Despite how frequently I bake, my saved and bookmarked recipes keep growing at a ridiculous rate. I shudder to think how long it would take me to try them all, even if I stopped collecting them right now. There are some recipes I’ve had for years that shuffle up and down my to-bake list but somehow never get made. Until today, this was one of those recipes.
As much as I like baking with fresh fruit, I usually keep several varieties of jams and preserves on-hand. They’re great for adding to all kinds of things – from breakfast treats to bars to cheesecakes. I still have dreams of making my own preserves, but that’s a post for another day.
This is one of those all-occasion, anytime cakes. It’s called a coffee cake, so it has a built-in excuse to be eaten early in the day. Plus, it would serve proudly as a dessert for most any meal.
Now that I’ve made it, I’m wishing it hadn’t taken me so long to try it. It’s a lovely, delicate cake with a just-right amount of black cherry sweetness to make it even better. Of course, you can easily personalize this cake by substituting your favorite variety of jam. What’s your favorite?
Black Cherry Sour Cream Coffee Cake
Black cherry preserves help make this Black Cherry Sour Cream Coffee Cake a lovely, sweet cake that's great for dessert or a coffee break.
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1 & 1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1 cup sour cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3/4 cup black cherry jam
- confectioners' sugar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°. Grease and flour a 10-inch Bundt pan.
- Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
- Beat butter until light and creamy. Add sugar and beat until fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Mix in sour cream and vanilla, beating until smooth. Gradually add flour mixture, mixing just until blended.
- Transfer 1/2 cup of batter to a small bowl. Stir in jam, mixing well. Set aside.
- Pour remaining batter into prepared pan and smooth top. Make a 1-inch trough in the center of the batter all the way around the pan. Spoon batter/jam mixture into trough, spreading evenly.
- Bake for 1 hour, or until a pick inserted into the center comes out clean and the cake begins pulling away from the edges of the pan.
- Cool cake in pan for about 15 minutes. Then, invert onto a wire rack to cool completely.
- Dust with confectioners' sugar before serving.
Notes
Recipe adapted from Stonewall Kitchen.
37 Comments on “Black Cherry Sour Cream Coffee Cake”
This sounds amazing! I bet the tart, moist and sweet flavor combination from the cherries and sour cream is fabulous. I’ve been in a pomegranate mood lately so I would love to try it with that or even rhubarb! Thanks for sharing.
My mother had a recipe it was called black cherry coffee cake it had AA dough that spicy and it was raised with vinegar soda After the cake was mixed it was poured into a greased Pan and topped with canned black cherries sprinkled on top of it and then there was a mixture of butter Brown sugar flour and cinnamon mixed together and crumbled that on top and baked it was delicious and I can’t find the recipe
That sounds really good, Anita! If I come across something like it, I’ll be sure to let you know.
Aww yeah! I need to get on this! Yum!
How lovely! Coffee cakes are so versatile and always great for a crowd. Can’t wait to try this, pinned!
I know what you mean about out-of-control bookmark lists!
What a lovely looking cake and so very easy to make!
There’s another bookmark…
looks amazing…. i know exactly what you mean. i have cookbooks, along with 23948234 pages of printed recipes, 234982349234 bookmarks, and just as many “pins” …. some day…. maybe…. i will make them lol
ok so maybe i’m dumb, or just not totally awake (i’m missing my morning coffee)….
but if you are putting the jam mixture on the top of the batter (so, the bottom of the cake) how does it become a layer at the top of the cake? o.O magic????
Nick, it’s not so much magic as it is gravity. It sinks to the bottom of the pan, which is the top of the cake. All that jam is a lot heavier than cake batter. Actually, without mixing the jam with some of the batter, it would likely sink all the way down and create quite a mess.
It’s beautiful!! I love a great coffee cake, it makes me feel okay to have it at 8:00 am 😉
This are my favourite type of cake, I love the addition of jam
thanks, jennifer 🙂 i’m a converted skeptic.
Hi Jennifer,
looks wonderful, as always.
Just wondering, do you think Nutella (my favorite jam, I guess) could work here as well? Or is it going to be too sweet?
Thank you for a delightful blog!
Michelle, it’s worth a shot. I think the flavor would be fine. I’d be more concerned about it sinking to the bottom.
Thanks for the recipe. How many cups are in a 10 inch pan, I have several of various sizes and like to make some smaller. I’m thinking of my quad pan since there are only two of us here.
Hi, Karen. Most 10-inch Bundt pans have a 12-cup capacity, but the design of the pan can change that. You can add one cup of water at a time to your empty pan to figure out your specific pan’s capacity.
Just made this with strawberry rhubarb jam (that’s what I had on hand) and it is wonderful! Mine baked in just 50 minutes and is perfectly baked… moist and light. Thank you for the recipe.
Jennifer, how would you say this cake stores? Is it just as good day 2 as day 1? Thanks. Gonna try it next weekend.
NRS, it’s definitely just as good the second day. I stored it in an airtight container for 3 days.
Finally found stonewall kitchen black cherry jam at the whole foods at time warner center. This cake is very very yum! thanks for the recipe!
Mmm thanks for the recipe! I made this with sour cherry jam instead, and used buttermilk inplace of sour cream (too lazy to go to the store) it came out yummy and cooked about 20 minutes early.
This was really good! I made it as written, Thanks for posting this recipe. My family ate up one yesterday, and it was nice to have the second one handy this morning for a fast breakfast. I’ll definately be making this one agian.
This was spectacular! Â I had some cherry jam waiting to be used up and made this cake on a whim. Â The sour cream gives it such a fantastic texture. Â I bet it could be wonderful with strawberry jam, too. Â Or any flavor, for that matter!
Yes! So many possibilities with different jams!
I made it with fresh frozen black cherries (from my in-laws’ trees). I just added a bit of sugar, a touch of salt, and some vanilla to the thawed, whole/half black cherries (capulies here in Ecuador) and did not add the batter to them. It came out wonderfully. I made muffins with half the batter, which worked very well. My in-laws will be so excited to have THEIR black cherries “back” and some 6 months out of season. (I also added ground ginger to the batter and to the black cherries, which added a nice bit of extra flavor.) Thanks for the recipe!
I’m so glad you liked it, Laura!
1 tablespoon of baking powder, is that correct.. Â just checking before I make it.Â
Thank you
Yes, that’s correct.
Thank you Jennifer…
This cake sounds great, do you think this would work with cherry pie filling?
Hi, Elaine. I’ve not tried that, so I can’t say for sure. My guess is it wouldn’t be an ideal substitution. Pie filling generally has more liquid and sweetness than jam.
I don’t want to mess up a good thing but I’ve been on an almond roll…what do u think if I sub the vanilla for almond extract?  Thank you for your recipes!  I’ve loved every one that I’ve tried!  Xoxo
I think that would be really good! Cherries and vanilla work very well together.
Bleached or unbleached flour? Protein content of all purpose flour varies among different brands- just wondering what kind you used because the cake looks so perfect! Also wondering if chopped peaches would work in place of the jam.Â
Hi, Kim. I use unbleached flour, usually King Arthur. Jam might add more moisture to the cake, so just look out for that. You might sprinkle them with a little flour just to offset that a bit.
This was SO good! We subbed chopped peaches for the jam 😋
I’m glad you liked it, Kim! Your peach version sounds delicious!