This cherry upside down cake is the perfect dessert to share with friends and family this summer, even during cherry season. Using frozen cherries makes this so easy and quick because you don't need a cherry pitter. The batter whips up fast too and you don't even need a mixer. What could be easier?
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Cherries are popular in our house all year long, but especially during the summer. But since cherries aren't around all the time, this cherry cake made with dark sweet frozen pitted cherries is a great way to get the taste of summer any time of the year.
This cherry dessert has a great texture and moistness even though it's a bit rustic. I recommend making it the day before you want to serve it. I think the texture gets even better the next day.
Have it for breakfast with your morning cup of coffee and later on with some whipped cream for dessert! The cake isn't loaded with sugar so the cherry flavor really comes through.
This recipe is inspired by an old Bon Appétit recipe, but with a few minor changes that I really like and hope you like them too.
If you want to try another cherry dessert, try my Chocolate Cherry Bundt Cake!
Why you'll love this recipe
- Uses frozen (unthawed) cherries for simplicity
- No electric mixer needed
- Delicious cake that can be eaten for dessert or breakfast
Ingredients
Butter - unsalted butter works best for this recipe, especially the butter that mixes with the cherries. Salted butter in the cake batter should be okay.
Frozen sweet dark cherries - you will not need to thaw these out first. I used a 16 ounce bag (one pound). The original recipe calls for 20 ounces, which is great if you want to buy two bags and have some leftover for a chocolate cherry smoothie. I don't recommend using less than 16 ounces. Fresh cherries when in season are great to use! Be sure to remove pits first.
Sugar - I used regular white sugar. This cake isn't sweet like a layer cake so if you use brown sugar, it may be even less sweet. Just keep that in mind.
Lime juice and lime zest - the original called for lemon zest and lemon juice, but being that I love lime thanks to my Tex Mex roots. I have made it with lemon and it's also very tasty. Orange is another great option.
All purpose flour - ap flour is a pantry staple, but if you want to go the extra mile, try some cake flour.
Baking powder, Salt, and Baking Soda
Eggs - I always use large eggs when baking.
Greek yogurt or sour cream- the original called for sour cream, but I used a full fat Greek yogurt to see what would happen. The cake was more light and airy than the sour cream version. If you prefer a denser texture, go for full fat sour cream.
How to make it
1/ Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
2/ Cut a piece of parchment paper to line the bottom of a 8 inch cake pan. To do this, place the cake pan on a sheet of parchment paper use a pencil to mark the outline then cut it out. Spray the bottom and sides of the pan with cooking spray then place the circle of parchment paper in the bottom of the pan.
3/ Add frozen cherries, sugar, lime juice, and butter in a sauce pan. Cook on medium heat for 20 minutes. Pour cherry mixture into prepared cake pan.
While the cherries are cooking, make the cake batter.
4/ In a large mixing bowl, add flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and baking soda. Whisk flour mixture to combine.
5/ In a separate large bowl, mix the eggs, sour cream or yogurt, cooled melted butter, and lime zest. Combine well.
6/ Slowly add the flour mixture to the egg mixture. Once it's combined, mix it well with a whisk until smooth and no lumps remain.
7/ Carefully spoon the cake batter over the cooked cherries. Spread the batter, without moving the cherries around so they will stay positioned on the top of the cake.
8/ Bake cake in the center of oven for 45 to 55 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean (or with a few moist crumbs) and the center of the cake is springy to the touch. Cool in pan on wire rack for about 10 minutes.
9/ Now for the fun part! Run a knife along the sides of cake pan to be sure nothing is sticking. Invert onto a cooling rack and peel the parchment paper away. If some cherries get stuck to the paper, just place them back on top. Cool completely then place on a serving plate.
OPTIONAL: Serve with whipped cream, vanilla ice cream, or a dollop of greek yogurt sweetened with honey and lime zest (to taste).
Tips
- The original recipe says to bake cherries in the cake pan for 40 minutes rather than cooking them on the stove like I did. I decided to try the stove top method because I was able to reduce the cook time by 20 minutes. Also, I live in Texas and the less the oven is running, the better!
- The original recipe doesn't call for vanilla extract, but I think that would add a nice flavor. Next time I think I will add some orange extract.
- I have not tried this, but I think using cherry pie filling could be used in place of making the cherry topping. Just something to think about for next time.
- I don't recommend replacing frozen cherries for maraschino cherries. Fresh pitted sweet cherries would be a better option. The kind I often see are Bing cherries and Mt. Rainier cherries.
- This cherry upside down cake can be made in a cast iron skillet.
How to store
Store your cherry upside down cake at room temperature for a day or two. Cover it loosely with some plastic wrap and keep it in a cool spot (away from a warm window).
You can refrigerate the cake for longer storage wrapped tightly or in an airtight container.
You can freeze the cake as well. Wrap in plastic wrap and place in freezer storage bags or containers.
Keep in mind that the taste and texture of your cherry upside down cake is best the day after baking. The cake tends to dry out the longer it sits out.
More easy cake recipes
📖 Recipe
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Cherry Upside Down Cake
Equipment
Ingredients
For cherries:
- 16 oz frozen dark sweet cherries unthawed
- 2 tablespoon sugar
- 2 tablespoon lime juice
- 2 tablespoon butter
For the cake batter:
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 cup sugar
- ½ teaspoon salt omit if using salted butter
- 2 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- 3 eggs large
- 1 cup Greek yogurt or sour cream
- 5 tablespoon butter, melted
- 2 teaspoon lime zest
Topping suggestions
- Ice cream, whipped cream, sweetened yogurt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Cut a piece of parchment paper to line the bottom of a 8 inch cake pan. To do this, place the cake pan on a sheet of parchment paper use a pencil to mark the outline then cut it out. Spray the bottom and sides of the pan with cooking spray then place the circle of parchment paper in the bottom of the pan.
- Add frozen cherries (unthawed) sugar, lime juice, and 2 tablespoon butter in a sauce pan. Cook on medium heat for 20 minutes. Pour cherry mixture into prepared cake pan.
- In a large mixing bowl, add flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. Whisk flour mixture to combine.
- In a separate large bowl, mix the eggs, sour cream or yogurt, cooled melted butter, and lime zest.
- Slowly add the flour mixture to the egg mixture. Once it's combined, mix it well with a whisk until smooth and no lumps remain.
- Carefully spoon the cake batter over the cooked cherries. Spread the batter, without moving the cherries around so they will stay positioned on the top of the cake.
- Bake cake in the center of oven for 45 to 55 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean (or with a few moist crumbs) and the center of the cake is springy to the touch. Cool in pan on wire rack for about 10 minutes.
- Run a knife along the sides of cake pan to be sure nothing is sticking. Invert onto a cooling rack and peel the parchment paper away. If some cherries get stuck to the paper, just place them back on top. Cool completely then place on a serving plate.
- Serve with whipped cream, vanilla ice cream, or a dollop of greek yogurt sweetened with honey and lime zest (to taste). Topping not included in nutrition label.
Nikole Berg
Easy!