cherry almond coffee cake.

My sister invited me to participate in this month's mystery dish!

We had to make a recipe that included at least 3 of the following: coffee, sour cream,

farro, almonds, cherries, watermelon, cantaloupe, jicama, cucumber, tomatoes, infused or flavored olive oil, fresh herbs, cornmeal, and hot peppers. 

With all the fruit included on the list, I knew I wanted to make something sweet. And of course I immediately thought of combining cherries and almonds! 

I found several recipes using dried or maraschino cherries but I wanted to use fresh ones. I was super excited to find this coffee cake recipe because it combines fresh cherries and raw almonds, and also includes sour cream to keep it super soft and moist. 

I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as we did. It can be part of a balanced breakfast ;) ;), snack, or dessert!

~

fresh cherry almond coffee cake from noble pig

Ingredients

for coffee cake:

2 cups fresh, pitted, chopped cherries

6 Tablespoons brown sugar

2 cups all purpose flour

2/3 cup white granulated sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 large eggs

1 cup sour cream

6 Tablespoons butter, melted

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/2 cup slivered or chopped almonds

for glaze:

1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
1 Tablespoon milk (I used unsweetened vanilla almond milk)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

1. In a bowl, combine chopped cherries and brown sugar, set aside.
2. In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In a small bowl, whisk the egg, sour cream, butter and vanilla. Stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. Batter will be thick.
3. Grease a 10 inch bundt pan (or 2- 8" round pans). Spoon half the batter into pan. Make sure to completely cover the bottom of pan.  Spread it around evenly with a spatula or something similar. Top with cherry-brown sugar mixture. By spoonfuls, put the remaining batter over cherries. Just swirl it around gently, you don't have to completely cover the cherries. Sprinkle with almonds.
4. Bake at 350 degrees F for 25-45 minutes (depending on which pan you use) or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean.  I checked at 25 minutes and kept checking every 10 minutes until done. Cool on a wire rack for 15 minutes before removing from pan. During the cooling time, carefully run a sharp knife around the edges.
5. In a small bowl, combine the glaze ingredients; drizzle over the cooled coffee cake and serve.

Check out the links below for other yummy recipes!

1. Watermelon Salsa - The Pajama Chef
2. Farro Salad - Chez CateyLou
3. Cherry Almond Coffee Cake - Two Happy Bellies
4. Watermelon Fruit Salad with Mint Lime Dressing - Yummy Healthy Easy
5. Toasted Almond Caramel Mocha Gelato - Culinary Couture Blog
6. Cherry Galettes with Almond Sour Cream Crust - The Well Floured Kitchen
7. Cherry Watermelon Granita - Joyful Healthy Eats
8. Cherry Almond Mocha Smoothie - Baking a Moment
9. Pepperoni Pasta Salad - I Want Crazy
10. Almond Cherry Bars - I Dig Pinterest
11. Cucumber Salsa - Weary Chef
12. Cherry Almond Popsicles - Blahnik Baker

vanilla almond granola.

We do love cereal and granola around here but I am just tired of paying for it. If you want the good, healthy stuff it can go up to around $3-5- yikes! The only exception to that was last week when Kroger had Kashi cereal on manager's special for only $1.50- now that was steal!  But sadly... it doesn't happen very often.

Alas, I decided to try my hand at some homemade granola. Let me tell you- it was delicious! It can also easily be adapted for GF eaters by using GF certified oats and can be vegan by using coconut oil and maple syrup. 

It was also super easy to make. It seriously took only about 5 minutes to mix together and then you just throw it in the oven. If you don't have time to stir every 15 minutes, just leave it in and after it cools, break bunches apart as you please. I can't wait to make some different versions of granola!

~

vanilla almond granola from sally's baking addiction

Ingredients

2 1/2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
1/2-3/4 cup chopped or slivered almonds
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
pinch salt
1/2 cup pure maple syrup or honey
1/4 cup melted coconut oil or another liquid oil (i.e. melted butter, olive oil, etc.)
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
1 Tablespoon vanilla extract

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 300F degrees. 
2. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
3. Toss the oats, almonds, cinnamon, and salt in a large bowl. Set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk the syrup or honey and oil together until combined. Whisk in the almond and vanilla extracts. Pour over the oats and toss to coat. Make sure all of the oats are moistened.
4. Spread onto the prepared baking sheet and bake for 45 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes. Allow granola to cool completely. It will get crunchy during the cooling process.