You know what totally sucks? Having childhood memories that brought you so much happiness completely ripped away from you. As a child, I absolutely adored maraschino cherries. There were truly special and usually something I only ever saw on top of an ice cream sundae, which might have something to do with why I cherished them so much. After all, who doesn’t look forward to an ice cream sundae? I would pretty much always save the cherry from my sundae for the very last bite, which isn’t so surprising considering I still tend to save the best bite of anything for last.
Well folks, no longer will I be saving maraschino cherries for the very last bite. No way, no how. Do you wanna know why? Well, because they’re totally disgusting, that’s why. I’m not sure what happened between childhood and adulthood but it’s completely rendered maraschino cherries loathsome and nauseating to me. Never again will I fall for their artificial vivid red temptation. As far as maraschino cherries are concerned, I’m out.
So, let me just tell you right now, before we go any further, just because I now totally find maraschino cherries to be detestably yucky, that doesn’t mean that I don’t find this cake insanely fork-worthy. Sure, I may not so subtly remove every single little piece of chopped cherry from the top before eating it, however, when it comes to the actual luscious lemon flavor of this cake and the few cherries in its center, I’m totally in. Next time though, I’m totally going to use real cherries. My adult self absolutely insists on it.
Ingredients:
Cake:
- 1 Cup Unsalted Butter, Room Temperature
- 1 3/4 Cups Granulated Sugar
- 1 1/4 Cups Buttermilk
- Zest and Juice of 1 Lemon
- 2 2/3 Cups All-Purpose Flour
- 1/2 Teaspoon Kosher Salt
- 1/2 Teaspoon Baking Soda
- 4 Eggs
- 1 Tablespoon Vanilla Bean Paste
- 1 (10-oz.) Jar Maraschino Cherries, Divided (Reserve Juice)
Maraschino Glaze:
- 1 Cup Powdered Sugar
- Pinch of Kosher Salt
- 4 Tablespoons Maraschino Cherry Juice
Directions:
Cake:
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
- Grease and flour a large Bundt pan; set aside.
- Cream the sugar and butter on medium speed for 5 minutes.
- While the butter is creaming, mix the buttermilk and lemon zest and juice in a measuring cup; set aside. Then in a medium bowl, whisk the flour, salt, and baking soda together; set aside.
- Add each egg to the butter and sugar mixture, mixing on medium speed for 30 seconds after the addition of each egg. Add the vanilla bean paste and mix for 30 seconds.
- Add 1/3 of the flour mixture to the batter and mix on low speed until just combined. Add 1/2 of the buttermilk mixture and mix on low speed until just combined. Repeat with 1/3 of the flour mixture, the remaining buttermilk mixture, and then the remaining flour mixture.
- Spoon half of the batter evenly into the prepared Bundt pan.
- Drain the cherries into a small bowl, reserving the juice for later use. Use a few paper towels to pat the cherries dry. Chop the cherries and place half of them in a ring in the center of the cake batter inside of the Bundt pan. Top with the remaining batter and then use a spatula to even out the top.
- Bake for 30 minutes and then tent with foil. Bake for an additional 25 to 30 minutes or until a knife comes out clean. Allow the cake to cool in the Bundt pan on a baking rack for at least an hour before inverting it onto a cake plate or platter to finish cooling completely.
Maraschino Glaze:
- In a small bowl, whisk the powdered sugar, salt, and cherry juice together until smooth.
- Spoon the glaze over the cooled Bundt cake and then decorate with the remaining half of the chopped maraschino cherries.
Suggestions:
- Make sure to wash your lemon well before zesting or juicing it.
- I chose to place half of the cherries in a ring in the middle of the Bundt cake, however, you can always just fold them into the cake batter. If you do choose to do this, your cake will turn pink.
- Wash your hands after chopping the maraschino cherries to prevent staining.
Improvements:
- Scatter finely sliced almonds over the maraschino glaze.
- Replace the maraschino cherries and juice in this recipe with canned dark sweet cherries.
- Serve with whipped cream or ice cream.
Ingredients:
- 1 Cup Unsalted Butter, Room Temperature
- 1 3/4 Cups Granulated Sugar
- 1 1/4 Cups Buttermilk
- Zest and Juice of 1 Lemon
- 2 2/3 Cups All-Purpose Flour
- 1/2 Teaspoon Kosher Salt
- 1/2 Teaspoon Baking Soda
- 4 Eggs
- 1 Tablespoon Vanilla Bean Paste
- 1 (10-oz.) Jar Maraschino Cherries, Divided (Reserve Juice)
- 1 Cup Powdered Sugar
- Pinch of Kosher Salt
- 4 Tablespoons Maraschino Cherry Juice
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
- Grease and flour a large Bundt pan; set aside.
- Cream the sugar and butter on medium speed for 5 minutes.
- While the butter is creaming, mix the buttermilk and lemon zest and juice in a measuring cup; set aside. Then in a medium bowl, whisk the flour, salt, and baking soda together; set aside.
- Add each egg to the butter and sugar mixture, mixing on medium speed for 30 seconds after the addition of each egg. Add the vanilla bean paste and mix for 30 seconds.
- Add 1/3 of the flour mixture to the batter and mix on low speed until just combined. Add 1/2 of the buttermilk mixture and mix on low speed until just combined. Repeat with 1/3 of the flour mixture, the remaining buttermilk mixture, and then the remaining flour mixture.
- Spoon half of the batter evenly into the prepared Bundt pan.
- Drain the cherries into a small bowl, reserving the juice for later use. Use a few paper towels to pat the cherries dry. Chop the cherries and place half of them in a ring in the center of the cake batter inside of the Bundt pan. Top with the remaining batter and then use a spatula to even out the top.
- Bake for 30 minutes and then tent with foil. Bake for an additional 25 to 30 minutes or until a knife comes out clean. Allow the cake to cool in the Bundt pan on a baking rack for at least an hour before inverting it onto a cake plate or platter to finish cooling completely.
- In a small bowl, whisk the powdered sugar, salt, and cherry juice together until smooth.
- Spoon the glaze over the cooled Bundt cake and then decorate with the remaining half of the chopped maraschino cherries.
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#BundtBakers is a group of Bundt loving bakers who get together once a month to bake Bundts with a common ingredient or theme. You can see all of our lovely Bundts by following our Pinterest board right here. We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme or ingredient. Updated links for all of our past events and more information about Bundt Bakers can be found on our home page. Sneha from Sneha’s Recipes is our “Cherries” themed Bundt Bakers host this month.
Don’t forget to take a peek at all of the Bundts our talented bakers have baked this month.
- Apple, Poppyseed and Cherry Bundt Cake from katin špajz
- Banana Split Bundt Cake from Patty’s Cake
- Bundt Cake Chocolate and Cherries from Merce’s Cake
- Cherry Brownie Bundtlets from Food Lust People Love
- Cherry-Port Swirled Bundt Cake with Almond Streusel from All That’s Left Are The Crumbs
- Cherries Zebra Bundt Cake from Patyco.candybar
- Chocolate Cherry Bundtlets from Sweet Sensations
- Chocolate Covered Cherry Cake from The Queen of Scones
- Glazed Cherry Coconut Cake from Sneha’s Recipe
- Lemon Cherry Babka from A Day in the Life on the Farm
- Lemon Maraschino Buttermilk Bundt Cake from Faith, Hope, Love, & Luck Survive Despite a Whiskered Accomplice
- Mary Berry Cherry Cake from A Palatable Pastime
- Shirley Temple Bundt Cake from Cookaholic Wife
- White Chocolate Bundt Cake with Black Cherry Jam from I Love Bundt Cakes
