Easy Homemade Cherry Cake Recipe

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Easy Homemade Cherry Cake Recipe with sour cherries is a delicious and simple snack cake. Perfect for breakfast, a Sunday brunch, or dessert. Make it with fresh cherries when it's cherry season or use the jarred sour cherries!

Why you'll love this cherry cake recipe from scratch:

Easy to make: Made with simple pantry ingredients and sour cherries. If you're a beginner baker, you should try this out. You could use fresh or jarred cherries.
Super fluffy cake: The combination of fluffy egg whites and creamy egg yolks creates a light and airy texture.
Not overly sweet: A really great cake to enjoy for breakfast or a lazy Sunday brunch.
Lots of cherries: You could use sweet or sour cherries. I used jarred sour cherries, and they are so lovely in this cake!

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Why you'll love this cherry cake recipe from scratch:
Ingredients in a best cherry cake recipe:
How to make a cherry cake?
Expert tips for easy cherry cake:
Variations of cherry flavored cake:
What to serve with homemade cherry cake:
How to store easy cherry cake:
FAQ's
Some other dessert recipes to enjoy:
Easy Homemade Cherry Cake Recipe

This homemade cherry cake is one of my favorite childhood coffee cakes. It goes so perfectly for breakfast or as an afternoon snack. You may be lucky to have your very own cherry or sour cherry tree in your yard. When they are in season, get picking and make this cake!

Like I mentioned, this is one cake from my childhood that is so special to me. My dear Hungarian great-aunt Mariska was quite a baker, and this is one cake she used to make in the summertime. She used to make it in the 9x13 pan and slice it into squares. The jarred cherries I use for it are actually from Hungary.

You're just going to love this super soft, fluffy cake that is bursting with cherries. It's really easy to make and will impress any guests or your family! Let's get onto this recipe!

Ingredients in a best cherry cake recipe:

Here is all you need to make this really simple cherry cake recipe. Full printable recipe is below:

All-purpose flour: used as the main dry ingredient in the cake batter, providing structure and texture.
Eggs: provide moisture and act as a binding agent for the other ingredients.
Granulated sugar: adds sweetness to the cake and helps with browning and texture.
Oil or unsalted butter: adds richness and flavor to the cake, as well as helping with moisture.
Yogurt: adds moisture and tanginess to the cake, also helps with tenderness and texture.
Vanilla extract: adds flavor and aroma to the cake.
Baking powder: a leavening agent that helps the cake rise.
Sea salt: enhances flavors in the cake batter.
Milk: adds additional moisture and helps thin out the batter if needed.
Cherries: adds flavor, texture and a pop of color to the cake. Can be substituted with other fruits.
Confectioner's sugar: used for dusting on top of the finished cake for added sweetness and decoration.

How to make a cherry cake?

Here are the steps to make this easy cake recipe. Full printable recipe is below.

Prep your baking pan: As soon as you gather all the ingredients to start the cake, prep your pan.
Heat oven: Preheat oven to 350 F. If you're using butter, melt the butter and set aside.
Whisk dry ingredients: In a medium sized bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt and lemon zest; set aside.
Beat egg whites: In a stand mixer (or with a hand mixer, in a medium sized mixing bowl) beat the egg whites until white and form soft peaks.
Beat egg yolks: In a clean mixing bowl, add the sugar and beat in the egg yolks one at a time.
Add in dry ingredients: On medium speed, mix in about ½ cup of the flour mixture to the egg and sugar mixture; beat about one minute. Beat in another ½ cup of the flour mixture.
Add in oil (or butter): Slowly add in the oil; beat until combined (about 1 more minute). Stop the mixture to scrape the sides of the mixing bowl with a spatula when needed.
Add in the yogurt: On medium speed, mix in ½ of the yogurt and the vanilla followed by another ½ cup of the flour mixture until combined (about 1 minute), scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.
Mix in the rest of the yogurt followed by the rest of the flour mixture. If the batter feels too dense and thick, start to mix in some of the milk. I had some sourdough discard on hand and I added a little bit in (that's totally optional).

Stir in about ⅓ of the egg whites into the batter. Gently fold in the rest of the egg whites. With a mixing spoon or spatula the batter from the bottom of the bowl over the egg whites and keep turning the bowl around until it is all folded together.

Gently fold in the cherries. Reserve some to place on the top of the cake batter.
Spoon out batter into the prepped cake pan and even out the top of the batter with your spatula; tap pan carefully on your counter to level out the batter.
Let cake cool and then remove the bottom of the pan and place on your serving plate. Dust with confectioner's sugar before serving.

Expert tips for easy cherry cake:

I prefer to use jarred sour cherries for making this cherry cake recipe. If you have fresh cherries on hand and do not mind pitting them, go ahead and use them.
The jarred cherries need to be drained.
The cake would be made with seasonal blueberries, strawberries, rhubarb, or peaches.
Be sure to properly grease and flour your cake pan to prevent sticking. Or if you have baking spray on hand, use that to prep your baking pan.
Use room temperature eggs for best results.
Make sure to beat the egg whites until soft peaks form, but not too stiff.
Scrape down the sides of the mixing bowl periodically to ensure all ingredients are fully incorporated.
If you have vanilla paste on hand, go ahead and use that instead of the vanilla extract.

Variations of cherry flavored cake:

This simple cherry cake can be served as-is with a cup of coffee or tea for breakfast, midafternoon snack, or late-night dessert. Here are some ideas on how to dress it up:

To make this totally gluten-free version, change out the all-purpose flour with a gluten-free flour blend, like Bob's Red Mill or King Arthur's Flour 1-1 gluten-free.
Instead of lemon zest, try using orange or lime zest for a different citrus flavor.
Dark or semi-sweet chocolate chips or chopped nuts could be added in to change up the flavor and to give some crunch.
Change up the citrus with lime zest in place of the lemon zest.
Sprinkle on almond flakes or chopped walnuts before baking.

What to serve with homemade cherry cake:

This simple cherry cake is really nice just baked with a cappuccino, hot cup of coffee or tea. Perfect for breakfast, snack, or for dessert. Here are some suggestions on how to serve it:

It is wonderful just baked and a little warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
Top the slice of cherry cake with vanilla yogurt.
Serve with fresh berries, like strawberries, blueberries, or raspberries.
Dust the cake with powdered sugar.
A nice dollop of freshly whipped cream is always a good idea!
Or, a scoop of delicious gelato (whatever flavor you love)!

How to store easy cherry cake:

It is best to enjoy this cake the day it is baked.

To refrigerate: If you have any leftovers, be sure on the 2nd day to wrap it well and refrigerate it. Best to store it in an airtight container or in a large zipped lock freezer bag. If there are any leftovers after 4 days, the cake will become soggy from the cherries.
To freeze: As soon as the cake has cooled completely down, it could be wrapped well and stored in an airtight container or zipped lock freezer bag in the freezer for up to 2 months.

FAQ's

What are the best cherries for baking to use for this cake?

If you can make this when it's cherry season, use some dark sweet cherries. Try to not buy cherries that have a mushy feel, look out for ones that are firm. The sweeter the cherries, the more natural sweetness the cake will have. Use a cherry pitter to to pit them to prep for adding to the cake.

Canned or frozen cherries - best not to use them for this recipe, as they will be too mushy. If all you have is frozen cherries, you could try the cake out, but it may bake up a little differently.

Dark morello cherries - I used dark morello cherries. I drained them out of the liquid. They have a slightly sour taste and are hold their shape while baking. These cherries are fantastic if you could get a hold of them. They are Hungarian sour cherries.

How to keep cherries from sinking in the batter?

Blot the cherries to dry them. Gently toss the cherries in a sieve with flour or cornstarch.

What is the best baking dish for this cake?

There are different cake pan sizes that you could use. You could use a 10-inch round high-sided cast-iron skillet. The cast iron skillet will have it bake up with golden-brown edges that are nice and crispy, and a very soft center.

A regular 8-inch or 9-inch round cake pan works fine if that's what you have on hand.

I used a A 9x3 inch springform baking pan. It's a nice pan that will easily release to get the cake out. You could like the bottom of the pan with a parchment paper round.

How do you say cherry cake in Hungarian?

In Hungarian it is called a meggyes lepeny. Sour cherries are called meggye.

Can maraschino cherries be used in this cake?

No, they will not work for this recipe.

Can this cake be made dairy-free?

Yes, you could use any mild flavored oil instead of butter. Use a dairy-free yogurt and dairy-free milk.

Some other dessert recipes to enjoy:

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