Sunken Sour Cherry Cake
Preheat oven to 375?F/190C.
Butter and flour or line a 10-inch springform pan.
Topping:
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2½ cups fresh, unpitted cherries or 1 pound/500g pitted cherries, canned or frozen
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1 teaspoon cinnamon
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1 tablespoon sugar
Step 1 - Drain cherries well and set aside.
Step 2 - Mix cinnamon and sugar together in a small bowl.
Batter:
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1 cup/2 sticks/225grams unsalted butter
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1? cup caster sugar
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3 eggs
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1 teaspoon vanilla extract or 1 tablespoon rum
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2½ cups sifted flour
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2 teaspoons baking powder
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2 tablespoons sifted icing sugar to decorate
Step 1 - Cream butter and sugar together until pale and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time until combined.
Step 2 - Add vanilla or rum.
Step 3 - Fold in flour and baking powder.
Step 4 - Pour the batter immediately into the prepared pan and smooth it with a spatula. It will be quite a thick batter.
Step 5 - Distribute the cherries over the batter, pressing each down slightly to anchor it. You may find you have more cherries than can be pushed in on a single layer so just keep pushing more down.
Step 6 - Sprinkle the cinnamon-sugar mixture evenly over all.
Step 7 - Place at once in the lower middle of a preheated 375?F/190C oven and bake for 60 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted in the middle comes out clean.
Step 8 - Cool in the pan for 10 minutes before unmolding it onto a cake rack to cool thoroughly. When cool, using a sieve, sift icing sugar over the top and serve.
Variations. Omit the cinnamon-sugar mixture. Prepare 1½ cups of cherry or plum glaze. Pour the glaze over the cake and let it cool. Or sprinkle the cake generously with confectioners sugar after it has cooled.
Serving suggestion. Serve each piece with a spoonful of whipped cream.
Adapted from a recipe by Margit Stoll Dutton from The German Pastry Bakebook