Sacramento Digs Gardening: Enjoy sweet bite of spring with this cherry treat

This delicious coffee cake can be made with just about any fresh fruit. (Photos: Debbie Arrington)

It's almost May, which means cherries will soon be rolling in.

This old-fashioned cherry coffee cake is sort of like a cobbler but with more spring and softness to the dough. The top mounds of batter expand and connect while still allowing bright cherry filling to bubble through on the edges.

Although traditional sour pie cherries will work, sweet cherries are absolutely luscious in this coffee cake. Bing cherries, America's favorite, arrive later in summer, but there are loads of early-harvest cherries that would be equally delicious in this breakfast pastry that doubles as dessert. Have a slice of it to start the day or to top it off (or any time in between).

Look for the early cherries at farmers markets and farm stands (or your own cherry trees).

Also try this recipe with chopped peaches, nectarines, apricots, apples, pears or blueberries. Adjust the cooking time for the filling as needed.

Cherry coffee cake
Makes 9 servings

Adapted from Better Homes and Gardens New Cookbook

Ingredients:

Filling:

2 cups sweet cherries, pitted and halved
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch

Cake:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup sugar

Cook the fruit filling on top of the stove.

1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 cup cold butter
1 beaten egg
1/2 cup sour cream
1/4 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla

Topping:

1/4 cup flour
1/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons butter

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a medium saucepan, combine cherries and water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer, covered, 5 minutes, or until cherries are tender.

Combine 1/2 cup sugar and cornstarch; stir into fruit. Cook and stir over medium heat until thickened and bubbly. Stirring, cook 2 minutes more. Remove from heat and set aside.

In a mixing bowl, combine 1 1/2 cups flour, 3/4 cup sugar, the baking powder and baking soda. With a fork or pastry blender, cut in 1/4 cup butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Make a well in the middle of the mixture

In another bowl, beat the egg. Add sour cream and milk; mix well. Stir in vanilla.

Add the egg-sour cream mixture to the dry ingredients all at once. Stir with a fork until moistened. Batter will look lumpy.

Filling bubbles up around the edges of this cherry-packed cake.

Spread half the batter in the bottom of an ungreased 8-by-8-inch baking dish (at least 2 inches deep; deeper is better). Spread cherry mixture over that batter layer. With a spoon, drop remaining batter in small mounds atop filling.

Stir together 1/4 cup flour and 1/4 cup sugar. Cut in 2 tablespoons butter to form coarse crumbles. Sprinkle over top of coffee cake.

Bake at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes or until golden. Serve warm or room temperature.

RECIPE

A recipe for preparing delicious meals from the bounty of the garden.

Keywords:

fruit spring fruit spring produce gardening Sacramento farmers markets recipe seasonal cooking

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Garden checklist for week of April 19

After this midweek storm, start getting serious about spring gardening. Flowers are blooming about three weeks ahead of schedule. That includes weeds!

* Get ready to swing into action in the vegetable garden – if you haven’t already. As nights warm up over 50 degrees, set out tomato, pepper and eggplant transplants.

* From seed, plant beans, beets, cantaloupes, carrots, corn, cucumbers, melons, radishes and squash; wait on pumpkins until May. Plant onion sets.

* In the flower garden, plant seeds for asters, cosmos, celosia, marigolds, salvia, sunflowers and zinnias. Transplant petunias, zinnias, geraniums and other summer bloomers.

* Plant perennials and dahlia tubers for summer bloom. Late April is about the last chance to plant summer bulbs, such as gladiolus and tuberous begonias.

* Transplant lettuce and cabbage seedlings.

* April is the last chance to plant citrus trees such as dwarf orange, lemon and kumquat. These trees also look good in landscaping and provide fresh fruit in winter.

* Smell orange blossoms? Give citrus trees a low dose of balanced fertilizer (such as 10-10-10) during bloom to help set fruit. Keep an eye out for ants. If leaves look yellow, your tree may need an iron boost -- apply some chelated iron fertilizer.

* Apply slow-release fertilizer to the lawn.

* Thoroughly clean debris from the bottom of outdoor ponds or fountains.

* Spring brings a flush of rapid growth, and that means your garden needs nutrition. Give shrubs and trees a slow-release fertilizer. Mulch with a 1-inch layer of compost, which helps the soil, but keep it a few inches away from trunks and stems.

* Azaleas and camellias looking a little yellow? If leaves are turning yellow between the veins, give them a boost with chelated iron.

* Trim dead flowers but not leaves from spring-flowering bulbs such as daffodils and tulips. Those leaves gather energy to create next year's flowers. Also, give the bulbs a fertilizer boost after bloom.

* Pinch chrysanthemums back to 12 inches for fall flowers. Cut old stems to the ground.

* Mulch around plants to conserve moisture and control weeds.

Send us a gardening question, a post suggestion or information about an upcoming event. sacdigsgardening@gmail.com

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