Ingredients
Scale
- 1 cup frozen, pitted cherries
- 2 1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 1 TBSP freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened (2 sticks)
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup full fat sour cream
- 1/4 tsp almond extract
- 3/4 cup chopped dark or semisweet chocolate (I used a 3.5 oz bar of 90% cocoa bar. With a bar this strong it was more than enough)
- Vanilla Bean Glaze
- 1 vanilla bean, split and scraped
- 1 cup confectioner’s sugar
- 1/4 cup heavy cream (more if needed)
- pinch of salt
- Optional:
- 12 cherry halves
- white sanding sugar
Instructions
- You can either put the pitted, frozen cherries in a food processor and pulse them a few times until they are finely chopped or chop them yourself with a sharp knife. This is what I did and it worked fine.
- Add the cherries, 1/4 cup of the sugar and the lemon juice to a small heavy bottomed pan and heat over medium heat until it boils. Reduce to a simmer and let cook for about 10 minutes until it is like a thick jam. Set aside and let cool
- Alternately you can use 2/3rds a cup of cherry jam. Just be sure to reduce the sugar you use in the cake by 1/4 cup
- Butter and flour a 10 cup bundt pan
- Preheat oven to 350°
- In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt.
- In a stand mixer with the paddle attached cream together the butter and the remaining 2 1/4 cups of sugar until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes.
- Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
- Beat in the vanilla
- With the mixer on low add in the flour in fourths alternating with the sour cream in thirds, beginning and ending with the flour.
- Remove 1 1/2 cups of the batter to a small bowl. Gently fold in the cherry jam mixture and the almond extract.
- To the remaining batter, gently fold in the chopped chocolate.
- Add the two batters to the prepared bundt pan by placing two dollops of the chocolate mixed batter to one dollop of the cherry mixed batter.
- Keep alternating the batters until all has been added to the pan.
- Use a butter knife to swirl the batters being careful to not overmix them.
- Give the pan a couple of good taps to release any air bubbles and then smooth top with an offset spatula.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 50 - 60 minutes until a cake tester comes out clean.
- Let the cake cool in the pan for 15 minutes and then unmold it onto a wire rack to cool completely.
- While the cake is cooling make the Vanilla Bean Glaze
- Sift the confectioner’s sugar to get out any lumps.
- Scrape the seeds out of the vanilla bean and add to the sugar.
- Add the cream and pinch of salt and whisk until well combined.
- Drizzle the glaze over the cake.
- If desired roll cherry halves in sanding sugar and place them around the top of the cake.