Pound Cake. A dense flavorful cake that can be served for breakfast, brunch, or dessert! That is not the official definition but the definition that I go by! This Cherry Almond Pound Cake is a fancy version of its sibling…. the traditional pound cake. I’m a sucker for almond extract and if your like me and love the stuff then you’ll love the pound cake. Pound cakes are dense. Partly thanks to the 5 eggs and two sticks of butter. They really do weight over a pound once you bake it in the oven for a good hour or so. I never understood the name until I baked a pound cake and then wrapped it in aluminum foil. I lifted it and realized “wow this really is a pound cake”. I know… those little ah-ha moments in life. You have to love them.
My mom loves pound cakes. It’s typically what she request for dessert if she happens to be eating over at my home. Of course that and homemade whipped cream with some fresh berries on top. But I’m happy to say that with this Cherry Almond Pound Cake you don’t need any additional toppings to bring it to life. The dried cherries paired with the almond extract is all you need! Whether you are eating this for breakfast or serving this up as filling dessert, your family and friends will love this pound cake!
Adapted from Martha Stewart
Cherry Almond Pound Cake
Ingredients
- 2 sticks unsalted butter room temperature, plus more for pan
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour spooned and leveled, sifted, plus more for pan
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
- 5 large eggs room temperature, lightly beaten
- ½ teaspoon coarse salt
- 1 cup dried cherries
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- While the oven is preheating soak cherries in water for 15 minutes.
- Lightly butter and flour a 4 ½-by-8 ½-inch loaf pan and set to the side. In a stand mixer beat butter and sugar on medium-high until very light and fluffy (about 7 minutes). Scrape down bowl and beat for 1 additional minute more. Add almond extract, and add eggs one at a time (beating well and scraping down bowl as needed). With the mixer on low add the salt and gradually add flour, beating well to combine and scraping down bowl as needed. Lastly, drain the cherries and add them to the mixture, mix for 30 seconds until incorporated.
- Transfer the pound cake batter to pan and bake for 65 minutes (insert tooth pick in the center to ensure cake is cooked). Let cool in pan on a wire rack, 1 hour then remove cake from pan and let cool completely on rack before slicing.
Elizabeth
I randomly had some dried cherries and luckily I found your recipe! So easy, on hand ingredients and delicious!
Katie
Hi Elizabeth, glad that you enjoyed this recipe!
Doug
Turned out perfect!
Katie
Doug–thank you for leaving a 5-star comment! I’m so happy you loved this recipe.
Sandy Brushwood
This is exactly the kind of recipe I’ve been looking for! Very anxious to try it! I have a question. Why the coarsely ground salt versus regular salt? Will regular salt work also?
Katie
Hi Sandy, yes either salt would work just fine. I think at the time I probably only had coarse salt on hand! Good luck baking!
Guadalupe B. Dorantes
Just finished baking this wonderful pound cake, with fresh cherries, it is to die for. All I can say is Delicious, delicious. The family loved it! Thank you for sharing this recipe. GREETING.
Katie
Thank you so much for taking the time to leave a comment. I’m so glad you enjoyed this pound cake!
Dawn
Fresh cherries are in season right now. Is it possible to use fresh chopped cherries instead of dried soaked ones?? Thanks!!
Katie
Hi Dawn! I’ve never tested this recipe with fresh cherries so I honestly cannot tell you if it will work or not. If you do give it a try I would lightly coat the cherries in flour so that the cherries don’t all sink to the bottom. Let me know if you give this recipe a try with fresh cherries and if so how it turned out!
Michael Castro
Pound cakes aren’t named that because they weigh a pound…..they were named that because they originally requited one pound each of butter, sugar, eggs and flour.
Katie
Hi Michael, thank you for taking the time to leave a comment and for clarifying why they are called pound cakes!
Nutmeg Nanny
This looks so perfect 🙂 I love cherry & almond!
Christine (Cook the Story)
You know, I don’t have much of a sweet tooth, but I do love pound cake. There’s something about its dense moistness that feels more like a meal and makes me satisfied more than a sweet little dessert does. Love hte flavors in this one!
Katie
Thanks Christine! I love all desserts! I’m not biased! lol.
Arthur in the Garden!
OMG! Looks wonderful!
Crystal @ Simply Playful Fare
This looks great! I love cherry and almond together.