Cherry Almond Streusal Cake

Yesterday it finally happened- I ran out of energy. I made it to the gym in the morning. I managed a grocery run after that (which on a Saturday tries the patience of patient people, and I'm not one of them). I studied for my upcoming test. And even though I had a lovely meal planned, by afternoon my desire to make dinner had died. You couldn't pay me anything to stand over my stove and cook. And I hadn't cooked much all week- I'd been too busy or too short on food. So I sent Dustin out into the wide world to scrounge up some dinner and I embraced this new sensation- exhaustion. Usually I can't wait for the weekend to come so I can spend a few hours in my kitchen. But I'm burnt out. Hopefully I'll recover in a day or two and get around to making real food again. Until then, you'll have to get by with a few desserts. (That seems to be the only thing I'm motivated to make as of late.) I can always bake.

Cherries are in the peak of their short season, and so I had to find a sweet way to use them. This dessert is part streusal, part coffee cake, with a plump cherry filling and creamy almond glaze. In keeping with the almond theme, you could add slivered or sliced almonds on top. I think that would be beautiful.

INGREDIENTS
Cake Batter and Cherry Filling:
1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar + 2 Tbsp. sugar (to toss with the cherries)
2 eggs
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
3/4 cup sour cream
1 lb. fresh cherries, halved, pitted and stemmed

Streusal Topping:
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup almond flour/meal (or all-purpose flour)
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pure almond extract
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground cardamom (I omitted this)
4 Tbsp. butter, softened

Cream Glaze: (I only used a fraction of the glaze)
1 cup powdered sugar
1/4 cup + heavy cream (I think milk would work fine)
1/4 tsp. pure almond extract

DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat oven to 325 F. Butter a deep 9x9 baking dish.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, baking soda, and baking powder. In a separate large bowl cream together the butter and 1 cup of sugar. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, and beat until smooth. Add the vanilla and sour cream and beat until smooth. Slowly add the flour mixture and mix until just incorporated.

3. In a separate bowl, toss the cherries with 2 Tbsp. sugar.

4. In a separate bowl, combine the dry ingredients for the streusal topping. Add the butter and almond extract and mix with your hands or a mixer until it pulls together and large crumbs form.

5. Spread 2/3 of the batter into the bottom of the prepared cake pan. Top with the cherries. Sprinkle with 1/4 of the streusal topping, then the rest of the batter, and the remaining streusal topping.

6. Bake in preheated oven for 1 hour, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. (Mine took a little over an hour.) Remove from the oven to cool on a wire rack.

7. To prepare the cream glaze, combine the powdered sugar and almond extract in a small bowl. Whisk in the cream (or milk), adding more as necessary, until it is smooth and the desired consistency. Once the cake has cooled slightly, drizzle with the glaze and serve warm.

Serves 8.

(Adapted from Sophistomom)