Sour Cherry Almond Torte
A tender almond cake layered with jammy sour cherry filling and topped with a buttery crumb and sliced almonds. Lovely dusted with icing sugar or served with vanilla ice cream.
Servings: 10 servings
Ingredients
For the filling
- 1 lb sour cherries about 3 1/2 cups
- 2 tbsp flour
- ¼ cup sugar
For the cake
- 1 ¼ cups flour
- 1 cup almond meal
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ tsp salt
- ¾ cup cold butter cut in 1/2-inch cubes
- 1 tsp baking soda
- ¾ cup buttermilk
- 1 egg
- ½ tsp almond extract
- ⅓ cup sliced almonds
Instructions
- Stir together the cherries, 2 tablespoons of flour and 1/4 cup sugar in a saucepan over medium heat. Cook until the cherries soften and the liquid thickens, about 7–10 minutes. Set the mixture aside to cool.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Grease a 9-inch springform pan; set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, almond meal, sugar and salt. Use a pastry blender to work the butter into the flour mixture until the butter pieces are no larger than lentils. Set aside 1/2 cup of the mixture for the topping. Stir the baking soda into the remaining mixture.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, egg and almond extract. Gently stir into the dry ingredients, mixing only until just combined.
- Spread two-thirds of the cake batter in the bottom of the springform pan. Use a large spoon to gently spread the cherry filling over the bottom layer, then drop the remaining 1/3 of the dough by spoonfuls over top. Gently smooth the surface with the back of a clean spoon; sprinkle with the reserved butter-flour mixture and the sliced almonds. Bake 55–65 minutes, until the top is deep golden brown and a tester inserted in the centre of the cake layer comes out clean. Cool in the pan 20 minutes before removing the ring; cool completely on a wire rack.
Notes
Reserve the crumb topping: Set aside 1/2 cup of the butter-flour mixture before adding the baking soda — it becomes the streusel-like top.
Sour cherries: Their tartness balances the sweet almond cake; frozen or drained jarred cherries work out of season.
Lentil-sized butter: Work the cold butter in just until pea/lentil-sized for a tender crumb.
Cool before unmolding: Let it set 20 minutes in the pan so the layers hold together.
Nutrition
Calories: 370kcal | Carbohydrates: 41g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 20g | Saturated Fat: 12g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 6g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 40mg | Sodium: 250mg | Potassium: 200mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 24g | Vitamin A: 400IU | Vitamin C: 8mg | Calcium: 80mg | Iron: 2mg