Sweet Dark Cherry Pudding Cake

I always buy the frozen fruit from Trader Joe's. It's my go-to for a quick snack or to incorporate with a dessert. I had yet to use the frozen sweet dark cherries in a dessert; I always just mixed them with yogurt. So I was thrilled to find this recipe for a Sweet Dark Cherry Pudding Cake on Northwest Cherries, a site devoted to tips, information and recipes for Northwest cherries. When in doubt, a good source for recipes is always the actual source or site of the main ingredient. I altered the recipe a bit. This was delicious! It was scrumptious when heated up with some vanilla ice cream. Initially I though the juices from the cherries were too much and would cause the pudding to not maintain it's shape, however after chilling the pudding cake for a little bit, it's shape was held perfectly and it could be cut and served with much more ease. This is a standard recipe so I'm sure it can work with many other fruits such as strawberries or black berries. This really is a comforting dessert :)

Sweet Dark Cherry Pudding Cake

(Makes one 9 inch cake)

Ingredients:

1 cup flour

3/4 cup sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup soy milk

1 egg white

2 cups frozen pitted sweet dark cherries

1 cup brown sugar, packed

1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon

1 cup boiling water

1 tablespoon lemon juice

Directions:

1. Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Then add in the milk and egg white just until smooth. This may be a bit of a challenge if you are just using a flimsy whisk like me, but it won't take long. Spread this batter into a 9x5 inch baking dish.

2. Place the pitted cherries in a layer on top of the batter.

3. Mix together the cinnamon and brown sugar and sprinkle evenly over the cherries.

4. Stir lemon juice in with the boiling water and carefully pour over the cherries and brown sugar.

5. Bake for 55 to 60 minutes or until a wooden pick comes out clean. Best enjoyed warm with ice cream.

YUM!!!!