Cherry and Cashew Nut Streusel Cake

Fridays have fascinated me all my life. Like a lot of people, It has remained my favourite part of the week since I was a child. At different stages of life though, the interpretations varied. Before the twins came, I was employed with a bank where I worked for several years. I handled various roles and though the nature of work and work load were different, Fridays were always a treat. Most of the times, it meant long lunches at new restaurants each week with colleagues and friends. I had a printed list pinned on the board next to my cubicle and would tick away as we explored places, old and new.

After the birth of my boys, Fridays brought relief. The promise of a weekend. Of support and respite. It meant eating at the table. Eating food on a plate ,while my husband shared the responsibility of dealing with two infants who needed to be fed, consoled, carried, changed at a tiring pace. Time flew. The children grew up and help was outsourced in the form of Child Care. They would go twice during the week and Friday was one of them. Precious hours that I had all to myself, I would want to do things that made me happy. Like bake cakes. Sometimes one, sometimes more. The prospect of eating cake throughout the weekend made the twins excited as well. Win win. So Fridays turned out to be Cake days. It became a ritual.

Cakes were my blank canvas to play around with flavours, textures or look and my favourite subjects to photograph. I belong to the group of people who believe that with eggs, butter and sugar, there is little that can go wrong. The rest is left to one’s personal taste and creativity. For me, the best cakes are full of texture. And the simplest way to achieve that is to substitute the flour component, completely or partly with a nut meal (ground nuts). There are so many nuts to choose from. Fruits to go with them. The options are unlimited. As much as I love frosted cakes, the simplicity of a nutty and fruity cake freshly baked and served warm with a dollop of whipped cream on the side has a greater appeal. In this cake, along with ground cashew nuts, the texture is enhanced in the form of a crispy sweet crumble.

Cherries have started to show up at the markets. Although they are not exactly cheap at the moment, they are tempting. Since I love them so much, it was hard to go past them without buying a punnet. These were not very sweet but they were perfect for the cake. Cashew nuts have more bite to them than hazelnuts or almonds (which I use more often) so if you are nuts about nuts, this is a cake not to be missed. However, any nut or fruit would work.
The recipe uses egg whites but does not need to whipped up. In other words, this is a one bowl cake that takes minutes to put together. I have used a tart pan (with a non-removable base) to get a large but shorter (in height) cake. You can go with a 20 cm cake pan instead for a regular sized cake. In that case the baking time will need to be increased.

Do you have a favourite day in the week? Do you have a ritual that you would never like to miss?

Cherry and Cashew Nut Streusel Cake
Serves 8-10

200 g cherries, pitted and roughly chopped
6 egg whites
170g unsalted butter, melted and cooled
50g (1/2 cup) plain flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
125g ground cashew nuts
3/4 cup castor sugar

 

For the streusel topping

1/2 cup plain flour
50 g butter, chilled and chopped into cubes
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup cashew nuts, roughly chopped

To make the crumble topping, place all the ingredients in a bowl. Use your fingertips to rub the butter into the mixture until the mixture contains large and small crumbs.

Preheat oven to 190°C. Grease a 23 cm round cake tin and line the base with baking paper. Place the egg whites, butter, sugar, flour, cinnamon and ground cashew nuts hazelnuts in a bowl. Mix gently until just combined. Spoon into tin, scatter with half the crumb topping, then cherries, then remaining topping. Bake for 35 minutes or until firm. Cool in tin for 10 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.