I had lots of fruit on hand and needed a pareve (dairy free) dessert to take to our Shabbat dinner hosts one week. So I started tinkering and came up with this Sunken Berry Cherry Cake. I love the way the colorful fruits accent the dense, not-to-sweet cake, and the way each bite differs ever so slightly from the next, thanks to the variety of berries and cherries.
Tips: You can vary the fruits to suit your taste or what you've got on hand -- just stick to between 1 1/2 to 2 cups, and try to keep the pieces similarly sized if you're working with chopped stone fruits like plums or peaches.
Another pretty -- and tasty -- option is to skip the berries and use a variety of sweet and sour cherries in different colors.
Ingredients
- For the Fruit:
- 1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries
- 1/2 cup fresh or frozen raspberries
- 1/2 cup fresh or frozen pitted cherries
- 1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ginger
- For the Cake Batter:
- 1 1/2 cups (190 g) all purpose flour
- 1 cup sugar (200 g)
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/3 cup oil
- 1/3 cup orange juice
- 2 large eggs
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 50 minutes
- Total Time: 65 minutes
- Yield: Serves 8 to 10
Preparation
1. Preheat the oven to 350° F. Lightly grease an 8- or 9-inch cake pan.
2. In a medium bowl, toss together the blueberries, raspberries, cherries, sugar, cinnamon and ginger. Set aside.
3. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Add the oil, orange juice, eggs, and vanilla and mix well with a sturdy spoon or electric beaters just until smooth.
4. Pour the cake batter into the prepared pan.
Sprinkle evenly with the berry mixture, but try to avoid getting fruit close to the edges of the pan. Bake in the preheated oven for 45 to 50 minutes, or until the cake is golden, springs back to the touch, and a tester inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool in the pan on a wire rack before serving warm or at room temperature. Enjoy!