Kirsch Kuchen (Cherry Cake)
I was recently in Germany for a whistlestop family visit. As is usual with my family (and I am sure, many others) no sooner had we walked in the door on the afternoon of our arrival, then we were sitting down drinking coffee and eating cake. And no sooner had we finished that, we were sitting down to a traditional, and very delicious, Bavarian meal prepared by my cousin. Sausages, cucumber salad, warm potato salad (the German kind made with hot vinaigrette, not the American version. Far too heavy on the mayonnaise for my liking), rye bread and German mustard were on the menu, all washed down with a beer. It was a very wonderful welcome.
I only tell you this as it reminded me of all the times I spent visiting my Bavarian grandparents, when every day revolved around food. First there was breakfast, then elevenses, lunch, a spot of kaffee und kuchen in the afternoon, and if we were still hungry after all of that, there was a light supper. Not surprisingly, I always came back from my German holidays a few pounds heavier.
However, although we ate cake, pudding was rare. Maybe occasionally some gelato from the Italian ice cream parlours that are on every corner during the summer, but mostly we always had fruit, and it was no different during my recent visit.
On the table was a large dish of the biggest, plumpest, reddest and juiciest cherries I have seen in a long while. This got me very excited as I absolutely love cherries. They are by far my favourite summer fruit, and I can happily chew (and spit) my way through a punnet or two with ease.
Seeing these cherries reminded me of a recipe for Cherry Cake that I had seen in my grandmother's handwritten cookery book. She was a fantastic cook, and at some point in the early sixties she wrote her own personal recipe book. All categories were covered, from cakes, puddings, and Christmas baking, to savoury starters, main courses and drinks, all written in her beautiful handwriting.
My mother now has the book in her possession but I have borrowed it for inspiration. It is funny, but in all the years I have been baking, I don't think I have ever baked anything German, other than the goodies I bake at Christmas. Perhaps it is because my mother always made her mother's recipes, and so I never felt the need to.
However, I don't think she ever made this one, and as we are in cherry season, it was the perfect time to give this cake a try. I have made a couple of changes to the recipe and added a few more details that were missing from the original version. My grandmother wrote a wonderful book, but reading it, well, you can tell that she wrote it for herself, as on occasion the methods are a little vague. For example: make the batter, put in a cake tin, bake for an hour.
Yes, that is all very well, Granny, but HOW do you make the batter? WHAT size should the tin be?, and at WHAT temperature?! You see, vague.
This is a super cake, very light, and not at all dry. There is a background note of lemon, but this could easily be replaced with almond extract if you wish since almonds and cherries are perfect partners. I was tempted to do this, but as this is my grandmother's recipe, it is only right that to do it justice I should follow the recipe as written. What did surprise me about this cake is that in my opinion, it has a 'German' flavour. I wish I could explain what that means, but I don't think I can. Perhaps it is just knowing the cake's history that it makes sense that it should taste of her homeland.
For the Cake
I was recently in Germany for a whistlestop family visit. As is usual with my family (and I am sure, many others) no sooner had we walked in the door on the afternoon of our arrival, then we were sitting down drinking coffee and eating cake. And no sooner had we finished that, we were sitting down to a traditional, and very delicious, Bavarian meal prepared by my cousin. Sausages, cucumber salad, warm potato salad (the German kind made with hot vinaigrette, not the American version. Far too heavy on the mayonnaise for my liking), rye bread and German mustard were on the menu, all washed down with a beer. It was a very wonderful welcome.
I only tell you this as it reminded me of all the times I spent visiting my Bavarian grandparents, when every day revolved around food. First there was breakfast, then elevenses, lunch, a spot of kaffee und kuchen in the afternoon, and if we were still hungry after all of that, there was a light supper. Not surprisingly, I always came back from my German holidays a few pounds heavier.
However, although we ate cake, pudding was rare. Maybe occasionally some gelato from the Italian ice cream parlours that are on every corner during the summer, but mostly we always had fruit, and it was no different during my recent visit.
On the table was a large dish of the biggest, plumpest, reddest and juiciest cherries I have seen in a long while. This got me very excited as I absolutely love cherries. They are by far my favourite summer fruit, and I can happily chew (and spit) my way through a punnet or two with ease.
Seeing these cherries reminded me of a recipe for Cherry Cake that I had seen in my grandmother's handwritten cookery book. She was a fantastic cook, and at some point in the early sixties she wrote her own personal recipe book. All categories were covered, from cakes, puddings, and Christmas baking, to savoury starters, main courses and drinks, all written in her beautiful handwriting.
My mother now has the book in her possession but I have borrowed it for inspiration. It is funny, but in all the years I have been baking, I don't think I have ever baked anything German, other than the goodies I bake at Christmas. Perhaps it is because my mother always made her mother's recipes, and so I never felt the need to.
Yes, that is all very well, Granny, but HOW do you make the batter? WHAT size should the tin be?, and at WHAT temperature?! You see, vague.
This is a super cake, very light, and not at all dry. There is a background note of lemon, but this could easily be replaced with almond extract if you wish since almonds and cherries are perfect partners. I was tempted to do this, but as this is my grandmother's recipe, it is only right that to do it justice I should follow the recipe as written. What did surprise me about this cake is that in my opinion, it has a 'German' flavour. I wish I could explain what that means, but I don't think I can. Perhaps it is just knowing the cake's history that it makes sense that it should taste of her homeland.
200g unsalted butter, softened and at room temperature
200g icing sugar, sifted
200g self raising flour
4 large eggs
zest of 1 lemon (or 1 tsp of almond extract)
450g cherries, stoned and kept whole if possible (see the notes below)
Icing sugar for dusting
You will also need a 22cm (8 1/2") springform tin, greased and base lined with baking parchment
1. Preheat the oven to 160C / 150C fan / 325F / Gas 3-4.
2. Beat the butter and icing sugar together until very fluffy and pale in colour, about 4-5 minutes.
3. Beat in the eggs one at a time with a tablespoon of the sifted flour to prevent curdling.
4. Beat in the lemon zest and then fold in the flour gently. Don't over beat as you want to keep in as much air as possible. Once all of the flour is incorporated, stop mixing.
5. Put half of the mixture in the prepared tin, and then lay the cherries in one layer over it. They will sink to the bottom but don't worry about this.
6. Cover the cherries with the remaining mixture and level the surface.
7. Bake for 50 minutes to an hour. My grandmother says to bake for an hour, but mine was ready in 50 minutes. Therefore you could open the oven door after 50 minutes if you wish, to check if it is done, and if not, then every 5 minutes or so until a skewer or cocktail stick comes out clean.
8. Take the cake out of the oven and leave it in the tin for 15 minutes. Remove from the tin and put onto a cooling rack. I would add to be careful with the cake as it is quite delicate while warm.
9. When the cake is cold, drench in sifted icing sugar and devour. I recommend with some whipped cream!
Baking Notes
Stoning cherries is very laborious and very dull, and unless you have time on your hands I would strongly suggest that you use a cherry stoner. I cannot say that it makes the job any more interesting, but it certainly makes light work of it, and keeps the fruit whole, which adds to the look of the cake when cut. Feel free to use tinned cherries (in juice, not syrup), or those in a glass jar, but do make sure that they are very well drained before you use them, and any excess liquid removed with kitchen paper.
Stoning cherries is very laborious and very dull, and unless you have time on your hands I would strongly suggest that you use a cherry stoner. I cannot say that it makes the job any more interesting, but it certainly makes light work of it, and keeps the fruit whole, which adds to the look of the cake when cut. Feel free to use tinned cherries (in juice, not syrup), or those in a glass jar, but do make sure that they are very well drained before you use them, and any excess liquid removed with kitchen paper.
