Morello Cherry and Cream Cheese Brunch Cake

We had our usual Monday Night crowd around this week, with the additional pleasure of having our good friends Angie and Keith here as well. They drove up all the way from Scunthorpe just to see little old us!



Angie writes a witty and very entertaining blog called, "Can You All Hear Me At The Back." I just love her to bits! She has a wonderful sense of humour, and I eat up every word she writes. She doesn't think what she does is all that special, but I think she sells herself short, coz it's all very entertaining to me, and a lot of others too!



The last time they came to see us we were living in that little cottage on that Manor House Estate . . . so it was a little bit different this time . . . as we have exchanged tudor white wash and dark beams for a terraced house on a council estate . . . be it ever so humble and all that! It's Home Sweet Home!



I just love having people over and having an excuse to cook above and beyond the norm! The Toddster and I can only eat so much so it's nice to have a few extra bodies around to help eat it all up.



One of the things I had made for their visit was this lovely Morello Cherry and Cream Cheese Brunch Cake! Actually it can be a "Whatever Type of Jam You Have and Cream Cheese Brunch Cake!" It just so happened that this time I had morello cherry jam.



You can use whatever kind you have on hand though . . . it tastes good with most of them . . . Raspberry, Strawberry, Apricot, Blueberry . . . even Rhubarb and Ginger! (Oh so scrummy)

It has a lovely buttery cake base with a cheesecake filling . . . a beautiful backdrop for that sweet jam topping . . .



With a nutty scrummy streusal topping, this is a very moreish cake . . . Only problem was . . . with everything else I had cooked . . . I completely forgot to serve it!!

I know . . . what AM I like!




*Morello Cherry and Cream Cheese Brunch Cake*
Serves 16
Printable Recipe

A lovely buttery cake with a cream cheese filling, topped with morello cherry jam, and a nutty streusel topping. Easy and delicious!!

For the Cake:
9 1/2 ounces plain flour (2 1/4 cups)
5 1/4 ounces caster sugar (3/4 cup)
6 ounces cold butter (3/4 cup)
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
pinch salt
6 fluid ounces sour cream (3/4 cup)
1 tsp almond extract
1 large free range egg

For the filling:
8 ounces cream cheese or quark
1.75 ounces caster sugar (1/4 cup)
1 large free range egg

Also:
3 dessertspoons of morello cherry preserves
1 1/2 ounces flaked toasted almonds (1/2 cup)

Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F/ gas mark 4. Butter and lightly dust with flour the bottom and side of a 9 inch fluted tart tin with a removeable bottom. Set aside.

In a large bowl mix together the flour and sugar for the cake. Rub in the butter with your fingertips until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Remove 5 ounces of this mixture (approx 1 cup) and set aside. To the remainder of it whisk in the baking powder, baking soda and salt. Beat in the sour cream, almond extract and the egg, blending in well. Spread this batter over the bottom and 2 inches up the sides of the tart tin.

In a small bowl mix together all the filling ingredients until smooth. Pour this into the batter lined pan. Give the preserves a good stir and then carefully dollop them evenly over the top as well as you can. Mix together the reserved crumb mixture and the flaked almonds. Sprinkle this evenly over the preserves.

Bake for 45 to 55 minutes, or until the creamy filling is set and the crust is a deep golden brown. Cool for 15 minutes before removing the sides of the pan. Serve warm or cool. Store any leftovers in the refrigerator.