Make a soft and moist sour cherry cake from scratch. Easy recipe with buttery batter and juicy sour cherries, perfect for dessert or coffee time!
Recipe Summary
- ✅ Recipe Name: Sour Cherry Cake (Balkan Style)
- 🕒 Prep Time: 1 hr 5 minutes
- 🧑🧒🧒 Serves: 8 pieces
- 🍽️ Calories: 376 kcal
- 🥣 Ingredients: All-purpose flour, milk, butter, eggs, sugar, baking powder, sour cherries (frozen or fresh).
- 👏 Why You'll Love It: Soft and buttery texture, a true Balkan classic, versatile and seasonal.
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You won't believe it, but this sour cherry cake recipe had been sitting in my old recipe book for years, completely forgotten! I recently rediscovered it, and it turned out to be such a delightful surprise.
It's an authentic recipe for a classic Balkan fruit cake that I inherited from my friend's mom, and it tastes just as good as I remember.
Craving another Balkan favorite? Try my Cornmeal Muffins with Feta. They're savory, soft, and full of flavor!
Why You'll Love This Sour Cherry Cake
- Versatile and seasonal: Easily switch sour cherries for shredded apples with cinnamon or peaches with walnuts; the batter stays the same. For another cozy fruit treat, try my Healthy Cinnamon Apples.
- Perfect year-round: Works beautifully with both fresh and frozen fruits, so you can bake it any time of the year.
- Simple ingredients: Made with pantry staples like flour, eggs, and butter; no special shopping needed.
- Soft and buttery texture: The cake turns out light, moist, and perfectly balanced in flavor. If you enjoy tender and fluffy desserts, you'll also love my Gluten-Free Carrot Cake with Almond Flour.
- A true classic: This recipe has that nostalgic homemade taste that reminds you of traditional Balkan desserts.
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Sweet Cherries vs. Sour Cherries
If you've ever wondered about the difference between sweet and sour cherries, you're not alone! Having lived in the United States for more than 15 years, I rarely came across sour cherries, or višnje, as we call them in Serbian, in regular grocery stores.
That changed recently when I discovered a Middle Eastern market nearby that carries frozen sour cherries imported from Turkey. They come conveniently pitted and ready to use, making them perfect for baking this sour cherry cake or preparing homemade jams and juices.
So, what makes them different?
- Sweet cherries are larger, firmer, and have a rich, sugary flavor. They're delicious eaten fresh and often used in fruit salads, pies, or as a simple summer snack. Swap the strawberries for sweet cherries in my Creamy Vanilla Raspberry Protein Smoothie for a rich, fruity twist.
- Sour (or tart) cherries are smaller, softer, and have a tangy, bright flavor. Their natural tartness makes them perfect for baking, especially in cakes, pies, and compotes, where sugar balances their sour edge beautifully.
Growing up, I have the sweetest memories of my mom and grandma making homemade sour cherry juice every summer. So, finding those frozen cherries felt like discovering a piece of home. Ever since, this sour cherry cake has become a family favorite we bake again and again!
🧁Ingredients You'll Need
- All-purpose flour: The base of the cake, giving it structure and a soft crumb.
- Sugar: Adds sweetness and helps create a light, golden crust.
- Baking powder: Gives the cake lift and a fluffy texture.
- Unsalted butter (melted): Adds rich flavor and moisture to the batter.
- Eggs (room temperature): Bind the ingredients together and add lightness.
- Milk: Keeps the batter smooth and tender, creating a moist cake.
- Pitted sour cherries: The star of the recipe! Tangy and juicy, balancing the sweetness perfectly. You can use fresh or thawed frozen cherries.
- Powdered sugar (for topping): A simple finishing touch that adds sweetness and makes the cake look beautiful.
Top Tip
If it's cherry season, use fresh sour cherries for the brightest flavor. If using frozen, let them thaw and drain well before adding to the batter.
👩🍳 How to Make Sour Cherry Cake
- Prep the oven and pan: Preheat your oven to 395°F (200°C). Grease and flour an 8x12-inch baking dish.
- Mix dry ingredients: In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, sugar, and baking powder.
- Add wet ingredients: Add the eggs, melted butter, and ¾ cup of the milk (reserve the rest for later). Mix with a hand mixer until smooth and well combined.
- Layer the batter: Pour half of the batter into the prepared baking dish and spread it evenly.
- Add cherries: Drain the sour cherries and arrange them evenly over the first layer of batter.
- Finish layering: Add the remaining milk to the second half of the batter, stir gently, and pour it over the cherries. Spread evenly.
- Bake: Place in the preheated oven and bake for 45-50 minutes, or until the top is golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Cool and serve: Let the cake cool in the baking dish. Once cooled, slice, dust with powdered sugar, and enjoy your delicious sour cherry cake!
Quick Tip
You can follow the traditional method by first beating the eggs and sugar in a separate bowl until light and fluffy. Then, stir in the melted butter until fully combined.
In another bowl, sift together the flour and baking powder, and gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture, alternating with the milk, until the batter is smooth.
If you're short on time, you can also combine all the ingredients in one large bowl, just like shown in the video below, for an easy, no-fuss version. For another easy and quick treat, try my One-Bowl Banana Bread recipe!
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📖 Recipe
Sour Cherry Cake
Video
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- ½ cup unsalted butter melted
- 2 eggs large
- 1 ¼ milk divided into ¾ and ½
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 600 gr sour cherries pitted, 1.3 lb
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 395°F (200°C). Grease and flour an 8x12-inch baking dish.
- Combine the flour, sugar, and baking powder in a large mixing bowl.
- Add the eggs, melted butter, and ¾ cup milk to the flour mixture.
- Combine all the ingredients using a mixer.
- Pour ½ of the batter into the prepared baking dish and spread it out evenly.
- Drain the sour cherries and gently fold them into the cake batter in a single layer until evenly distributed.
- Add ½ cup milk to the second half of the batter and mix well with a spoon or rubber spatula.
- Pour this mix over the sour cherries until evenly distributed.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 45-50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes clean and the top is a nice golden brown color.
- Once baked, remove the cake from the oven and allow it to cool in the baking dish.
- Once cooled, slice the cake, sprinkle powdered sugar, and serve on a serving plate. Enjoy your delicious sour cherry cake!
Notes
- Refer to the post above for video instructions and other useful information.
- Nutrition information is an estimate and will depend on your specific ingredients.
- You can follow the traditional method by beating the eggs and sugar until they're light and fluffy in a separate bowl. Then, mix in the melted butter until everything's well combined. In another bowl, sift together the flour and baking powder. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients gradually, alternating with the ¾ cup of milk, until you have a smooth batter. But if you're in a hurry, you can put all the ingredients in one large bowl, just like in the included video.
- I used frozen pitted cherries that I let sit on the countertop to defrost. If it's cherry season, you can use fresh sour cherries; remember to remove the pits.
Dr. Nena Stefanovic says
I love this classic! It brings back so many childhood memories and tastes absolutely delicious.