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This Cherry Almond Bundt Cake is a traditional pound cake filled with cherry pie filling and topped with a cream cheese glaze.
Today’s cake is a homemade Cherry Almond Bundt Cake. This traditional pound cake is filled with cherry pie filling, a hint of almond extract and a cream cheese glaze. A touch of orange zest and a sprinkle of sliced almonds are the perfect way to finish off this cake.
I’ve been playing around with variations of my grandmother’s pound cake adding various fruit fillings and glazes and it has been so fun to see how they call come together.
Tips for making pound cake
- All of the wet ingredients need to be at room temperature including the butter, eggs and milk.
- Next, the butter and eggs need to be beaten together for several minutes until the butter becomes light in color. Do not rush this step, it needs at least 5 minutes at medium speed and you may need to scrape down the bowl occasionally.
- Sift the flour through a sieve before weighing.
- Make sure you thoroughly grease AND flour the pan. I am a fan of using Crisco shortening so that I can get into all the nooks and crannies of my bundt pan and then I generously flour it. Do not skip the flouring step, trust me.
My grandma would also tell me to make sure that I am sifting my flour, but I must admit, I’ve gotten a little lazy with this step.
Cherry Pie filling is the secret
For the cherry pie filling, I recommend separating the cherries from the juice simply by pouring it through a fine mesh sieve. This allowed me to layer in the cherry pie filling and then swirl some of the juice in separately. I chose not to use the all of the cherry juice because it is significantly increased the amount of liquid in the batter.
How to separate the cherry pie filling from the juice:
Not every pie filling is going to be made the same, and some might be more difficult to strain than others, but the point is to remove at least some of the excess juice.
- Place a mesh sieve over a large glass bowl
- Pour the cherry pie filling in the sieve
- Use a spatula to gently turn over the pie filling several times to help separate the juice
- Tap the sieve and occasionally wipe the bottom of the sieve clean
Here is a before and after, you can see just how much juice I was able to extract, about 8 ounces (or 1 cup). I also compared the Lucky Leaf pie filling to Duncan Hines and a generic Walmart brand and the results were the same. I was able to remove 1 cup of the gelled pie filling, leaving mostly the berries afterwards. This is exactly what you’re looking for.
Can I use a whole can of pie filling?
I did test this recipe using a full can of pie filling as well. There are a couple of things I noticed.
- The addition of all of the cherry juice filling added a lot of volume to the batter, so the baking time was increased by at least 10 minutes.
- Additionally the cake baked well above the edge of the bundt pan, so you want to be sure to use a pan that is at least 10 cup capacity pan.
I found this article from King Arthur Flour to be particularly helpful when discussing the different size bundt pans that are available and how you can how large your pan is.
baking times will vary
Many of you have comments that you had to bake yours for much longer. This will depend on the type and size of your pan, and your true internal baking temperature. Not all 10 cup bundt pans are created in the same shape and depth.
To properly bake this cake, be sure to check to see if your cake is done by inserting a toothpick into the middle. If it comes out clean, your cake is done. You may need to cover the bundt pan with aluminum foil for about 20 minutes to prevent the bottom from browning. Bake on the middle rack of the oven.
Cream cheese glaze
For the topping, I made a simple cream cheese glaze. It is thick enough that is can be piped and just ever so slightly drip down the sides of the cake. If you choose to pipe the glaze the way I have you will have leftover glaze. Or you could pour it over the top as well, and then you won’t have any leftovers.
I’ve chosen to garnish this cake with some slices almonds and orange zest. There is not any orange zest in this cake, but it would certainly made a nice addition. I’ve been baking a lot of bundt cakes lately, so I hope you’re on board too!
how to prepare the bundt pan for baking
Make sure you thoroughly grease and flour the pan. I prefer using Crisco shortening so that I can get into all the nooks and crannies of my bundt pan and then I generously flour it. Do not skip the flouring step, because the pie filling can be very sticky.
Once the cake comes out of the oven, allow it to cool for a few minutes and you’ll notice that it will start to pull away from the edges of the pan. Then take a knife and slowly slide it around the edges of your pan, especially the center column where the cake tends to stick. I only allow it to cool in the pan for about 10 minutes or so and then flip it out onto a plate.
More Bundt Cake recipes
- Vanilla Bundt Cake
- The Best Chocolate Bundt Cake
- Snickerdoodle Bundt Cake
- Blueberry Almond Bundt Cake
- Strawberry Swirl Bundt Cake
Cherry Almond Bundt Cake
- Prep Time: 45 minutes
- Cook Time: 65 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 50 minutes
- Yield: 12 slices
Print Recipe
Pin RecipeDescription
This Cherry Almond Bundt Cake is a traditional pound cake filled with cherry pie filling and topped with a cream cheese glaze.
Ingredients
For the cake
- 1 ½ cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter at room temperature
- 3 cups granulated sugar
- 5 large eggs at room temperature
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoons baking powder
- Pinch of salt
- 1 ¼ cups milk at room temperature
- 2 teaspoons almond extract
- 1 can cherry pie filling
For the glaze:
- 4 ounces cream cheese, softened
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 5–6 teaspoons heavy whipping cream or milk
- 1 large orange
- ¼ teaspoon almond extract
- pinch of salt
Instructions
- Allow the butter, milk and eggs to come to room temperature.
- Preheat the oven to 325°. Prepare a generously greased and floured bundt pan. Do not skip this step.
- Cream the butter until smooth and then beat in sugar and continue beating it until it’s light and fluffy or for about 5 minutes.
- Slowly add the eggs one at a time and make sure each one is well mixed before adding the next. Add the almond extract and beat until mixed.
- In a separate bowl, sift the flour first and then measure out 3 cups. Then add the baking powder and salt.
- Next, add half of the dry ingredients and then half of the milk, beating just until the flour is partially combined.
- Then add the second half of the dry ingredients, followed by the remaining milk. Continue to beat until all ingredients are well combined.
- Strain the cherry pie filling through a fine sieve to extract the cherries form the juice/filling.
- Pour about 1/3 of the batter into the bottom of the batter into the bottom of the pan. Spoon 1/3 of the cherries into the batter, spreading evenly.
- Then add 2-3 tablespoons of the cherry juice and swirl it into the batter. Repeat these steps 2 more times so that the cherries and the cherry juice is layered throughout. You will have leftover cherry juice.
- Bake at 325° for 65-70 minutes. You may need to cover the bundt pan with aluminum foil for about 20 minutes to prevent the bottom from browning.
- Check to see if your cake is done by inserting a toothpick into the middle. If it comes out clean, your cake is done. Baking times may vary by oven.
- After 10 minutes of cooling, gently run a knife around the edges of your bundt to help release it from the edge before flipping. Invert the cake onto a plate and allow it cool for 2-3 hours.
- For the glaze: Soften cream cheese in the microwave for 20-30 seconds in the microwave, removing the wrapper first. It should be soft but not melted.
- In a medium-sized bowl, combine the cream cheese with the powdered sugar and continue to stir.
- Add the heavy cream, one teaspoon at a time until the glaze reaches the desired thickness. It should drip of the spoon, but not run off the spoon.While you’re adding the heavy cream, also add the orange zest, almond extract and the pinch of salt
- Once the glaze is nice and smooth, drizzle it over the cake. If desired, you can use a Ziploc bag to pipe the glaze the way I have, drizzling it down the sides of the cake.
Notes
- This cake is best served within 2 days of baking.
- You must use at least a 10-cup capacity bundt pan
- Baking times will vary depending on pan size and true internal oven temperatures. Not all 10 cup bundt pans are the same shape and depth
- The Cherry pie filling must be drained and separated from the juice/gel filling so you’re only using the cherries from the pie filling. See instructions and photos in the blog post
- Category: Cake
- Method: Baked
- Cuisine: American
Keywords: Bundt Cake, Cherry Cake,
Has anyone baked this in a traditional pound cake pan instead of a bundt pan?
It would probably make 2 large loaves. I thought I saw someone on Pinterest post a photo of it.
Can u use maraschino cherries? My wife hates pie filling of any kind due to eating a huge can as a child!
I have not tested the recipe this way. It should work as long as you drain the cherries from the juice.
Wonder what it would be like if you used amaretto instead of almond extract.
I am sure that would also be delicious!
Used dark morello cherries from Trader Joe’s. So good!
★★★★
Awesome Dawn! Thanks for sharing, I am so glad you enjoyed this recipe.
I’ve made a lot of bundts and this one is one of my best! The cake was so smooth and moist – I literally poured it into the pan, which made me nervous because it was so thin! To note, as most Bundt pans are 10 cups, I had a lot of batter left over. Two things – the recipe doesn’t point out how many ounces the cherry can should be – mine was 15 ounces and I wished I had more cherries in the cake. I will double them next time. Also, the orange zest didn’t have a meaurement; I guessed on that – maybe specify how much of the orange to use? I used about half an orange.
★★★★★
Thank you so much Otis! I also used a 10cup bundt pan, so I am just curious why you had so much leftover batter. I also used a 15oz can of cherries, thanks for calling that out, I will update it to be more clear!
I followed your directions to the “t” and my cake turned out terrific! YUMMY!! It was such a hit that I was referring people to your site. Thank you for the detailed instructions, and all the
pictures, which were very helpful, as well (Visual learner here). This is a lovely cake for any occasion.
★★★★★
Awesome, thank you Lynn!
This is quite possibly the best cake I’ve ever tasted!!! It was delicious at room temp, but I set in the fridge to keep and the next day it was absolutely amazing cold!! One thing I did different was I doubled the frosting and piped it on like they do at Nothing Bundt Cakes. It looked as good as it tasted!
★★★★★
Dilyn thank you so much!!! I love to hear this and appreciate the feedback!
You don’t have 🍒 cherries throughout your bundt cake.? In your beginning statement you say “traditional pound cake” but there’s no pound of anything… So how can it be a pound cake? I’m an advid baker and pound cakes have a pound of butter and sugar. It is a great tasting bundt cake. You don’t have to seive the pie filling just use a spoonful of pie filling and you’ll get the same results.
Hi Kimberly- I am glad this worked for you, but I do think if you want to use the whole can then I would still recommend following the recipe and instructions as provided