Recipe Monday: Very Cherry Cake

With Valentine's Day right around the corner, I thought I should feature this sweet treat! This recipe comes from an oooooold Southern Living magazine which I have held on to for literally years before trying, but oh gurl I tried it last night and it was TOTALLY worth the wait! It was moist and sweet and full of flavor and oh. so. wonderful!!

VERY CHERRY CAKE

and

CREAM CHEESE-CHERRY FROSTING

What you need:

CHERRY CAKE:
1 C Butter, softened
1 3/4 C Sugar
2 T Maraschino Cherry Juice*
1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract
3 C Cake Flour
2 1/2 tsp Baking Powder
1/4 tsp Salt
1 C Whole Buttermilk
5 Egg Whits, beaten until stiff
1 C Maraschino Cherries, finely chopped*

CREAM CHEESE-CHERRY FROSTING
1 (8oz) Cream Cheese, softened
3/4 C Butter, softened
1/4 C Maraschino Cherry Juice
6 C Powdered Sugar

*By the time I was done garnishing the cake with cherries, I had used 3 small jars! Might want to stock up on those...

What you do:

(1) Preheat oven to 350 and spray 3 (9 inch) baking pans with non-stick baking spray with flour (looks just like a can of Pam but says Non-Stick Baking, mine was blue and white).

(2) In a large bowl, beat butter and sugar at medium speed until fluffy.

(3) Add cherry juice and vanilla, beating until combined.



(4) In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt; Sift. I don't have a sifter... (matter of fact, I don't know anyone other than my mother that does) but you can just stir it around with a whisk and it works just fine.

(5) Gradually add the flour to the butter mixture, alternating with the buttermilk... It has to begin AND end with the flour mixture being added. Beat until combined after each addition.

 

(6) Take your egg whites and beat until stiff. *I didn't know what in the world that meant... So I called mom! You beat them with a mixer until you can hold the bowl sideways and they don't move. This will take a while. And start with a bigger bowl then you think you'll need because that stuff grows!

(7) Gently fold in beaten egg whites until mixture is smooth.

(8) Add maraschino cherries and mix. *You could just chop them up but I stuck them in my handy-dandy Magic Bullet! I ended up chopping them up pretty good but I thought it turned out great that way - you got some cherry in every bite! Plus it added a little extra juice so my cake was an adorable pink and a little extra moist! Perfect!

(9) Spoon batter evenly into prepared pans. Bake for 20-25 minutes.

(10) Let cool in pans for 10 minutes, then remove and cool completely on wire racks.

CREAM CHEESE-CHERRY FROSTING

(1) In a large bowl, beat cream cheese and butter at medium speed until creamy.

(2) Slowly beat in cherry juice until mixture is smooth. Gradually (SEE WARNING BELOW) add powdered sugar, beating until smooth.

**WARNING!! Powdered Sugar plus a mixer can make for a bad, bad thing... I knew this but I still accidently turned it up too quickly and the above picture resulted! MAKE SURE YOUR MIXTURE IS ON A LOW SPEED!

(3) Once the cakes have cooled, spread frosting evenly in between layers and on top and sides of cake. *Apply icing liberally between each layer, I had about a cup left over and I never, ever, ever want any icing deliciousness to go to waste!

(4) Garnish with cherries!


Doesn't this look like the most perfect little Valentine treat?! You couldn't ask for a better color scheme!! Now, if I could just learn to take a decent picture...

(A BIGGGG thanks to Miss Brynn for the adorable Valentine's Day card!
What a sweet girl!! And good work Courtney! Those were so cute!)

Hope you all have a lovely Valentine's Day spent with all the people you adore! Don't forget to Share the Love and get those love letters in the mail... It's okay if they arrive a little late, the people who receive them won't mind a bit!

Be Blessed!
Raegan