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Cherry Vanilla Coffee Cake close up photo of a single slice on a white plate

Cherry Vanilla Coffee Cake with Cream Cheese Glaze

Cherry Vanilla Coffee Cake with Cream Cheese Glaze - a most vanilla scratch cake baked on top of sweet dark cherries then glazed with cream cheese frosting. Delicious at a celebration brunch but good enough to serve as a decadent dessert too, especially while still warm.
Course Brunch, Dessert
Cuisine North American
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
Total Time 1 hour 20 minutes
Servings 12 or more servings
Author Barry C. Parsons

Ingredients

  • ⅓ cup sugar
  • 1 tsp corn starch
  • 3 cups fresh or frozen pitted cherries
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 tablespoon baking powder
  • ¼ tsp salt
  • 4 large eggs , at room temperature
  • 1½ cups sugar
  • ½ cup melted butter
  • ½ cup vegetable oil
  • 1 cup whole milk , at room temperature

For the Vanilla Cream Cheese Glaze

  • 2 cups icing sugar (powdered sugar)
  • 4 ounces cream cheese (1/2 a standard Philadelphia brand block)
  • 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
  • 2-3 tsp milk
  • 2 tbsp vanilla extract

Instructions

  1. Grease and flour a 10 inch round cake pan very well and preheat oven to 355 degrees F. A large 9 or 10 inch tube pan or an 9x9 square baking pan can also be used.
  2. Toss together the ⅓ cup sugar and corn starch and sprinkle over the cherries. Toss together well and spread evenly into the bottom of the prepared pan.
  3. To prepare the cake batter begin by sifting together the flour baking powder and salt. Set aside.
  4. In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat together the eggs, sugar at high speed until very foamy.
  5. Mix together the butter and vegetable oil in a measuring cup with a spout.
  6. Slowly add this butter and oil mixture to the egg and sugar mixture as it continues to beat.
  7. Fold in the dry ingredients alternately with the milk. When alternating wet and dry ingredients, always begin and end with the dry mixture. Here I folded in the flour in three divisions and the milk in two divisions.
  8. Pour the batter over the cherries in the baking pan.
  9. Bake for 50-60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. The toothpick test is definitely the best way to ensure this cake is fully baked.
  10. Cool in the pan for about 10 minutes before inverting onto a wire rack (or onto a serving plate if you plan to serve it warm).
  11. Remove the pan and allow the cake to cool down completely before drizzling on the glaze (or at least for 20 minutes if you plan to serve it warm).

To prepare the Vanilla Cream Cheese Glaze

  1. Beat all ingredients together very well in an electric mixer until very smooth. Add more or less milk to get the glaze to the proper consistency which should be relatively thick but not quite pourable.
  2. Spoon the glaze into a piping bag and drizzle over the cake. ( A Ziploc bag with the corner snipped off will work just as well.)