Cherry Spit Cake

Spit Cake with Cherries brings back memories of summer holidays at my Grandparents and Aunt and Uncles house about 75 km to the North of here. During School summer holidays I had to stay there for 4 to 5 weeks, because my parents had to work and I would have been alone at home.

They packed me and my bag and we went by 3 different trains. That was always exciting. We had no car and a tour on the train was something special.

Summer time is cherry time. In my grandparents garden was an old cherry tree. My Uncle had to take the ladder and pick all the cherries no one of us could reach from below. Grams baked this cake at least 2 or 3 times during the cherry season.
I do not know if she was too lazy to pit the cherries, or if the way of baking with whole fruits gave it a special taste.


It was always fun to eat. A bit crazy sitting outside on the grass and spitting out cherry pits while eating a cake. Well, that was only the way my little cousin and I did it. The grown ups used a fork and took the pits out that way, very polite.

When I was 12 my Uncle picked cherries again and fell off the tree and broke his leg. When I came back for a visit at Christmas, the old cherry tree was gone.

recipe for a 25x35 cm baking dish:
250 g soft unsalted butter
250 g icing sugar
1/2 tsp Ground vanilla bean
pinch of salt
zest of an organic Lemon
200 g all Purpose flour
200 g whole wheat or 1050 flour
1 tsp baking powder
4 large free range eggs
200 ml whole milk at room temperature
500 g whole cherries
2 tbsp chopped pistachios
2 tbsp chopped almonds

Preheat the oven to 180 C

In a stand mixer cream together butter, sugar, salt and zest.
Sift the 2 flours and baking powder together.
Add one egg and 1 tbsp of flour and give it a mix, repeat. Add half of the milk and half of the flour then the rest of both.

Do not over mix the batter.
Butter the baking dish and put baking paper on the bottom.
Pour in the batter and smooth it out.
Wash the cherries and pat them dry. Remove the stalks.

Get them on the batter and press a bit in.
Top with pistachios and almond slices.
Bake for 75 min or a wooden pick comes out clean.