One-Bowl Sweet Cherry & Almond Snacking Cake
Growing up in Paris, early summer meant clafoutis—a custardy cherry bake that is beautiful but demands a fork. When I moved to the Bay Area, I wanted that same pure cherry flavor but in a slab format you could eat out of hand on a busy Tuesday. We are not suffering for brunch, and we certainly aren't suffering for a weeknight treat. I created this One-Bowl Sweet Cherry & Almond Snacking Cake during a June heatwave in my tiny apartment kitchen when I absolutely refused to pull out a stand mixer. What makes this recipe a constant in my rotation is the sheer high impact for low fuss. It runs on melted cultured butter—because butter is not a garnish—and heavy handfuls of sweet June cherries to build a crumb that is lacy, deeply nutty, and never tight like a bad alibi. You just whisk, fold, and pour. Want to make it your own? Swap the cherries for sliced plums as the season turns, or spike the batter with a splash of amaretto. Cami's shortcut note: Use cold fridge eggs; just whisk them rapidly into the warm butter to temper. Don't skip this: Pull the cake while the center still has a slight wobble and the edges are deeply bronzed. Residual heat will finish the job. Let time do the work.
Featured Recipe
One-Bowl Sweet Cherry & Almond Snacking Cake
Summer baking does not require suffering. This one-bowl snacking cake runs on melted cultured butter, heavy handfuls of sweet June cherries, and a high crust-to-crumb ratio. It is dense, lacy, and deeply almond—café-level results on a weeknight.
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Timeline
Ingredients
- 1 lb Fresh sweet cherries(pitted and halved)
- 1.5 cups All-purpose flour
- 0.5 cup Almond flour(fine ground)
- 1 cup Granulated sugar(toasted sugar if you have it)
- 1.5 tsp Baking powder
- 0.5 tsp Kosher salt
- 3 Eggs(large, room temperature)
- 0.5 cup Cultured butter(melted and slightly cooled)
- 0.5 cup Whole milk(room temperature)
- 1 tsp Almond extract
- 1 tsp Vanilla extract
- 2 tbsp Turbinado sugar(for topping)
- 0.25 cup Sliced almonds(for topping)
Instructions
- 1
Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C). Line a 9x9-inch metal baking pan with parchment paper, leaving an overhang on two sides. Buttering the parchment ensures zero sticking and easy lifting later.
5 min
Tip: Metal pans conduct heat better than glass or ceramic, giving you a superior crust.
- 2
Pit the 1 lb Fresh sweet cherries and slice them in half. Set them aside in a small bowl.
10 min
Tip: If you don't own a cherry pitter, pushing a firm metal straw or chopstick through the stem end pops the stone right out.
- 3
In your largest mixing bowl, aggressively whisk the 1.5 cups All-purpose flour, 0.5 cup Almond flour, 1 cup Granulated sugar, 1.5 tsp Baking powder, and 0.5 tsp Kosher salt. We want the leavening evenly distributed so the crumb does not end up tight like a bad alibi.
3 min
Tip: Whisking dry ingredients thoroughly is the secret to an even lift in a one-bowl cake.
- 4
Create a well in the center of your dry ingredients. Pour in the 3 Eggs, the melted 0.5 cup Cultured butter, 0.5 cup Whole milk, 1 tsp Almond extract, and 1 tsp Vanilla extract. Whisk starting from the middle, pulling the dry mixture in gradually until the batter falls from your whisk in a thick, cohesive ribbon. Stop immediately once mixed.
4 min
Tip: Room temperature eggs and milk are non-negotiable here; cold dairy will seize your melted butter instantly.
- 5
Reserve about a quarter of your fruit for the top. Gently fold the remaining 12 oz Fresh sweet cherries into the batter using a flexible spatula. Two or three confident folds are plenty. Do not overmix.
2 min
Tip: A light hand keeps the crumb tender and lacy.
- 6
Scrape the batter into your lined pan, nudging it into the corners. Scatter the reserved 4 oz Fresh sweet cherries across the surface. Generously sprinkle the 0.25 cup Sliced almonds and 2 tbsp Turbinado sugar evenly over the top.
2 min
Tip: This sugar and almond layer builds that essential craggy, crunchy crust. Do not hold back.
- 7
Bake for 40 to 45 minutes. You are looking for a deeply golden, craggy top and a center that springs back when pressed. No jiggle, no wobble. A wooden skewer inserted into the center should come out clean.
40 min
Tip: If your oven runs hot and the almonds brown too quickly, tent loosely with foil at the 30-minute mark.
- 8
Let time do the work. Cool the cake directly in the pan for 30 minutes to let the crumb set, then lift it out using the parchment wings to cool completely on a wire rack.
30 min
Tip: Slicing while too hot releases the trapped steam, ruining your lacy crumb.
Chef's Notes
Cami's shortcut note: Buy the cherries, wash them, and pit them straight into the measuring cup without fussing over perfectly symmetrical halves. Don't skip this: The almond extract. It is the secret weapon that amplifies the natural stone-fruit flavor of the cherries and turns a basic cake into something you would pay six euros a slice for in Paris. And remember, butter is not a garnish, so use the good cultured stuff here—it carries the entire flavor profile.
Camille Roux
Café-level bakes, weeknight methods, zero compromise.
Camille “Cami” Roux was born in Paris with flour in her hair and a healthy skepticism of culinary dogma. She grew up around neighborhood boulangeries that treated crust and crumb like religion—but what stuck with her wasn’t rigid tradition. It was the quiet precision: good butter that actually tastes like milk, patient fermentation that builds flavor for free, and desserts that know when to stop before they get cloying. After moving to the Bay Area, Cami trained in a bread-and-pastry scene obsessed with texture, naturally leavened doughs, and seasonal fruit—Tartine energy, minus the martyrdom. She became known for loaves that sing when they cool, jammy tarts with clean edges, and “how is this so good?” weeknight pastries made with a few smart shortcuts. Her motto is high impact, low fuss: splurge where it counts (butter, salt, time), streamline the rest (sheet pans, one bowl, cold-proofing). If it doesn’t improve flavor or structure, it doesn’t earn a step.