It’s A Winner
Generally speaking, all leftovers in my pantry are there because I bought too much for a previous recipe that I made. Such was the case with the cherries that I bought for my Chocolate Covered Almonds (and Cherries) that I blogged the other day. I had baked a Cherry Limeade Cake just days before and had bought WAY too many dried cherries!
I do from time to time have trouble judging how much to buy when I buy items out of a bin. The dried cherries at Whole Foods are wonderful and I like buying them before they sit in packages on shelves. Unfortunately, the bins are filled and my bag always seems so empty, the results being that I feel like I am not buying enough.
The inspiration for the Cherry Limeade Cake came from, of all places, Sonic. I am not a fast food lover. It is just not how I enjoy eating, as a rule. Yet, decades ago, we had been on a road trip and stopped at Sonic, a place reminiscent of the 1950’s, where we stayed in our car, ordered the food and someone brought it out to us wearing roller skates (that are now called roller blades!).
Among the food tried, I ordered a cherry limeade drink and loved the combination. These two flavors together were so different from other drink flavors I had tasted and I found it quite refreshing.
Fast forward about 15 years to when Shoshana was in high school. She often liked to stop at Sonic after being picked up at the end of the day. Every so often, I would break down and order one of my favorite sodas.
I am happy to tell you that the cake does not have soda in it, well, other than baking soda, and the flavors truly blend together beautifully. When I had friends over, and it was time for dessert, their initial reaction was one of trepidation. After all, I was the one who loved the soda.
Fortunately, my friends are willing to give my desserts a try even when they are not sure it is a wise decision. I loved their comments, ranging from, “Yum” to “LOVE that” to “Really good;” and my favorite, “It’s a winner. Don’t change a thing.”
Who knew something tried 15 years earlier would leave such a lasting impression? I hope this cake does the same for you.
| Cherry Limeade Cake | | Print |
- Cake:
- 2¾ cups all purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 14 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
- 2½ cups sugar
- 5 large eggs, room temperature
- 1 cup sour cream
- 1 tablespoon lime zest
- ¼ cup lime juice (1 to 2 limes)
- 1 cup dried cherries, chopped
- Glaze:
- ¼ cup lime juice
- 2-2¼ cups confectioners sugar
- For the cake:
- Preheat the oven to 325˚. Set aside a 14 cup bundt pan.
- Whisk the flour and baking soda together in a small mixing bowl. Set aside.
- Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes, scraping the bowl down as needed. Add the eggs, one at a time, until combined. On low speed, mix in one-half of the dry ingredients then add the sour cream, lime zest and lime juice. Add the remaining dry ingredients, scraping the bowl down in between additions. Fold in the dried cherries.
- Grease the bundt pan with non-stick cooking spray. Pour the batter into the pan. Bake at 325˚ for 1 hour and 15 minutes. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes before inverting it onto a cooling rack. Cool completely before glazing.
- For the glaze:
- Place the cake, still on the cooling rack, onto a piece of wax paper.
- Combine the lime juice with the confectioners sugar. Pour the glaze into a quart size freezer bag. Seal the bag and cut a small piece off from a bottom corner (not the side that closes). Gently squeeze the glaze, in a back and forth motion, allowing the glaze to gradually drop down the side of the cake towards the bottom. Apply the glaze in stages allowing each layer of glaze to set before applying the next one.
- Betsy's tidbits:
- Placing the cooling rack over a piece of wax paper prior to glazing the cake avoids messy counters to clean up afterwards. The trick to glazing the cake is to do this gradually, allowing each layer of glaze to harden before applying the next layer.
- The glaze should be fairly thick and creamy white in color. Add additional confectioners sugar if needed.
