Che(e)rry delight !!!

It is the season of fresh, gorgeous and lusciously red cherries. A single bite into the sweet, juicy fruit has the power to transport you to the high heavens of culinary delights. But if you thought that the only way to eat this delicate fruit was in its raw form, think again. I ventured beyond the usual and decided to mix my passion for baking with love for the fruit. The result indeed put my family members (my usual guinea pigs...:D) into a che(e)rry mood.

While the fruit in itself has a moist flavour, think of adding this texture to the soft spongy speciality of a cake. The result, tried & tested, would be would be a volcano of tastes, which would include the rich sweetness of soft cherries along with the softness of a sponge cake that would explode on your tongue. So all the myths related to the fruit cakes stood the test of time and my 'Cherry cake' was one of the best recipes that I have tried till date. 

The best thing that I love about cooking is the fact that with every recipe you tend to learn something new. In this particular case, I learnt the art of pitting (removing the seeds from) the cherries. While a number of cherry pitter tools may be available in the market, I stuck with a hiomemade equipment, which nonetheless turned out to be extremely affective. All you need is a paper clip. Open the clip, insert it into the cherry and remove the seed. If you have never done this process before, don't get scared if the first few tend to become soggy. Trust me, you will get the hang of it soon enough.

So here comes the recipe of this delicious and mouthe watering cake. Enjoy!!!

Cherry cake recipe -

Ingredients -

Fresh cherries (pitted) - 450 gms (1 pound)

All purpose flour - 1 1/2 cups (195 gms)

Baking powder - 1 1/2 tsps

Salt - 1/4 tsps

Eggs - 2 large

Granulated white sugar - 3/4 cup (150 cups)

Unsalted butter (melted and cooked) - 1/2 cup (110 gms)

Milk - 1/3 cup (80 ml)

Vanilla essence - 1 tsp

Zest (the outer yellw skin of a lemon) - 1/2 lemon

Method of preparation -

• Pit the cherries. Keep 1/4 of the cherries aside.
• Beat the sugar, butter and eggs in a bowl till they take the form of a yellow batter.
• Mix the flour and baking poder. Add this mixture to the previously prepared batter.
• Add lemon zest, milk, vanilla essence to this mix and beat well.
• Add the larger portion of the cherries to the mixture and mix slowly and carefully.
• Preheat your oven to 205 degrees celcius.
• Meanwhile butter your baking tin and dust it well with flour. 
• Pour the mixture into the baking tin and put it for baking.
• After 15 minutes take out the baking tin and put the rest of the cherries on the top layer of the slightly thickened batter.
• Return the dish back to the oven and bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or till the time the crust turns light brown and the cake leaves the side of the baking tin.

 Take the cake out of the baking dish onto an attractive dish. Serve it with a side of vanilla ice cream and watch yout loved ones enjoy this preparation. :)