Almond Cherry Cake uses tart cherries, almonds and cinnamon for a delicious flavor combination. There is no sugar added other than the natural sugars in the cherries. This moist, slightly dense low carb cake is a no-fail, easy to make dessert you will love serving to family and friends.
Why this recipe is just so good.....
- If you love cherries but have avoided them because they are high in sugar, this recipe will quench your craving because it uses tart cherries. They are much lower in carbs and very healthy.
- This is not an overly sweet cake and very easy to make. It is moist, slightly dense and with the almond streusel on top, does not need any frostings or glazes. Of course, a small scoop of low carb/keto vanilla ice cream would go really well with this sugar free dessert!
Ingredient Notes
- This recipe uses tart cherries which are very easy to find in the freezer section. Tart cherries are not the same as sweet cherries. According to Choose Cherries, sweet bing cherries are for snacking and found during warmer months. Tart cherries are better for baking found dried, canned or frozen and are much lower in carbohydrates.
- You can easily substitute the sliced almonds for other types of nuts. Chopped pecans or walnuts or pistachios would taste great as well.
- As with most of my recipes, we are using fine milled almond flour and coconut flour. The combination of the two makes for a nice texture in baked goods. Just make sure to sift away any lumps.
FAQ
I love using a springform because it helps to release the cake easily after it has cooled. World of Pans has some great information about Springform pans. But not everyone has one of these pans and if you don't make many cheesecakes, you need to use another type of pan. A 9 inch springform pan can be substituted with a regular 9 inch cake pan, also lined with parchment. Keep an eye on the baking time and always test at the lowest time.
Tart cherries is not a fruit that has the lowest carbohydrates, with 13 net carbs per cup. But according to an article on Food Network, they are a low fat, low calorie fruit, filled with antioxidants and heart healthy benefits.
Step by Step Directions
- Mix sliced almonds, butter and brown sugar substitute with your fingers until it resembles medium sized coarse crumbs. Refrigerate until needed.
- Combine the flours, baking powder, xanthan gum, cinnamon and salt. Whisk well.
- Beat eggs and sugar substitute in a mixer until batter is light in color and thickened, about 4-5 minutes.
- Pour in butter and vanilla and slowly mix into the batter. Increase speed and beat for 2 minutes.
- Fold in flour mixture until fully mixed into the batter.
- Pour into the prepared pan. Smooth the top of batter.
- Place cherry halves on top of batter.
- Sprinkle the almond streusel on top of cherries and lightly pan down.
- Bake in 300°F oven for 1 hour. Test with toothpick to check if it is done. If toothpick still has wet crumbs on it, bake cake for an additional 10 minutes and test again.
Baking Tips
- When testing with a toothpick or skewer, don't just test the very top part of the cake. I always push the toothpick all the way down to check if the cake is really all the way baked.
- Xanthan gum is not an ingredient most people keep in their pantry. However according to Bakerpedia, it improves the texture and gives structure to baked goods made with gluten free flour. But if you plan on doing a bit of low carb/keto baking, it will be a well used staple. It is not expensive and lasts very long so it's a great investment.
- This recipe is baked in a 300°F oven to allow the cake to fully bake without getting too brown or burning. Almond flour can burn pretty fast so the lower temperature will help. You can also lightly cover the pan with some aluminum foil toward the end of the baking time if you think it's browning too quickly.
If you are a fan of cakes, try these other delicious desserts:
I hope you love this recipe! Please give a star rating and let me know in the comments. This tells me what you enjoy and would like to see more of. 😊
Keto Almond Cherry Cake
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 25 minutes
- Yield: 8 servings 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: American
Description
This almond cherry cake is made with tart cherries and is a moist and slightly dense low carb dessert. With its almond streusel on top, there is no need for frosting or a glaze. Enjoy this delicious coffee cake with family and friends.
Ingredients
Streusal
- 1 cup sliced almonds
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- 2 tablespoons packed brown sugar substitute
Cake
- 2 cups fine almond flour, sifted
- 3 tablespoons coconut flour, sifted
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon xanthan gum *
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 3 large eggs, room temperature
- 1 ½ cups sugar substitute ( I used Monkfruit and Swerve) **
- ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ¾ cup tart cherries ( I used frozen), cut in half ***
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 300°F.
- Make the streusel: Combine sliced almonds, butter and brown sugar substitute in a small bowl. Using your fingers, mix together to form medium size crumbs. Refrigerate until ready to use.
- Lightly spray a 9 inch springform pan with non stick baking spray. Place a round piece of parchment on the bottom and lightly spray the parchment.
- Whisk the flours, baking powder, xanthan gum, cinnamon and salt in a bowl.
- In a mixer, combine the eggs and sugar and beat on medium speed for 4-5 minutes. The batter will thicken as you mix it.
- Remove cherries from freezer if using frozen. Cut in half.
- Turn speed down to low and slowly add the butter. Add the vanilla and increase speed back to medium. Beat for another 2 minutes.
- Remove bowl from mixer and fold in the flour mixture gently but make sure all flour is mixed into the batter.
- Pour batter into prepared pan, smooth the top. Place cherries on top of batter and lightly pat them into the batter. Sprinkle almond streusel on top.
- Bake for 1 hour, test with a toothpick or skewer. If it is still moist with wet crumbs on the toothpick, bake for another 10 minutes and test again.
- Remove from oven and let cool in pan for 20 minutes. Run a butter knife along the outer edges of the cake to loosen. Open the springform pan and let fully cool before removing.
- Store in air tight container for up to 5 days.
Notes
*Using xanthan gum helps give structure and improves the texture in low carb and keto baked goods.
**Combining two different sugar substitutes gives the dessert a realistic sugar sweetness without as much aftertaste or cooling effect that some substitutes can give.
***Tart cherries can be found in canned, dried or frozen varieties. If using frozen, don't defrost ahead of time. Remove from the freeze as you need them. They are easy to cut in half even when frozen.
Virginia says
Thanks for this recipe. I loved the tart cherries on top!
Deb Belsha says
Great, glad you liked it!
Virginia says
Thanks for this recipe. I loved the tart cherries and streusel.
Tatyana says
I don’t know how is 2cup of flour with 3 eggs with butter can still be manageable. Mine was thick and the egg with batter split even I was following all instructions ☹️
Deb Belsha says
I'd like to help figure out why my recipe didn't work for you. However, I'm not quite sure what you mean by "how it can still be manageable." Do you mean the batter didn't fit in your pan or overflowed? The batter was meant to be thick as you said. Two cups + a few tablespoons of almond and coconut flour is pretty much the basic amounts for a low carb cake. Did you use the same size pan as in the recipe? Please give a bit more info and perhaps I can help.
Kalyn says
I love the streusel topping on this — came out delicious!
Deb Belsha says
Thank you for the rating!