Almond-Coconut Cake with Cherries and Pistachios
A Milk Street fan favorite, this cake adapted from “Honey & Co.: The Cookbook” mixes rustic Middle Eastern flavors—fruits, nuts, spices, and coconut.
- Makes10 to 12 servings
- Cook Time1¼ hours
- Active time plus cooling20 minutes active, plus cooling
- 15
In 2012 in London, Itamar Srulovich and Sarit Packer opened Honey & Co., a tiny restaurant that serves up thoughtfully prepared Middle Eastern comfort food. The couple has since opened Honey & Smoke and Honey & Spice and authored several books. This rustic cake is our adaptation of a recipe from their first title, “Honey & Co.: The Cookbook.” Dense, moist and filled from top to bottom with fruity, nutty flavor and texture, the cake is great as dessert, brunch or with coffee or tea. Honey & Co. flavors it with mahleb, a baking spice made from the seeds from a variety of cherry; we use easier-to-source almond extract. Store leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature for up to three days.
Don’t use sweetened shredded coconut, as it will make the cake too sugary. Unsweetened shredded coconut—not wide shavings—is the right variety. If fresh cherries are out of season, don’t hesitate to use thawed frozen cherries—they’re equally tasty on the cake. Lastly, don’t worry that inverting the cake out of the pan will cause the toppings to fall off. The fruit and nuts are baked in, so only a couple small pieces may come loose, if any.
Step 1
Heat the oven to 350°F with a rack in the middle position. Butter a 9-inch round cake pan, line the bottom with a round of kitchen parchment, then butter the parchment.
Step 2
In a medium bowl, whisk together both flours, the coconut, baking powder and salt. In a large bowl, combine the eggs, the 106 grams (½ cup) white sugar, brown sugar and almond extract, then whisk until well combined.
Whisk in the melted and cooled butter. Whisk in the dry ingredients until homogeneous; the batter will be thick but pourable.
Step 3
Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Using your hands, tear the cherries in half over the batter, allowing the juice to fall onto the surface, then drop the pieces onto the surface in an even layer.
Sprinkle with the pistachios and the remaining 1 tablespoon white sugar.
Step 4
Bake until a toothpick inserted at the center of the cake comes out clean, 50 to 55 minutes. Cool on a wire rack until barely warm to the touch, about 1 hour.
Run a paring knife around the inside edge of the pan to loosen the cake, then invert onto a platter. Lift off the pan and peel off the parchment. Re-invert the cake onto a platter. If desired, dust with powdered sugar just before serving.
