smashing cherries with a wooden spoon, until cherries are softened and just coated in syrup, 15–20 minutes for fresh, 25–30 minutes for frozen. Let cool.

For the streusel, whisk flour, light brown sugar, kosher salt, ground cardamom, and ground cinnamon in a medium bowl. Pour butter over and gently mix with a fork just until crumbs start to form (be careful not to overmix). Set streusel aside.

Center the oven rack and preheat to 350°F. Line a 13x9 inch baking pan with parchment paper, leaving overhang on long sides.

For the cake, whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, and kosher salt in a medium bowl to combine. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, beat granulated sugar and butter on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add eggs one at a time, mixing to incorporate after each addition. Mix in sour cream, buttermilk, and vanilla extract. (The mixture might look curdled at this point.) Reduce speed to low and add dry ingredients; mix until just combined. Using a rubber spatula, scrape down sides of the bowl to incorporate everything well.

Scrape two thirds of the batter into prepared pan and spread into an even layer. Spread over cherry swirl, then top with remaining batter. Top with reserved streusel, scattering smaller crumbs over first, then topping with larger ones.

Bake crumb cake until a tester inserted into the center comes out clean, 35–40 minutes. Transfer pan to a wire rack and let cake cool in pan at least 30 minutes. Turn cake out onto a cutting board and cut into 12 pieces to serve.

Do ahead: Cake can be baked 1 day ahead. Let cool completely. Store tightly wrapped at room temperature.

This recipe was originally developed for Bon Appetit.