galleygirl sour cherry cake revisited

[mary shaposhnik]

This is an old recipe here on chowhound.

http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/281699

What do you think yould happen if I added some ground up almonds to the batter? I already use the almond extract.

[Caitlin McGrath]

I bet it would be terrific made with almond meal replacing half the flour. If I come upon any sour cherries this year I might have to try it that way.

[mary shaposhnik]

(yea, you're here!) Good idea to replace some flour. I was just going to throw it in. Often I find mine doesn't really cook in the middle anyway--which is still okay.

I'll give it a try tomorrow. (Sour cherries have been in NYC for 2 weeks now, and usually it's a 3-week season).

[Caitlin McGrath]

I'm in California now, and fresh sour cherries are a rare sight out here, though I've found some from Washington state in recent years.

[heidipie]

The sour cherries come to the Berkeley Bowl later in July, even in August sometimes.

This recipe can be taken in any direction you like, really. It's very close to the Marian Burros plum torte that used to be in the New York Times every year. Swap in most any fruit, swap out some flour for w/w or nut meal, etc. etc. Enjoy!

[greygarious]

Agreed - I often sub a third to a half of the flour in a cake or crust with almond meal. The texture of a cake will be a little heavier. Do not expect a lot of extra, strong almond flavor - that comes from extract, not the nuts. You could also use the spice "mahlab", which is made from ground up cherry pits and has an almond extract-y flavor. Almond extract itself can be made from apricot pits, rather than almonds. Ditto for amaretti cookies, which contain no almond.

[mary shaposhnik]

Thank you. What is mahlab usually used for? That sounds interesting.