Cherry Marzipan Streusel Cake
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With a super tender, moist crumb filled with sweet, plump cherries and generously dotted with heavenly marzipan, this Cherry Marzipan Streusel Cake will win you over after the first bite!
Don’t skip over this recipe if you’re thinking, “Dang it, I don’t have marzipan and it’s too expensive to buy.” I have the perfect solution for you! I’m including my super-duper easy homemade marzipan recipe! It’s a breeze to make and is a fraction of the cost of store-bought marzipan.
I grew up on streusel cakes in Germany. They’re popular in every region of the country and for good reason – they’re delicious! There are countless varieties of streusel cake. Many of them include fruit and, of course, lots of butter. A few years ago when I found myself craving one of those streusel cakes from home, I opened up the fridge, saw a bag of fresh cherries I had just picked up, and before long I was enjoying a slice of this delicious Cherry Marzipan Streusel Cake.
Marzipan is commonly used in cakes and pastries in Germany and it pairs beautifully with the cherries. It also adds a nice texture to the crumb, making it moist and tender.
Now for that marzipan recipe. Marzipan is one of my favorite things ever. Seriously, this HAS to be what is referred to as the food of the gods. I doubt you’ll hear it preached from any pulpit, but I’m kinda convinced that the manna sent from heaven to the Israelites was actually marzipan. Living off marzipan every day for 40 years? Take me to the wilderness!
Homemade marzipan is so incredibly easy to make. It takes like 5 minutes to make and the results are out-of-this-world delicious. Once you’ve made it you’ll make it again and again. Check out my recipe for homemade Marzipan.
This cake gets a double dose of marzipan. First it’s mixed into the batter to create a crumb that is tender, moist, and deliciously flavorful. Then it also gets incorporated into that wonderful streusel that’s crumbled over the top.
For marzipan lovers, this cake is a must! And even if you’re not sure if you like marzipan, if you like the flavor of almonds, this cake is for you!
While you can used jarred or canned cherries for this cake, I encourage you to make it with fresh cherries. Canned cherries are saturated with liquid and even after draining them it can be difficult to manage the moisture levels. My recommendation is to be patient and wait until you have access to fresh cherries and then treat yourself to wonderful cake. If you do decide to use canned or frozen cherries, be sure to thoroughly drain them of excess liquid.
Note: You can also swap out the cherries for peaches, apricots, plums, or cranberries!
You’re going to love this German streusel cake with its rich buttery flavor, sweet fruitiness, and the irresistible taste of marzipan!
And if you can muster the self-control to wait, it tastes even better the next day!
Cherry Marzipan Streusel Cake Recipe
Let’s get started!
Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside. In another bowl: Using an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar together for several minutes until light and fluffy.
Add the marzipan and vanilla extract and beat until combined.
Add the egg and beat until combined.
Using a rubber spatula, stir in half of the buttermilk followed by half of the flour mixture.
Fold in the remaining buttermilk followed by the rest of the flour mixture. Be careful not to over-stir.
Spoon the batter into the greased springform and smooth the top.
Layer the cherries on top. It’s okay if you have more than one layer.
To make the streusel topping: Combine the flour and sugar in a medium bowl. Add the almond paste and butter.
Use your fingers to combine the mixture until it resembles clumps of sand.
Sprinkle the streusel evenly over the cherries.
In an oven preheated to 350 degrees, bake the streusel cake on the middle rack for 45-55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let the cake sit in the springform for 10 minutes before removing, then let the cake cool completely on a wire rack.
Once cool, sift powdered sugar over the top of the cake.
If you can be patient, this cake tastes even better the next day! Keep it stored in a cake saver or tin.
Serve plain, with whipped or ice cream.
Enjoy!
For more delicious cakes be sure to try our:
- Pineapple Cake
- French Almond Plum Cake
- German Apple Cake
- German Plum Cake
- German Cheesecake
- Limoncello Cake
- Old Fashioned Carrot Cake
- Caramel Pear Walnut Cake
- Scottish Dundee Cake
- Chocolate Deception Cake
- Peanut Butter Cake
- Strawberry Rhubarb Upside-Down Cake
- Fig, Anise and Hazelnut Tea Cake
- Orange Buttermilk Cake with Orange Cream Cheese Frosting
- French Almond Cake with Lavender Lemon Glaze
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Cherry Marzipan Streusel Cake
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup butter , at room temperature
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/3 cup homemade marzipan
- 1 large egg
- 1/2 cup buttermilk
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cup all-purpose unbleached flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 cups fresh cherries , pitted and halved (fresh cherries recommended; if using canned or frozen be sure to thoroughly drain them of excess liquid); can also substitute peaches, apricots, plums, or cranberries
- For the Streusel Topping:
- 1/2 cup all-purpose unbleached flour
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/3 cup homemade marzipan , crumbled
- 4 tablespoons butter cut into small pieces
- Powdered sugar for dusting
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9 inch springform.
- To make the streusel topping: Combine the flour and sugar in a medium bowl. Add the almond paste and butter and use your fingers to combine the mixture until it resembles sandy clumps. Set aside until ready to use.Using an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar together for several minutes until light and fluffy. Add the almond paste and vanilla extract and beat until combined. Add the egg and beat until combined.In another bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Using a rubber spatula, stir in half of the buttermilk followed by half of the flour mixture. Fold in the remaining buttermilk followed by the rest of the flour mixture. Be careful not to over-stir.
- Spoon the mixture into the greased springform, smoothing the top. Place the cherries on the top, then sprinkle the streusel topping over it.Bake on the middle rack for 45-55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Let the cake sit in the springform for 10 minutes before removing, then allow to cool completely on a wire rack. Once cooled, sift powdered sugar over the top. Serve plain, with whipped or ice cream.Store in a cake saver or tin. This cake tastes even better the next day.
Nutrition
Originally published on The Daring Gourmet July 1, 2014
Hi, I’m Kimberly Killebrew and welcome to Daring Gourmet where you'll find delicious originals, revitalized classics, and simply downright good eats from around the world! Originally from Germany, later raised in England, world-traveled, and now living in the U.S., from my globally-influenced kitchen I invite you to tour the world through your taste buds!
A delicious idea – but for me the recipe DID NOT work well at all. I followed the recipe to the letter, using frozen cherries that were thawed, WELL DRAINED and even paper towelled dry. However, the moisture caused the cake to be a gooey under baked mess in the middle, even after 80 minutes in the oven! Also, although the recipe is not overly complex, I would not say it’s easy, simply because incorporating marzipan is a workout in itself.
I so wanted it to work!
I’m sorry to hear it didn’t turn out for you, Robin, and that the marzipan was more of a workout than you expected.
Could this be made in a square or rectangle pan so that more serving could be cut?
Hi Barbara, yes it sure can. A 9×13 pan will be too big so I’d go with the square pan. Happy baking!
Is there a substitute for buttermilk? It is hard to find here in the winter. I HOPE YOU Can HELP DORIS
Hi Doris, yes there is: Simply stir in 1 tablespoon of white vinegar per cup of milk and let it sit for about 10 minutes. The acidity will do the same trick as buttermilk.
When I was a child, buttermilk was not to be found anywhere where we lived. My mom used to substitute it
for plain unsweetened yoghurt and her cakes were always amazing. I have made this cake several times using
yoghurt, as well, and it is divine.
I made this today and have to say that it is wonderful! It came out perfect. I didn’t have fresh cherries so I had to use canned but it was still great as I drained them really well as directed. I baked it a little longer at a slightly lower temp because I had a dark pan. Other than that, no changes were made. Great recipe! Thank you for sharing!
Wonderful, I’m so thrilled you enjoyed it, Janice, thank you! I just recently made it again, too, because I bought a bulk load of local cherries (80 pounds!!) and had some left after a long marathon of canning projects :)
Hello Kimberly,
I made your cake today with nectarines and turned out fabulous.Thank you very much
Hi Aliye, that’s wonderful, thank you! Nectarines are a great choice.
Yes you know Kimberly ,the cherries I used might be juicier I don’t know the name but they are more yellow than red ,I think they call them white cherries ,that could be the problem ,I used a 9″ spring form pan and my oven temperature is petty accurate .
Also I have to confess that when I wrote that review it was still just out of the oven ,once it had cooled it was much less wet and did taste delicious ,so thank you for that …..although for my taste a little too sweet ,but that’s easily remedied ,I’ll make it again with these things in mind .
Hi Graham, thanks for the update. Yes, the cake needs to cool completely before attempting to slice it. I’m glad to hear that largely remedied the problem. Thanks again!
I had the same problem and I used fresh cherries ,I kept mine in the oven for over an hour ,but still very wet in the middle .
Do you think if ,next time,I avoid putting cherries in the middle or the cake and just concentrate them more around the edges it might work better ,after all the streusel covers all pretty much so it wouldn’t look the different ,your thoughts ?
Hi Graham, I’m not sure if that will solve the problem. And really, you just shouldn’t have to do that at all – I’m scratching my head for any other troubleshooting ideas because if you’re following everything as written (barring unusual altitude circumstances and faulty cookware and ovens) this just shouldn’t be happening. As a reality check I did a search for other cherry streusel cakes – the ingredient ratios in this recipe as well as the cooking temperature are standard for this type of cake. Did you use a 9-inch springform? Smaller would result in a thicker cake and require even longer baking time. What variety of cherries did you use? (eg, exceptionally high juice content?)
I just made this tonight and I’m having the same problem as another commenter. I baked it for 57 minutes, inserted a toothpick which came out clean, and put it on the counter to cool. Everything looked good. I checked back after about 5 minutes and the centre had fallen, and the liquidy center had oozed out through the toothpick hole. I have no idea what went wrong since the toothpick was clean! I did use frozen cherries but they were completely thawed and had been sitting on paper towels for about half an hour to draw out any moisture before I put them on he cake. :(
Hi Brianna, sorry this didn’t turn out for you! What you’re describing is a problem of too much moisture. This recipe was made with fresh cherries which have a lower moisture content than frozen, so if using frozen it’s essential to drain them thoroughly in a colander where the liquid can actually get out. Sitting the cherries on paper towels means they’re just sitting in their liquid (ie, on wet paper towels).