The Best Cherry Vanilla Cake with Swiss Meringue Buttercream Frosting

This Cherry Vanilla Cake has a Swiss Meringue Buttercream frosting that is out of this world delicious! Ever since I was a little kid, I loved “Cherry Chip” boxed cake mix. Alas, I haven’t seen that flavor in ages– and I rarely use cake mixes now that I’m a grownup and aspiring baker. However, I still love that flavor and this homemade cake and Swiss Meringue Frosting exceeded my expectations!

For most of us, we carry sweet childhood memories of our birthday cakes.  I have great memories of birthday parties, with games like “Pin the Tail on the Donkey”,  balloons, party hats– and of course, opening up my birthday gifts.  For most of my life, I would ask for a white birthday cake, with white frosting and lots of roses.  

I’ve eaten my fair share of leftover cake for breakfast. You bet! I felt so special, and I never worried about calories.  Why should I? I was a skinny kid with a wicked sweet tooth.

This skinny kid has morphed into a mature woman with “ample curves” (that’s all I’m saying), but I still have that wicked sweet tooth. Thanks to other food blogs, and cookbooks, I’ve discovered there are other options to commercially made buttercream icing– like cooked vanilla frosting and Swiss Meringue Buttercream. Both recipes are sweet and creamy, but won’t give you a toothache.

So I’m starting a new tradition of baking my own birthday cake. Selfishly, this gives me a justifiable reason to go through my collection of cakes that I’ve collected on one of my Pinterest boards.  Cake baking is therapeutic for me– and I confess that I love the taste of cake batter. 

I’m a total beginner with piping my frosting, and I find that’s if fun to do.  I aspire to get better at it, hoping it will bring out the untapped artistry in me.

Cherry Chip cake brings back fond childhood memories, though that cake mix is no longer to be found at any grocery store I’ve looked for. I decided to see if I could replicate the cherry-almond flavored cake.

TIP: This recipes uses only egg whites. I make egg yolk-custard based ice creams, fairly often. Instead of throwing out the egg whites, I freeze them.  I thaw them, in the refrigerator, and they worked out perfectly for this recipe.

Maraschino cherries spook a lot of people– the whole Red-Dye 40 scare and the HFCS.    I’ve always loved their bright red color, and the slight taste of almond.  I love almond anything.  I figure that I don’t eat these very often, so I’ll survive.
NOTE: With cherry season in full swing, I see no reason why you can use the real deal. It just won’t have the bright pink color and flavor of maraschinos.  It’s definitely worth a try, though.

The cake recipe was easy to follow.  It does involve whipping egg whites and gently folding them into the batter. 

I bought this Cherry Concentrate on King Arthur Flours website and added, a little at a time, tasting until the cherry flavor came through– about 2 tablespoons.  It also added extra color to the batter, so I didn’t need to use food coloring.

Let’s talk about frosting, shall we?  Canned frosting is banned from my pantry.  I don’t like the chemical cake, and homemade buttercream is so simply to make.    Swiss Meringue Buttercream is a bit more work to make, but it’s a silky and wonderful frosting.   You heat egg whites and granulated sugar over a double boiler.  It might seem intimidating that you need to whip up the warmed egg whites, until it cools to a perfect temperature– then slowly add four sticks of cut-up unsalted butter. NOTE: Do not use salted butter. I speak from experience. Ahem. The frosting will taste like a salt lick. You won’t like it.

Holy Cholesterol!  Did I just write  FOUR sticks of butter?!  Yes, I did.  Shall I repeat that? Four.
Do you eat Swiss Buttercream cake every single day? Twice a week? Twice a month? No?  Good! Neither do I. Consider this to be a treat, that you do– say– one to three times a year. Once slice, each time.  Feel better?

I made a Coconut Swiss Buttercream a while ago, and you can see how I did this by clicking here. You can also see an excellent tutorial on what to do if your Swiss Buttercream appears to go “wrong” on Sweetapolita’s blog.  I’m so pleased that I’ve conquered my fear of making Swiss Buttercream. The frosting has a silky texture to it.  The sweetness is there, but it’s not super sweet.  It’s a dream to frost with, too.

I added some more Cherry Concentrate and a little of the maraschino cherry juice, to the frosting, to give it a natural pink color– and more cherry flavor.  On a whim, I mixed up a batch of traditional vanilla buttercream . I  don’t really need a recipe– I use one stick of softened unsalted butter, and start adding powdered sugar (with the paddle attachment to my stand mixer) until it’s almost to the consistency that I like. I then add a tablespoon or two of half and half (or heavy cream) and then  add vanilla, and some almond extract, until it tastes and feels right to me.  I used the traditional buttercream for piping.  I find that Swiss Buttercream is so soft, that its more challenging to pipe.

Moment of truth: I had dinner guests, and the Grilled Planked Salmon was almost ready. I was losing natural light, so I had to cut into the cake to photograph what it looks like inside. There was no time for food-styling, so this is what I have.  It was super hard for any of us to resist eating a slice, but we managed to hold off for another hour and a half.

TASTING NOTES:  The texture of the cake isn’t a very fine crumb, because cake flour isn’t used.  There was a very slight density to the cake, but not over-the-top.  I’m glad that I checked the cake at 24 minutes, or it would have been over baked.  Next time, I’ll check it even sooner. I like to see a little bit of crumb sticking to my toothpick– that means a moister cake. Small details.

Flavor-wise, my guests loved it.  The cherry flavor came through, with a slight hint of almond. That’s exactly what I wanted.  The frosting was raved about.  Everyone scraped the plates. I had set my half eaten slice down, and my husband asked me if I was finished with it. That’s love– I offered it to him, and he ate it. I sent my guests home with a few generous slices, and the remaining cake was gone by the following day. 

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Cherry-Vanilla Layer Cake with Swiss Meringue Buttercream

Ever since I was a little kid, I loved “Cherry Chip” boxed cake mix. Alas, I haven’t seen that flavor in ages– and I no longer use cake mixes now that I’m a grownup and aspiring baker. However, I still love that flavor and this homemade cake and Swiss Meringue Frosting exceeded my expectations!

Prep Time1 hour hr 35 minutes mins

Cook Time25 minutes mins

Total Time2 hours hrs

Course: Dessert

Keyword: Cherry Buttercream Frosting, Cherry Cake, Cherry Swiss Meringue Buttercream Frosting, Cherry Vanilla Cake

Servings: 12

Calories: 590kcal

Author: Debby – www.AFeastfortheEyes.net

Ingredients

For the Maraschino Cake:

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter room temperature
• 1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
• 2 cups all-purpose flour I prefer unbleached flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup whole milk
• 1/2 cup maraschino cherry juice
• 2 teaspoons almond extract
• 2 tablespoons flour for sprinkling over diced cherries
• 10 oz bottle maraschino cherries finely chopped (equals about 8 oz. cherries)
• 1-2 Tbsp. Cherry Concentrate optional: I buy this, online, from King Arthur Flour
• Drop or two of red food coloring or Americolor Deep Pink food coloring gel *optional (NOTE: I didn’t use this, and the cake turned out a pretty pink)
• 4 egg whites beaten to stiff peaks

Vanilla Swiss Meringue Buttercream Frosting:

• 5 egg whites
• 1 cup sugar
• Pinch of salt
• 1 pound unsalted butter 4 sticks, cubed, at room temperature
• 3 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/4 tsp almond extract optional

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 340 degrees.
• Grease two 9-inch pans and line with parchment paper.
• Beat the butter and sugar together in the bowl of a stand mixer until creamy.
• In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, salt and baking powder .
• Combine milk,cherry juice and almond extract, and cherry concentrate (if using) and add alternately to the butter and sugar with the flour mixture.
• In a small bowl, sprinkle the 2 tablespoons of flour over the diced cherries and stir until the flour has been completely absorbed. Note: It’s okay if the cherries still have a little juice on them after this.
• Stir cherries into the batter. Stir in food coloring if desired (I didn’t use it).
• Fold stiffly beaten egg whites into the batter– don’t stir, or you will lose the “air” from the egg whites.
• Pour into prepared cake pans and bake for 22-24 minutes, depending on your oven. Remove from pan and allow to cool completely on a wire rack.
• Vanilla Swiss Meringue Buttercream Frosting:
• 5 egg whites
• 1 cup sugar
• Pinch of salt
• 1 pound (4 sticks) unsalted* butter, cubed, at room temperature
• 3 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp almond extract (optional)
• Set a saucepan filled one-third full of water over medium-high heat and bring to a simmer.
• Whisk together the egg whites, sugar, and salt in a large heatproof bowl**. Set over the simmering water and whisk until the mixture is hot to the touch (about 120) and the sugar has dissolved.
• **NOTE: I use a Kitchen Aid Stand mixer, so I prefer to use the stainless steel bowl over a pot of simmering water– one less step!
• Transfer the mixture to the bowl of a stand mixer (if you followed my tip, you can skip this part) fitted with the whisk attachment.
• Beat on low speed for 2 minutes. Increase to medium-high until stiff peaks are formed.
• Continue beating at medium-high speed until the mixture is fluffy and has cooled (the mixing bowl should feel cool to the touch).
• Turn the mixer off and switch from the whisk attachment to the paddle* (*NOTE: I don’t switch to the paddle, and so far no problems). Turn the mixer on medium-low and add the butter, a few cubes at a time, beating until well incorporated before the next addition.
• Add the vanilla extract, and almond extract (if using).
• Divide batter and tint with food coloring, if desired. I kept a little un-tinted frosting out to pipe around the edges of the cake.
• Beat until the frosting is thick and completely smooth. Store in an airtight container until ready for use.

Notes

NOTE: For the piped edges and decorations, I made a traditional buttercream (made with powdered sugar, butter and heavy cream) because I’m more comfortable piping a buttercream. Swiss buttercream is much silkier and smoother, and that can be a challenge for my intermediate piping skills. Plus, I do like a traditional buttercream as well!

TIP: I make a lot of egg custard ice cream so don’t throw away the egg whites after you separate the eggs. I freeze my egg whites. I used thawed egg whites for both recipes, and the results were great!

Recipe slightly adapted from: Sprinkle Bakes

Nutrition

Calories: 590kcal | Carbohydrates: 56g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 38g | Saturated Fat: 24g | Cholesterol: 102mg | Sodium: 95mg | Potassium: 192mg | Sugar: 39g | Vitamin A: 1190IU | Calcium: 64mg | Iron: 1.2mg

Tried this recipe?Mention @afeastfortheeyes or tag #afeastfortheeyesblog!

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