Photo credit Sonya Sanford

One-Bowl Sour Cherry Cake Recipe

You can make this Eastern European delight with fresh or frozen cherries.

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Sour cherries are only available fresh for a few short weeks in early summer. When they are in season, it’s always a frenzy at the farmers’ market to snag a few pounds of these glistening, highly-coveted cherries. While their season is short, you can almost always find them jarred or frozen at any Eastern European, Ukrainian or Russian market.

They are aptly named, as they are very sour when eaten raw. When they are cooked with any kind of sweetener, sour cherries transform into something much more palatable and subtly tart. Sour cherries are native to Europe and Southwest Asia. They are commonly grown in Eastern Europe. Ashkenazi Jewish cuisine features sour cherries in a myriad of recipes like compotes, vareniki, with blintzes or even pickled. Sour cherries are also popular in Persian, Turkish and Greek Jewish cuisine, where the fruit is often used in syrups, preserves and juice. It is also added to savory dishes like Persian saffron rice. Wherever sour cherries can be found, they are incorporated into that region’s local cuisine. 

Sour cherries are especially delicious in baked goods, like this one-bowl sour cherry and sour cream snacking cake. This simple recipe can be prepared with either fresh, frozen or jarred sour cherries, and the sour cream can be substituted for Greek yogurt. The sour cream adds a rich tenderness to the cake that perfectly pairs with the bright acidity of the cherries. If you’re looking for a pareve alternative, you can make this cake non-dairy by substituting the butter for vegan butter and the dairy for a non-dairy unsweetened yogurt. This simple cake is perfect as a sweet treat at the end of a meal, or alongside a morning cup of coffee or tea. Whenever you eat it, sour cherry cake will sweeten your day.

Note: This cake keeps for 3-4 days stored covered at room temperature. 

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  • Polly Goldberg

    Please, no — sour cream can be REPLACED BY Greek yogurt or Greek yogurt can be SUBSTITUTED FOR sour cream. Mixing them makes a mishmosh!
    Otherwise, great recipe!

    • Janet Fox

      I really want to make this because sour cherries are so nutritious but I want to wait til the weather cools down before I make this awesome-sounding cake. thank you! Shalom.






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