Delicious Sour Cherry Cake (Balkan Style)

Learn how to make a delicious sour cherry cake from scratch! This recipe uses all-purpose flour, eggs, butter, and juicy sour cherries. It is easy to follow and guarantees a delightful treat. 

You won't believe it, but this recipe had been sitting in my recipe book for years, untouched. It completely slipped my mind until recently, and what a delightful rediscovery it turned out to be! It's an original recipe for the classic Balkan fruit cake I inherited from my friend's mom.

During the summer months, some people opt to add shredded apples with cinnamon instead of sour cherries or peaches with walnuts. The batter recipe remains consistent; the only variation is the choice of seasonal fresh fruits or your frozen favorite fruits.

Sweet Cherries vs. Sour Cherries

You may be curious about the distinction between sweet and sour cherries. Having resided in the United States for over 15 years, I've seldom encountered sour cherries in local grocery stores, known as "višnje" in Serbian.

However, recently, I discovered a Middle Eastern store near my neighborhood where I stumbled upon frozen sour cherries imported from Turkey. Packaged conveniently in a box, these cherries are already pitted, making them a convenient find.

But what makes them different? 

• Sweet cherries are called that because they taste primarily sweet, but they can also be a bit sour. They're usually bigger and harder than tart cherries. People often eat sweet cherries as a snack or use them in yummy desserts like pies and fruit salads.
• Sour cherries, or tart cherries, are called that because they have a tangy and sour taste, unlike sweet cherries. They're smaller and softer than sweet cherries. People often use sour cherries for baking, like making pies and jams, because their sourness gives them a unique flavor. Only a few people eat sour cherries fresh because they're sour. 
• One cool thing about me: Every summer, I enjoyed homemade sour cherry juice made by my mom and my grandma when I was growing up. You can imagine how pleasantly surprised I was when I spotted sour cherries in the Middle Eastern store! Since then, we've often made this sour cherry cake because it's become a family favorite!

Ingredients You'll Need and Cooking Tips and Tricks

• You'll need 2 cups of all-purpose flour, 1 cup sugar, and 1 tablespoon baking powder for the dry ingredients. 
• Then you will add ½ cup melted unsalted butter, 2 room temperature large eggs, ¾ cup regular milk + ½ cup regular milk (we will be splitting the batter in half and adding more milk to the second half)
• 600 g or about 1.3 lb pitted sour cherries - 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. 
• 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 part of the batter and mix well with a spoon or rubber spatula.
• Pour this mix over the 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!
• Please take a look at the recipe card below for the full recipe and available nutrient data.

So, making this sour cherry cake has been a fun trip down memory lane for me. Finding the frozen sour cherries at the Middle Eastern store made it even more special. 

Whether I take my time and beat the ingredients separately or speed things up and dump everything in a single bowl, the cake always turns out yummy, and my family loves it. 

It's like bringing a piece of my childhood into our kitchen. This sour cherry cake recipe is now a favorite tradition in our home, making every get-together sweeter. It pairs wonderfully with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or a cup of coffee. 

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