Measurements [metric]
- 1 jar of sour cherries (also called Morello cherries)
- 1 c butter
- 1 c sugar, softened
- 4 eggs
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp baking powder
- Either:
- 3/4 c flour
- 1 c cake flour
- 4 oz almonds, ground
- 4 oz bittersweet chocolate, ground
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 2 Tb rum (preferably dark)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Drain cherries. Grease and flour a 10 inch pan. (You can probably use a 9 inch if you don't have a 10 inch. I use a springform.)
Cream butter on high speed until light and fluffy. Sift together the flour, cinnamon and baking powder. Reduce speed to medium. Add one fourth of the sugar to the butter, then one egg, then one fourth of the flour mixture. Continue alternately adding the sugar, eggs and flour mixture. Stir in the rum, vanilla, almonds and chocolate. Pour batter into the pan, and drop all the drained cherries on top.
Bake 50 to 60 minutes.
The standard chocolate cake in our house. I've made it so many times I could do it in my sleep, and don't notice that pulling out the food processor to grind the chocolate and nuts is an extra step. The only ingredient that might be more difficult to find is the jarred cherries. I suggest your local German delicatessen.
This recipe comes from my aunt's mother, who lived in Dettingen, Germany, and was "Dettingen grandma" to my cousins. Afternoon coffee always seems to feature cake with fruit. One coffee hour I spent quietly spitting out the pits from my hostess's home-canned cherries. Great cake, but those pits!