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| Maraschino Cherry Cake, revised, Moist and perfect! |
I have been wanting to see if I could make a better version of the Maraschino Cherry Cake I made last August for my husband into something actually moist enough to be edible. I tried one of the tips I found online (using a vanilla pudding mix) in a white cake recipe, but I was less than pleased. While the cake may or may not have been more moist, the flavor was all wrong. Okay, so scratch that particular tip. But the real reason I looked for tips on making a cake more moist was for that Maraschino Cherry Cake. The original cake I made was tasty. Nothing wrong with flavors. It was just way-the-heck too dry. Still, when a friend of ours, Tetiana, stopped over and I offered her a piece, with the caveat that it was far too dry. I had not realized at the time that she also was a cherry fiend along the lines of my husband. For her (she said) the cake was perfect and she loved it!
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| Tetiana's Maraschino Cherry Cake |
The changes I made were minimal. Instead of milk I used an equal amount of heavy cream. I added an extra 4 tablespoons of butter and an extra half-cup of sugar, lowered the baking powder amount by a teaspoon and the salt by 1/4 teaspoon. And lastly, 3/4 cup of sour cream was folded in at the end with the cherries. Looking at these changes, I was worried about the extra butter and sugar making it too thin a batter, so I added one more egg white for binding power. I had forgotten I had some Washington cherry flavor I had gotten at the King Arthur Flour website (and appears to no longer be available). While it is not Maraschino cherry flavor, I figured it would still bring more cherry flavor to the cake, so I added a little dash of that too.
The outcome was absolutely spectacular. I made a smaller cake (two 7-inch layers instead the regular 8 or 9-inch) for Tetiana and then made one tiny 6-inch layer so my husband and I could taste and critique the cake. I divided the 7-inch layers in half, making 4 thin layers. I cut the little 6-inch layer in half also, making it a 2-layer bitty cake for us to try.The cake itself was moist as can be with fantastic cherry flavor and color. The crumb was delicate and fine. It was all I could hope for in a cake.
Maraschino Cherry Cake
Tiny 7-inch Maraschino Cherry Cake
Makes one (2-layer) 8 or 9-inch round cake
6 large egg whites
½ cup heavy whipping cream
¼ cup Maraschino cherry syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ teaspoon Washington Cherry Flavor, optional
2 sticks / 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
3 cups cake flour
2 cups granulated sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1 (10-oz) jar Maraschino cherries, drained
¾ cup / 6-ounces sour cream
Preheat oven to 350 degrees (325 on Convection Bake). Spray two round cake pans with nonstick spray. Cut parchment rounds to fit the bottom of the pans and set them in place, then spray the parchment. Set the pans aside.
Drain the jar of cherries (keeping the syrup for flavor) and cut the cherries in half or quarters. Set them aside to drain well while making the cake batter.
Whisk the egg whites together in a bowl until just foamy and well broken down. Add in the cream, cherry syrup and extract(s) and whisk well. Measure out 1/2 cup of this mixture and set aside.
In the bowl of a mixer, whisk together the cake flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Add in the soft butter (not melted) with the 1/2 cup of liquid mixture. Begin beating slowly, increasing speed as the mixture begins to coalesce. Add in the remaining liquid mixture and beat slowly to combine, then increase speed to medium for about 1 minute to combine and aerate. On low speed, add in the drained cherries and the sour cream. Divide the batter evenly between the prepared pans, spreading evenly. Bake the cake layers for 25 to 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with only a crumb or two. Do not over bake! The batter is very light and fluffy soft, so watch carefully.
Cool the cakes in the pans for about 10 minutes. Remove from pans and cool completely before filling and frosting.
MAKE AHEAD: If not using the cakes right away they may be frozen. The 8 or 9-inch cake pan with the cake in it can be placed inside a gallon zip-top bag and frozen for up to 2 weeks. Thaw before filling or frosting. To make the 4 layer cake, slice each layer in half horizontally to make 4 thinner layers.
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In yesterday's blog I gave the recipe for the Blackberry Mascarpone Filling I made for the birthday cake I made for friend Heidi and myself. I wanted to do a similar thing with the Maraschino cherry cake's filling, so I used the same recipe, using a cherry jam (again, not Maraschino cherry flavor, and I had to pass it through a sieve to make it smooth enough). To make the cherry flavor more intense, I boiled down 6 tablespoons cherry preserves with about ¼ cup of the Maraschino syrup to make a total of about the same ¼ cup of cherry as there was blackberry jam in that recipe. It worked very well and the cherry flavor was beautiful.
Cherry Mascarpone Filling
Makes enough to fill a 4 layer cake with plenty left over
1 jar (10 ounce) maraschino cherries, drained, syrup reserved
6 tablespoons cherry preserves (not jelly)
¼ cup reserved Maraschino syrup
2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
4 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ teaspoon cherry flavor, optional
1 carton (8-ounces) Mascarpone cheese
Drain the Maraschino cherries well and cut them in half. Set them on paper toweling to drain while making the filling.
Pass the cherry preserves through a sieve. Measure the amount after sieving. In a small saucepan, combine the measured preserves and the Maraschino cherry syrup and bring to boil. Keep at a steady low boil for about 10 minutes, reducing the mixture to about ¼ cup. Allow to cool while beating the butter.
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| Left: the cherry mixture cooked down to thick syrup. Right, the finished Cherry Mascarpone Filling |
Make sure the butter is soft. If room temperature still has the butter too hard, hold it in warm hands or use the microwave in short 2 - 5 second bursts to soften, but not melt. One or two short microwave bursts should be enough. Place the softened butter into the bowl of a stand mixer on medium speed or higher and beat it for 8 minutes, until very, very light and creamy-pale, stopping to scrape sides of the bowl once or twice during the 8 minutes. Add in the cooled cherry mixture and beat to combine. Add in the confectioners' sugar all at once and mix on very lowest setting until it is moistened. Add the flavorings to combine, then increase the speed to medium or medium high and beat until very light and fluffy, about 5 or 6 minutes more. Add the softened Mascarpone cheese and beat just to combine.
To fill the cake, spread a good layer of this filling onto a cake layer, setting some of the drained cherry halves onto the filling. Top with another cake layer and repeat, then once more, pressing gently on each cake layer as it is added. If any filling oozes out, use the tip of a butter knife or table knife to scrape away any excess. Refrigerate the cake before frosting to set up the filling so the layers do not slide around..
Use this filling between the layers of the Maraschino Cherry Cake for those Maraschino cherry lovers in your life! And of course, we need Cream Cheese Frosting for this wonderful cake!
Makes enough to frost one 8-inch cake
2 sticks unsalted butter, very soft, at room temperature
4 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
4 cups / 1 pound sifted confectioners' sugar
½ teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon heavy cream
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Place the butter and cream cheese into the bowl of a heavy duty stand mixer and beat these ingredients for 8 minutes on medium speed, until almost white and very creamy. If the butter and cream cheese are not soft enough, the mixture will not achieve this creamy state.
While the butter is beating, sift the confectioners' sugar with the salt. Once the 8 minutes have elapsed, turn the machine off. Add the confectioners' sugar mixture all at once and begin to mix on very low speed for about a minute, until moistened. Increase speed and add in the vanilla and heavy cream. Beat for at least 6 minutes more. The frosting will have increased in volume and will be very light and fluffy. The texture will be very soft, but hold stiff peaks and any designs piped on.
NOTE: For added vanilla flavor, scrape the beans from ½ of a vanilla bean and add to the mixer bowl when adding in the confectioners' sugar.
My passion is teaching people how to create a harmony of flavors with their cooking, and passing along my love and joy of food, both simple or exotic, plain or fancy. I continue my journey in ethnic and domestic cuisines, continuing my journey to explore diverse culinary experiences and hopefully to start you on a journey of your own. Join me also at A Harmony of Flavors on Facebook, and Pinterest.
Use this filling between the layers of the Maraschino Cherry Cake for those Maraschino cherry lovers in your life! And of course, we need Cream Cheese Frosting for this wonderful cake!
Cream Cheese Frosting
Makes enough to frost one 8-inch cake
2 sticks unsalted butter, very soft, at room temperature
4 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
4 cups / 1 pound sifted confectioners' sugar
½ teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon heavy cream
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Place the butter and cream cheese into the bowl of a heavy duty stand mixer and beat these ingredients for 8 minutes on medium speed, until almost white and very creamy. If the butter and cream cheese are not soft enough, the mixture will not achieve this creamy state.
While the butter is beating, sift the confectioners' sugar with the salt. Once the 8 minutes have elapsed, turn the machine off. Add the confectioners' sugar mixture all at once and begin to mix on very low speed for about a minute, until moistened. Increase speed and add in the vanilla and heavy cream. Beat for at least 6 minutes more. The frosting will have increased in volume and will be very light and fluffy. The texture will be very soft, but hold stiff peaks and any designs piped on.
NOTE: For added vanilla flavor, scrape the beans from ½ of a vanilla bean and add to the mixer bowl when adding in the confectioners' sugar.
My passion is teaching people how to create a harmony of flavors with their cooking, and passing along my love and joy of food, both simple or exotic, plain or fancy. I continue my journey in ethnic and domestic cuisines, continuing my journey to explore diverse culinary experiences and hopefully to start you on a journey of your own. Join me also at A Harmony of Flavors on Facebook, and Pinterest.
