Polka-Dot Cake

About 10 days ago I went for my fortnightly shop to Sainsbury's. Now when you enter Sainsbury's the first beautiful thing you see are the fresh cut flowers and the next item that is a treat to your eyes is the fresh fruit. On my last trip there I found these beautiful fresh cherries. They were all attractively packed in cute little transparent plastic bags and were just begging to be bought. Well atleast I convinced myself of that and picked myself a bag.

Though the husband is not too fond of them, my son and I love them. But as it turns out my son was not in the MOOD for cherries this time. I admit they had competetion with the grapes in the fruit basket which he simply adores. So it was me who ended eating quite a lot of them. But how many cherries can one eat? I mean after a while even I got tired of them, so I put them in the fridge. But everytime I opened the fridge they sat there so pretty andI knew I had to do something interesting with them so that the son AND the husband would agree to eat them. So I got onto the internet and found the perfect solution on this beautiful site by the name " Joy of Baking"

Some of you might already know about this site, but for those who don't its a must-see. I found this very very simple recipe for Cherry Cake. And that's what I am sharing with you today. But first take a look at the pic

Like it? Well then go ahead and give it a try . Its awesome. I have made a few changes to the recipe. For e.g. I had fewer cherries than the amount specified (the original recipe needs 1 pound of cherries), and secondly I used brown sugar instead of white.

Polka Dot Cherry Cake:

1/2 a pound (454 grams) fresh cherries, pitted

1 1/2 cups (210 grams) all purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 large eggs

3/4 cup (150 grams) granulated white or brown sugar (I used demerara),

1/2 cup (113 grams) unsalted butter, melted and cooled,

1/3 cup (80 ml) milk ,

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract,

Zest of 1 lemon.

How to proceed:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (205 degrees C).

Butter and flour an 9 inch (23 cm) spring form pan and line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper. Set aside.

Rinse, dry, and pit all the cherries. Cut all the cherries in half . Keep aside 1/4 of the cherries (to be placed on the top of the cake during baking) .

In a separate bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.

Beat the eggs and sugar well (about 3-5 minutes).

Add the melted butter, milk, vanilla, and lemon zest and beat just until incorporated.

Add the flour mixture and stir just until moistened. Gently fold in the pitted cherries (but not the ones you have kept aside for the top of the cake).

Pour the batter into the prepared pan, smoothing the top with an offset spatula.
Bake for 10minutes then remove from oven.

Quickly arrange the remaining cherries, cut side down, on the top of the cake.

Return the cake to the oven and bake for a further 20 minutes or until golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the cake portion comes out clean.

Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool slightly.

Serve warm or at room temperature with a dollop of softly whipped cream.

Makes 8 - 10 servings.