Cherry Pound Cake – A Birthday Gift

We had a friend over for dinner a few weeks ago and he said he really loved pound cake. Who doesn’t? As his birthday was around the corner I decided a pound cake was in order. What else do you get someone that has everything?

I use Martha Stewart’s Classic Pound Cake recipe from Martha Stewart’s Baking Handbook and added glacèd cherries. There is a pound cake with cherries that Safeway has near Christmas so I decided to try and replicate it as best I could. Perfect for any celebration.For this recipe I used:

3 Sticks (12 Oz.) Unsalted Butter
2 Cups of All Purpose Flour
1 Teaspoon of Salt
1 1/2 Cups of Sugar
1 Teaspoon of Vanilla Extract
6 Large Eggs
1 Pound of Glacèd Cherries

I gathered the ingredients together then buttered and floured the 9 x 5 Glass loaf pan.

Cherry Pound Cake – The Ingredients

Cherry Pound Cake – Buttered and Floured 9 x 5 Loaf Pan

After sifting the flour and salt together I put the butter and sugar in the bowl of my mixer and let it rip for 4 minutes. I stopped the mixer and scraped down the bowl a couple of times to ensure everything was light and fluffy.

Cherry Pound Cake – Sifted Flour and Salt

Cherry Pound Cake – Creaming the Butter and Sugar

Next it was time to add the eggs and vanilla. I added the vanilla then eggs one at a time with the mixer on a lower speed until everything was well combined.

Cherry Pound Cake – Adding the Eggs One at a Time

Now it was time to add the flour.  With the mixer on a low speed, I slowly added the flour until it was just mixed in. I removed the bowl from the mixer and finished off the batter by hand.

Cherry Pound Cake – The Final Flour Mix by Hand

Now the fun part started. I took about 1/3 of the batter and spread it in an even layer at the bottom of the loaf pan and added a layer of cherries. I carefully added a spread out another 1/3 of the batter and added the rest of the cherries. Then I topped the cherries off with the rest of the batter and put the cake in a 350˚ oven.

Cherry Pound Cake – Layering the Batter and Cherries

Cherry Pound Cake – Layering the Batter and Cherries

Cherry Pound Cake – Layering the Batter and Cherries

Cherry Pound Cake – Layering the Batter and Cherries

Cherry Pound Cake – Ready for the Oven

The recipe said it would take up to 55 minuets. my experience with the added cherries was a little longer at 70 minutes.

Cherry Pound Cake – Cooling

After fooling for 2 hours I wrapped the cake up and took it next door for the Birthday boy. He took the cake into work to share it and said it was “delicious!”

Cherry Pound Cake – In the Midst of Eating

Sadly another cake I did not get to try!

Bakers Notes:

• It was tricky with the timing on this one. The edges were a little browner that I would have liked.
• I should have topped it with an icing or glaze
• Use Glacèd Cherries – Maraschino Cherries will not work because they are too wet
• From the looks of the picture the cherries turned out correctly
• Use a glass pan for this recipe – a metal one just won’t do!

Happy Baking!