A Muse in My Kitchen
Cherry Delight
It’s Thanksgiving Eve and I had all the best intentions of sharing some of my favorite holiday recipes with you.
Sometimes life hands you a curve ball and after all these years, I have learned to go with the flow and not beat myself up over what I could have done or should have done…
I was going to share with you the recipe for David Lebovitz’s chocolate pecan pie made with bourbon. I made it and would love to share it with you – but David does such a great job on presenting the recipe and the instructions, I suggest you visit his site!
This past week, my Mother who has dementia has had some health issues and I’ve spent most of my extra time taking her to doctors’ appointments and lab tests. When something like that happens – all other demands in your life go down a notch.
Last week while we were going through Mom’s health crisis – my Dad celebrated his 86th birthday – and because of the chaos over Mom’s issues…Dad’s birthday quietly slipped by.
Since I’m always the contributor of desserts for Thanksgiving, I asked my sister how much and what should I bring.
“Bring the holiday pies like you always do…but this year, can you bring something special for Dad since we didn’t have time to celebrate his birthday?”
Oh, that’s a big charge and my mind was flooded with all these fancy desserts. I soon became overwhelmed with recipes, ingredients and time. After two days of perusing recipes and being in a state of panic, I turned to our family cookbook and found my Mom’s recipe for Cherry Delight.
The perfect cake for the perfect celebration! Mom’s dementia prevents her from baking anymore and it’s a privilege to bring this special treat for the family.
It’s my daughter’s favorite cake that her Grandma used to make. She was reminiscing tonight how her and Grandma would make this cake when she would spend the night.
And it’s easy…
and pretty!
Simply cream butter and sugar together, add eggs, almond extract, flour and baking powder.
Spread in a 9 x 13 pan and top with dollops of cherry pie filling.
Bake in a 350 degree oven for 45 minutes. The cake batter rises up around the cherry filling making a pretty presentation.
Sprinkle with powder sugar and celebrate the day…
and the people in your life…
and…
carrying on tradition.
Have a blessed Thanksgiving!
- 2 sticks butter
- 1½ cups white sugar
- 4 eggs
- 1 tsp. almond extract
- 2 cups white or unbleached flour
- 2 tsp. baking powder
- ¼ tsp. salt
- 1 can (21 oz.) cherry pie filling
- In a large mixing bowl, cream together butter and sugar. Add the eggs and beat until light and fluffy. Add the almond extract. Stir in flour and baking powder. Mix until smooth.
- Spray a 9 x 13 inch baking pan. Spoon the cake batter into the pan.
- Spoon the pie filling in dollops on top of the cake batter, spacing spoonfuls evenly in each direction.
- Bake at 350 for 45-50 minutes or until golden and cake tests done. (Filling will sink into cake while baking.)
