Cherry Pecan Cake

Cherry Pecan Cake. A moist delicious cream cheese pound cake with maraschino cherries and crunchy pecans baked right in.

Originally published December, 2007.

This cherry pecan cake reminds me that the more I think and write about old family recipes that have made appearances on this blog, the more I begin to see them as connections to people and places.

Some of them almost have a genealogy of sorts. To trace the connections of who passed them on to friends and family would probably be a walk through time and our own food heritage in this province.

This particular recipe has been in my family for about 30 years. I remember my mom getting this recipe from her twin sister "Aunt Moo".

She, in turn, got it from Ivy Loder of Badger, Newfoundland, a great family friend of many years to whom it had also been passed on.

Cherry Pecan Cake. A very popular family recipe.

I hazard to say that this very moist, rich and delicious cake has been made hundreds of times by people in my extended family. I make it at least a few times a year myself and have very often made it as a wedding cake for numerous friends and acquaintances over the years.

I think, once you taste this cake, you can imagine how many requests for the recipe come from its being served at a wedding reception. I invite you to join in the continuing legacy of one of the best cakes I have ever eaten.

To make your own favourite version of this cake, you can always substitute almonds, walnuts, macadamia nuts etc.  Just be sure to toast them first, just like you would for the pecans. 

This makes all the difference to the crunch and flavour of the nuts.

Looking for more Christmas Cake ideas? 

If you like this recipe, be sure to check out our entire collection of Favourite Newfoundland Christmas Cakes here.

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Cherry Pecan Cake

Yield: 18 or more

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour

Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes

Cherry Pecan Cake - A Moist delicious cream cheese pound cake with maraschino cherries and crunchy pecans baked right in.

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Ingredients

• 2 cup maraschino cherries, chopped in ½’s or ⅓’s (tossed in ¼ cup flour at the very last minute)
• ¾ cup toasted pecan pieces, not ground. I toast whole pecans and then roughly break each one apart by hand in small chunks.
• 1 ½ cups sugar
• 1 cup 8 oz cream cheese
• 1 cup butter
• 1 ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 4 eggs
• 2 ¼ cups flour, reserve ¼ cup to dust the cherries
• 1 ½ teaspoon baking powder

Instructions

1. Toast the pecans on a cookie sheet for about 7 minutes in a preheated 350 degree F oven. Let them cool, then give them a rough chop with a sharp cooks knife.
2. Drain the cherries very well in a colander, tossing them for a couple of minutes to make sure any liquid trapped at the centers escapes. Drain well on paper towels for several minutes, then chop the cherries as instructed but do not dust them in flour until right before they get added to the cake batter.
3. This cake can bake in a bundt pan, or in 2 regular loaf pans. If using a bundt pan, grease it very well and lightly dust with flour. If using loaf pans, lightly grease them and line with parchment paper. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

To start the cake

1. Cream together the sugar, cream cheese, butter and vanilla extract for several minutes until light and fluffy. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl a couple of times during this process.
2. Add the eggs one at a time, beating for a minute or so between additions.
3. Sift together 2 cups of the flour with the baking powder. Gently fold the dry ingredients into the creamed mixture until the flour is almost fully incorporated.
4. At that point toss the cherries in the ¼ cup reserved flour and add them to the batter along with the chopped pecans. Any flour that doesn't stick to the cherries gets added too. Fold until the flour is fully incorporated and the cherries and nuts are evenly dispersed throughout the batter.
5. Bake for about an hour or until a wooden toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.
6. The bundt pan may take several minutes more; the loaf pans may need a little less, depending on your oven and the type of pans you are using. Always check your cakes a few minutes ahead of time and then every five minutes thereafter to make sure they do not over bake.
7. When fully baked, let the cakes rest in the pans for 10-15 minutes before turning out on a wire rack to cool completely.

Nutrition Information

Yield

18

Serving Size

1 g
Amount Per Serving Calories 269Total Fat 19gSaturated Fat 10gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 8gCholesterol 81mgSodium 179mgCarbohydrates 21gFiber 1gSugar 8gProtein 4g

The nutritional information provided is automatically calculated by third party software and is meant as a guideline only. Exact accuracy is not guaranteed. For recipes where all ingredients may not be used entirely, such as those with coatings on meats, or with sauces or dressings for example, calorie & nutritional values per serving will likely be somewhat lower than indicated.

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