Siberian Bird Cherry Fine Powder Flour 300gr (10.58 oz) Wild Harvested from Altai Region

The aroma of bird cherry rarely leaves anyone indifferent, because it is associated with the spring mood. You can feel the spring atmosphere even on frosty evenings. And for this, try to cook bird cherry cake with sour cream – pastries based on bird cherry flour, which has a magical aroma. In this recipe, the cakes are complemented by a very simple cream, but despite the very simplicity, it perfectly completes the flavor composition.

: 20 hours.

Recipe with step-by-step photos for Cherry Pie, inspired by the cult TV series, Twin Peaks. This recipe uses homemade pie pastry, as well as fresh cherries but you can substitute with frozen cherries.

To me, nothing sounds more American than a cherry pie. If you have read the Stephanie Plum books by Janet Evanovich, you will no doubt be familiar with (if not envious of) Stephanie’s calorie-infused, sugar-laden diet. This bounty-hunter’s voracious appetite spans from savoury delights like Popeye’s spicy fried chicken and biscuits to an endless array of snacks featuring donuts, waffles, Pop-Tarts and Twinkies.

It is through reading books like these and growing up watching American TV shows and movies that I was introduced to the delectable world of American diner desserts, featuring banana cream pie, pumpkin pie and, of course, cherry pie.

Tasting like the soul of cherry with an intense aroma of almond, traditional Siberian bird cherry cake (Черемуха) is made using dried wild cherry flour. It’s the finest wild cherry recipe I’ve ever made, and probably my favorite dessert of all time, so saying every forager should try it once is an understatement.

Behold the bird cherry cake (and my amateur frosting skills).

Today I’ll walk you through my version of the cake, with some background to help you understand why I love it so much.

You’re going to need wild cherries, and a bunch of them.

First, the cherry. The bird in bird cherry cake comes from the name of a specific cherry: the bird cherry or Prunus padus (Черемуха). Zeroing in on the exact species used for the traditional Siberian dessert is a little confusing though.

Chokecherries and many others can be use in place of bird cherries.

Besides Prunus padus, there’s also a cherry native to the same region called Prunus avium, which literally translates to bird cherry. I think both cherries could potentially be used to make the cake, but P. avium is said to be more bitter and P. padus I see mentioned repeatedly online and in print (one book that mentions it specifically is Magnus Nilsons Faviken.)

Prunus pumila, the sand cherry is another candidate.

Content: Natural Siberian Bird Cherry Powder – Flour (Prunus Padus)

Altai, Siberian Wild-harvested, Raw, Natural, Organic. Premium Quality

No Gluten, No Soy, no additives, aromas, or colorings

Siberian Bird Cherry Powder – Flour (Prunus Padus) is perfect for baking – cakes, pastries, muffins, pancakes, shortbread, biscuits, puddings and so much more. Can be also added to coffee, herbal tea, smoothies and jelly (e.g. traditional Siberian kissel).

Bird cherry flour naturally does not contain gluten. 100 grams of our Siberian Bird cherry flour contains 119 Cal. Just compare this with a generic brand of wheat flour containing 350 Cal. Sounds like is great way to enjoy your favorite pastries and at the same time to consume less calories! We Love our Siberian Bird Cherry Powder Flour for its’ unique, distinctive Siberian taste – Siberians compare Bir Cherry Powder taste to a blend of chocolate, almond, and rum!

SIBERIAN BIRD CHERRY CAKE RECIPE: Ingredients: 1 cup of our Siberian Bird Cherry Flour, 2 eggs, 1 cup of sour cream, ½ cup of wheat flour, 1 cup of sugar, 1 teaspoon of baking powder. Recipe: Mix Siberian Bird Cherry Flour with sour cream and chill for two hours. Beat eggs with sugar, stir in the mixture of bird cherries and sour cream, then sift in flour and baking powder and mix until smooth. Bake at 180 C (356 F) degrees for 45 minutes. Cut the cake into two layers, spread the lower one with an ample amount of sour cream and top it with the second layer. Let it sit for 8-12 hours. Enjoy!

STORAGE: store in a cool dry place. For better results store in a closed plastic or glass container at room temperature

Manufactured/ Designed by Siberian Green

Content: Bird Cherry Powder (Prunus Padus)

Altai, Siberian Wild-harvested – Raw, Natural, Organic

Dimensions: pouch bag 300 grams, 8 inch x 4 inch x 2 inch

✔️ SIBERIAN BIRD CHERRY POWDER – La farine (Prunus Padus) est parfaite pour la cuisson – gâteaux, pâtisseries, muffins, pancakes, sablés, biscuits, puddings et bien plus encore. Peut également être utilisé dans le café, la tisane, les smoothies et la gelée (par exemple, le kissel sibérien traditionnel).
✔️ La farine de cerise des oiseaux ne contient naturellement pas de gluten. 100 grammes de notre farine de cerises de Sibérie contiennent 119 calories. Comparez cela à une farine de blé ordinaire, qui contient 350 calories. Cela semble être une excellente façon de savourer vos pâtisseries préférées tout en mangeant moins de calories !
✔️ Nous aimons notre farine de cerise sauvage de Sibérie pour sa saveur sibérienne unique et distinctive – Les Sibériens comparent le goût de la farine de cerise sauvage à un mélange de chocolat, d’amandes et de rhum !
✔️ STOCKAGE : Conserver dans un endroit frais et sec. Pour de meilleurs résultats, conserver dans un récipient en plastique ou en verre fermé à température ambiante

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This easy cherry baked oatmeal comes together in one dish and is naturally sweetened with bananas and frozen cherries. It’s the perfect make-ahead breakfast and is vegan + gluten-free.

Cherries are one of my favorite summer fruits. Besides tasting amazing, they’re portable, perfectly bite-sized and packed with lots of nutritional health benefits. I made this baked oatmeal with frozen cherries for ease but using fresh cherries when in season would also be delicious. Nothing is better than a fresh cherry, am I right?!

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

Cherries are filled with naturally sweet flavor and loaded with vitamins, minerals and fiber.
It’s made in one bowl so fewer dishes to clean!
It can be meal-prepped for healthy breakfasts all week long or made for a fancy brunch.

Ingredients Needed

ripe bananas – to help naturally sweeten and add moisture to this recipe. Make sure your bananas are ripe with some brown spots on them! If you’re not a fan of bananas or don’t have any ripe ones on hand 1 cup of unsweetened applesauce will work as a substitute.
old fashioned rolled oats – my fave brand is Bob’s Red Mill gluten free old fashioned rolled oats. Oats are naturally gluten-free but are often cross-contaminated so make sure you’re grabbing certified gluten-free oats if you have a gluten intolerance.
flaxseed – instead of an egg we’re using ground flaxseed to help bind the dish together. If you don’t need this recipe to be vegan, you can swap the flaxseed for 1 regular egg.
baking powder – helps the baked oatmeal rise.
cinnamon – for just a hint of spice.
sea salt – to bring all the flavors together.
vanilla extract – a flavor enhancer
cherries – the star of this baked oatmeal! I used frozen but, when in season, fresh would work (just a little extra work to remove the pits!).
toppings of choice – I love topping this baked oatmeal with fresh, chopped cherries, some maple syrup and/or a little nut butter, but feel free to use your favorite toppings!

How to Make

In a large bowl, mash the bananas until smooth. Add in the rolled oats, flaxseed, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, almond milk, vanilla extract and almond extract and stir to combine. Fold in 1 cup of frozen cherries and top with additional ½ cup frozen cherries.

Pour the mixture into a baking dish that has been sprayed with cooking spray. Bake at 375ºF for 45-55 minutes or until the middle of the oatmeal is set and the top is golden brown. Allow the baked oatmeal to cool slightly before serving. Enjoy!

What to Serve With Cherry Baked Oatmeal

I find that I either make baked oatmeal for a fancy brunch or just as meal prep for healthy breakfasts all week long! Either way, it could be a meal on its own but if you want to serve it with some sides, here are some ideas that pair well:

A savory egg dish – baked egg muffins , egg white bites, dairy-free spinach quiche or kale and feta crustless quiche
A fresh fruit salad – easy fruit salad or fruit salad with mint
Meat – regular bacon, tempeh bacon, chicken sausage, breakfast sausage or veggie sausage.
Beverages – the perfect mimosas, cold brew coffee or iced matcha latte

How to Store and Reheat

This baked oatmeal is a great meal prep recipe. You can store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 4-5 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months. When freezing, I recommend cutting the oatmeal into portions, wrapping each in plastic wrap and placing the portions in a large freezer bag. The individual servings make it easier for reheating.

To reheat the entire pan of baked oatmeal: cover with foil and reheat in the oven at 350ºF for about 20 minutes or until warm.

To reheat individual portions: set oven or toaster oven to 350ºF and bake for 5-10 minutes. You can also reheat in the microwave for 1 minute. Once warm, add your toppings and enjoy!

FAQ’s

What kind of cherries are good for baking?

Sweet cherries are probably the most common and easiest to find, but tart cherries or a combo of the two will work perfectly fine! I like using these Private Selection Mixed Variety Frozen Cherries for baking. It’s a blend of dark tart and dark sweet cherries.

Can I use fresh cherries instead of frozen?

Fresh cherries, when in season, work perfectly for this recipe! Using fresh cherries will just require some more work to pit them and I definitely recommend using a cherry pitter tool to make things easier.

Is baked oatmeal healthy?

Oats are whole grain and a great source of vitamins, minerals and fiber, so baked oatmeal is usually healthy, but it of course depends on what additional ingredients are in the recipe.

Can you swap rolled oats for steel cut oats or quick oats?

Can I add protein powder to baked oatmeal?

I’ve added a scoop of protein powder without adding in more liquid and it turned out just fine! If you’re adding more than one scoop of protein powder you might want to add more liquid.

My baked oatmeal turned out soggy. What happened?

This recipe is a bit soft, but shouldn’t be too soggy. Make sure the mashed bananas aren’t overly ripe or that could add extra liquid. If yours turns out gooey or soggy, you might need to cook it longer.

More Baked Oatmeal Recipes

Be sure to check out all of my baked oatmeal recipes as well as all the popular oatmeal recipes here on EBF!

old fashioned rolled oats
fine sea salt
unsweetened vanilla almond milk
pure vanilla extract
frozen or fresh cherries
Toppings of choice: maple syrup and nut butter

Preheat the oven to 375°F and spray an 8-inch square baking dish with cooking spray.
Mash two bananas in prepared baking dish.
Add rolled oats, flaxseed, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, almond milk, vanilla extract and almond extract and stir to combine.
Fold in 1 cup of frozen cherries and top with additional ½ cup frozen cherries.
Bake for 45-55 minutes or until the middle of the bake is set and the top is golden.
Remove from the oven and let cool for a few minutes. Portion and serve. Top with maple syrup and nut butter, if using and enjoy.

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Easy Basic Overnight Oats

Hey there, I’m Brittany, the creator of Eating Bird Food, holistic nutritionist, health coach and personal trainer. Whether it’s for my meal plans, my favorite recipes or just because you want to feel good, I’m so happy you’re here.

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Fresh sweet cherries and a simple vanilla cake featuring all-purpose flour, almond flour, and almond extract come together to make this light and flavorful fresh cherry almond cake made completely from scratch. The cherries are mixed throughout the batter and also nestled on top of the cake for a pretty finish. Add a dusting of powdered sugar and you have dessert, or a dollop of yogurt for coffee cake.

I have good news: this fresh cherry almond cake is equally at home on the dessert table as it is for a breakfast coffee cake or tea cake, which means: cake for all meals, hooray!

This cake is adapted from my rhubarb cake (also seen in my plum coffee cake) which is a standard buttermilk-based cake with a mix of all-purpose flour and almond flour. I decided to eliminate the buttermilk here in favor of regular milk (to let the almond flavor shine through) and increased the amount of baking powder to compensate for the lost chemical reaction between buttermilk and baking soda.

Baking: it’s science!

Here are the ingredients you’ll need for the cherry almond cake. For the full list of ingredients and measurements, go below to the recipe card.

Almond flour made from blanched ground almonds; I’ve used Trader Joe’s and Fresh Thyme almond flour brands with similar results.
All-purpose flour (you can use a 1:1 gluten-free all purpose flour blend if needed)
Baking powder
Salt
Unsalted butter at room temperature. You can leave the butter out for an hour OR do 20 seconds in the microwave on 50% power to get the butter to room temp. This is important so it creams and aerates with the sugar!
Granulated sugar
Lemon zest for flavor
Eggs. It’s best if these are room temperature as well, but I’ve gotten away with cold eggs so don’t sweat it too much.
Vanilla extract
Almond extract (there really is no substitute for this!)
Milk of any kind (dairy or non-dairy; I used almond milk)
Fresh sweet cherries – you could also use frozen sweet cherries as long as you thaw them first!
Additional granulated sugar for a crunchy top

How to make cherry almond cake

We’re using the traditional creaming method for this cake, so you will need a mixer. I like to use my hand mixer for less mess, but a stand mixer works great.
You’ll also need a 9-inch round springform pan or a regular 9″ round cake pan with at least 2″ high sides.
I also like to use a cherry pitter to make pitting the cherries way faster and easier (and less messy). My favorite one is only $15 and I’ve gotten a lot of use out of it!

Recipe Steps

Making this cake takes several steps, but none are very complicated:

Step 1: Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F and pit your cherries, then slice them in half. Set aside.

Step 2: Whisk together your dry ingredients in a medium bowl (and ideally, just measure them into that bowl using a scale for most accurate results!). This will let them blend better with the wet ingredients later so we don’t have to mix as long and risk over-developing the gluten.

Step 3: Cream together room temperature butter, sugar, and lemon zest until light and fluffy. The mixture will be fragrant! Then beat in eggs, vanilla and almond extracts, and milk.

Step 4: Beat in the flour mixture on the lowest possible speed just until the batter comes together.

Step 5: Set aside a handful of the halved cherries to press on top of the cake batter, then fold the rest directly into the batter using a rubber spatula. Spread batter into your 9-inch springform or cake pan.

Step 6: Press the remaining cherry halves evenly on top of the cake, then sprinkle with 1-2 Tablespoons granulated sugar.

Step 7: BAKE! This will take about 45 minutes. The cake is done when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean or with a few crumbs attached. Cool completely before removing from the pan and serving!

Recipe Tips

To keep your hands from looking like a crime scene when pitting cherries, use a cherry pitter to make the process way faster and easier (and less messy). My favorite one is only $15 and I’ve gotten a lot of use out of it!
Make sure you don’t overbeat the batter once the flour is added. Just mix until batter is smooth with no flour pockets, and stop there. Too much mixing overdevelops the gluten and leads to tough cake. No one wants tough cake.

Storage

The cake can be stored at room temperature for up to 24 hours, although it is best the day it’s made with the crunchy sugar top.

You can refrigerate the cake for up to 5 days, tightly covered so it doesn’t dry out.

Cake can be frozen, tightly wrapped, for up to 3 months. Leave on the counter to thaw for at least 2-3 hours, or thaw in the fridge overnight before serving.

Additions and Substitutions

Frozen cherries: you can substitute frozen cherries for the fresh as long as you thoroughly thaw and drain them first. Make sure to slice them in half before using so they don’t sink to the bottom of the cake.

Almond flour: if you don’t have almond flour, you can substitute 1/4 cup (31 grams) additional all-purpose flour in its place.

Almond extract: there is no real substitution for this, but if you don’t have it, you could add an additional teaspoon of vanilla extract for an assertively vanilla-flavored cherry cake.

More Summer Dessert Recipes

Sweet cherries and a simple vanilla cake featuring all-purpose flour, almond flour, and almond extract come together to make this light and flavorful fresh cherry almond cake made completely from scratch. Fresh cherries are mixed throughout the batter and also nestled on top of the cake for a pretty finish.

cake, cherry almond cake, summer

slices (9-inch cake)

cups (10 oz; 285g) fresh sweet cherries (measure before pitting)
1 and 1/2
unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
Zest of one lemon (approximately 1 tbsp)
(ideally at room temperature)
cup (118 ml) milk of choice (dairy or non-dairy both work)
unsalted butter, melted (for brushing)
granulated sugar (for sprinkling on top)

For the cake

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Pit the cherries (a cherry pitter is great for this) and slice in half; set aside.
In a medium bowl, whisk together all-purpose flour, almond flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
Add eggs one at a time, beating on medium speed after each, until fully incorporated. Add vanilla and almond extracts, and beat briefly to combine.
Add a third of the flour mixture and beat on low speed until combined, then add half the milk and beat on low speed again. Repeat with remaining third of flour mixture, the rest of the milk, and end with the last third of the flour mixture. Beat on low speed until the batter is smooth, but do not overmix.
Reserve a handful of the cherry halves for arranging on top of the cake, and add the rest to the cake batter. Fold cherries into the batter gently with a rubber spatula.
Spread the batter into a greased 9-inch springform pan (or a high-sided 9″ round cake pan, if you don’t have a springform). Arrange remaining cherry halves in whatever pattern you like over top of the batter.
Brush melted butter evenly over top of the cherries and cake batter. Sprinkle the remaining tablespoon of sugar evenly over top. Bake for 45-47 minutes, until risen, browned, and a tester inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs.
Cool completely before serving at room temperature!

Adapted from my rhubarb cake.

Storage: Cake with keep, well-wrapped at room temperature, for up to 24 hours. It will keep up to 5 days in the fridge. I think it’s best served at room temperature! You can freeze the cake for up to 3 months, tightly wrapped. Let it come to room temperature on the counter for at least 2-3 hours before serving.

Milk: any dairy or non-dairy milk will work here. I used almond milk!

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Still, we have done our best to navigate these sometimes controversial gastronomic waters and showcase the crème de la crème of traditional Russian cake mastery. From sinfully sugary to fairly sour, from high sponge layers to thin crusty biscuits, from light-weight meringue to heavy syrup infusions, these Russian cakes cater for every sweet tooth.

Prague Cake

You might hastily conclude that Prague Cake comes from Prague; but that is wrong. Invented as Praga by Vladimir Guralnik, a renowned Russian chef and inventor of many famous desserts, it is one of the signature desserts in Russia.

And it’s probably the most chocolate cake out there. It consists of many layers, but they are so weightless and soft that your fork basically sinks in when you touch it. Luscious.

Ptichye Moloko

As the name suggests, this cake is exclusive and unique – just as is birds’ milk. Its century-old recipe has never been changed, and its thick, cloudy, soufflé filling between delicate thin sponge biscuits melts in your mouth like marshmallow.

It is also available as a box of chocolates, ptichye moloko, which is arguably the most widely gifted sweet present from Russia. Try both versions to find your favorite.

Bird Cherry Cake

What is absolutely idiosyncratic about this cake is the cheremuha (bird’s cherry) flour used for the sponge.

Striking a perfect balance with sour cream as well as adding an interesting crunch and sweetish aftertaste, it distinguishes this dessert from everything you have tried before. Make sure to get yourself a slice of this when in Russia as you’ll not find it anywhere else.

Russian Honey Cake

Medovik is a highly treasured post-Soviet cake enjoyed all across Eastern Europe and has acquired a few quite modern variations. In the contemporary Russian version, you can expect to find berries, for a tangier taste.

The traditional sponge layers soaked with honey and butter cream make this cake a definite must-try.

Fairy Tale Cake

This skazka cake will take you back on a childhood journey with its plethora of pleasant experiences and sweet tastes. Moist, fluffy, and sprinkled lavishly with orange liquor, it makes a perfect accompaniment to tea or coffee. The most traditional version is shaped into a roulade and served in slices.

Nevsky Pie

This loaf-shaped pie is the grandfather of Russian desserts. With buttery creams generously spread between two hemispheres of a large syrup-infused cake, it looks like a large loaf of bread but tastes like a piece of heaven. You’ll not be able to stop after one piece, really. They should have called the cake ‘Good-bye waist’.

Bear in the North Cake

Photo Credit: Elisa Sandstrom

An absolute signature cake, mishka na severe steals the heart of every sour cream lover. With full-fat sour cream densely covering its sour cream layers, this dessert takes Russians to their childhood and introduces newcomers to a fantastic world of a simple yet unforgettable taste.

Traditionally served with a cup of tea, mishka is an authentic Russian experience that you just cannot miss. By the way, one of the most popular chocolate candies goes by the same name – and yes, you totally need to try them too.

Russian Sour Cream Cake

Photo Credit: Genhuang

At this point you’ve probably noticed the Russian love sour cream. Although this cake is also claimed by Ukraine, the two recipes differ a bit.

The Russian version normally has poppyseeds added to the sponge layers, and smetannik itself would be typically baked in a deep pan. The simplest sour cream dessert that never loses popularity.

Korolevskiy

Photo Credit Dacha_46

As you can expect judging by the name, korolevskiy cake is impressive. High and elegant, it consists of a number of sponge biscuits covered with thick layers of sour cream and condensed milk, cherries, nuts, poppyseeds, and chocolate chips – well, royal it is!

This cake is a perfect solution for those who cannot choose what they want in a dessert – it just has it all.

Flight Cake

Photo Credit: The Russian Kitchen

A definite favorite for those who long for Kyiv Cake, polyot also is a meringue and nut dessert. It is so fluffy and lightweight it could just fly away, as the name suggests. With a ridiculously large amount of sugar, polyot is not the healthiest choice, of course. But who cares about calories when it’s so delectable, right?

Zebra Cake

A perfect recipe for those who don’t enjoy cream and frosting. A striped black-and-white (well, chocolate-and-vanilla) sponge cake, it makes a perfect match for a hot drink and serves as a sweet snack rather than a festive dessert. That doesn’t downgrade its absolutely gorgeous taste though.

Count’s Ruin Cake

You’ll fall for the taste of this meringue cake if you cannot choose between condensed milk and chocolate in your dessert. It has both, sprinkled with a handful of crunchy nuts. A slight vanilla undertone adds some elegant flavor, and the chocolate drizzle on top makes for a fancy decoration. It is love at the first sight and bite.

Cherepaha

One of the most popular kid’s birthday cakes, this dessert consists of multiple circular layers assembled like a turtle, cherepaha. The dessert is crunchy, moist, and weightless. Not too sugary owing to the added zest and raisins, it goes well with sweet beverages.

Pancho Cake

One more cake with lots of sour cream mixed into the chocolate and vanilla sponges, this pancho recipe is quite young, from the 2000s.

The dessert is known for its pyramid shape, which features cubed sponge biscuits and chopped pineapple. The entire structure is generously topped with whipped cream. The pineapple juice balances the creamy texture of the cake and moistens the sponge perfectly.

Leningradskiy

As well as liking sour cream, Russians also like giving their cakes city names. As this one suggests, the dessert originated in Leningrad (the former St. Petersburg). Festive, simple to make, and affordable, it has risen to fame owing to being a budget-friendly option and doesn’t lose its popularity today. Leningradskiy features four short-crust layers spread with butter cream and infused with cognac.

Moscow Cake

Created to represent the Russian capital, Moskva is a must-try even for natives. It looks and tastes different from all Soviet-time counterparts, although it might at first seem to be a re-worked version of polyot cake.

The base for Moskva is a few layers of meringue and the cream is whipped butter or mascarpone (you see, it’s getting more contemporary than the usual sour cream frosting). What is most important, however, is the color. Moscow has to be red inside out, so you have to add a drop of food dye to the cream and outer frosting.

If you’re not after cakes, don’t stop reading just yet. Here’s the absolute top 5 sweet desserts.

Kartoshka Pastry

That’s right: Russians love potatoes so much they’ve actually turned them into a dessert. In reality, what sweet potatoes have in common with non-sweet ones is the look.

Kartoshka pastry is a mixture of condensed milk, butter, and cookie crumbs shaped into a ball and rolled generously in cocoa powder. It sounds simple, but once you have tasted this dessert, it’s possible it will become your favorite.

Shekoladnaya Kolbasa

Popular all-over Eastern Europe, shekoladnaya kolbasa is a dessert made without baking. The ingredients are pretty simple: walnuts, cocoa, tea cookies, sugar, and milk. The crumbled cookies look like salami fat flecks when you mix the ingredients and let the sausage-shape dessert cool down in the fridge. Help yourself!

Russian Wafer Rolls

In this dessert, the crispiness of the wafer and the sweet taste of the stuffing make a perfect marriage. Originally made in a special the trubochki mold, they can also be baked using any wafer maker. The filling is the traditional condensed milk mixed with butter.

If you decide to make them yourself, here’s the trick: Roll them around the mixture immediately after baking. If they cool down, they will break when you try to shape them.

Honey Spice Cookies

Photo Credit: Whisked Away Kitchen

Pryaniki have a century-long history as a tea treat. They are savory and have a pleasant spicy odor from the nutmeg, vanilla, cardamon, and cloves. Traditionally, Russian honey spice cookies are covered in a white sugar glaze. You’ll find them in every supermarket, so there’s no excuse for not tasting them.

How does our list look? I bet your mouth is watering at this point. If you haven’t found your guilty pleasure yet, one of these desserts might just be the one.

Kateryna Pilyarchuck

Kateryna is a Ukrainian linguist and university lecturer pursuing her PhD in linguistics with a focus on fashion discourse. Kateryna is a foodie, fashion lover and also an ardent traveler and a lifelong learner.

Making cherry flour

Making the flour is straight-forward, with the right equipment. Just toss your (clean) cherries into a dehydrator on high and forget about them for a couple days. Once the cherries are bone-dry, you grind what you need as fine as possible and sift once or twice before cooking. Dried cherries will keep in a pantry for years.

It is extremely important to use a fine mesh screen here. If you don’t have a tamis sieve as pictured below and you want to make this, just buy one. I use this one.

You’ll want a tamis sieve for sifting.

After you’re done sifting the cherry flour you’ll have some bits of shells and pieces leftover. You can toss them, but there’s a lot of flavor trapped in them so I like to keep my leftovers in a bag in the freezer.

Leftover shell fragments. I save these.

The leftover shells and bits of cherry are wonderful infused in liquors and infusions, syrups, and places where you want the aroma but not the texture. Another important thing to know is that cherry flour loses it’s aroma quickly, so I only grind what I need for a recipe.

Wild cherry liquor made from the sifted leftovers.

Bird Cherry Flour as a Commercial Product

Siberian bird cherry flour is simply dried, whole wild cherries that have been ground into a flour. It’s known by Muscovites and expats, and, you can even buy it on Amazon, which should tell you something about it’s popularity.

While commercially produced bird cherry flour can work, and I’ve tried it, the flavor is muted and much softer than if you grind your own.

American Cherry Pie

So when the opportunity arose to travel to the US for extended periods of work, I finally had the occasion to actually seek out these classic American desserts and see if their taste was anything close to what I had imagined them to be.

My first taste of a cherry pie was at a colleague’s home when she brought out a selection of fruit pies for dessert, producing a perfect sampling board for my husband and I.

My first bite into the cherry pie revealed that the filling was almost like a jam or compote, though absent of any bits of fruit. I loved the wobbly, ruby red filling and was surprised to find that it wasn’t too sweet.

I knew right away that I wanted to try and make my own cherry pie the moment I had a chance!

Prep Time:
Cook Time:
Total Time: 1 hour 35 minutes
Yield: Serves 4 to 6
Method:
Cuisine:

Recipe with step-by-step photos for Cherry Pie, inspired by the cult TV series, Twin Peaks. This recipe uses homemade pastry, as well as fresh cherries but you can substitute with frozen cherries.

For the pastry

( stick) unsalted butter, cold
(1 1/3 cup) plain flour (all-purpose flour)
() icing sugar (powdered sugar)
egg
water

For the cherry pie filling

kg (3.3 lb) fresh cherries, pitted
() caster sugar (superfine sugar)
juice and zest of 1 lemon
vanilla pod
cornflour (cornstarch)

For the egg wash

egg (extra)
milk

For the topping

Instructions

To make the pastry

Place the butter, flour and icing sugar (powdered sugar) into the bowl of a stand mixer.
Using the paddle attachment, mix until everything looks crumbly or like wet sand.
Alternatively, you can do this in a food processor or by simply rubbing the butter into the flour and sugar with your fingertips.
In a small bowl or cup, gently whisk together the egg and water.
Add the egg mixture slowly to the dry ingredients, and mix until everything just comes together. You may not need all of the egg mixture.
Do not knead the dough.
Wrap the dough in some cling film.
Chill the dough in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.

To make the cherry pie filling

Remove the stones from the cherries, ideally using a cherry pitter (it is best to wear an apron while doing this). Alternatively, slice a piece off the cherry and try to extract the stone this way.
Place the cherries, sugar, lemon zest and 1 split vanilla pod into a large saucepan.
Whisk together the lemon juice and cornflour (cornstarch) and add this to the cherries.
Continue stirring until the mixture thickens. You want a fairly thick mixture so that it can hold its shape when you cut the pie later.
Remove the vanilla pod.
Set the cherry filling aside to cool completely.

To assemble the cherry pie

Kitchen Notes

HOW TO MAKE A LATTICE PIE CRUSTTo make a lattice pie crust, please see my post on How to Make a Lattice Pie Crust with step-by-step photos.

MAKE-AHEAD TIPS* Both the pastry and cherry pie filling can be made ahead of time and kept covered in the fridge until needed.* The cherry pie can also be assembled ahead of time and kept uncovered in the fridge. When you are ready to bake, simply brush it with egg wash and sprinkle with sugar before baking.

STORAGE TIPSThis pie keeps well on a covered cake stand for several days at room temperature.

OVEN TEMPERATURESAll recipes on this website state temperatures for a regular oven (i.e. a conventional oven without fan). If you have a convection oven with a fan, please consult the manufacturer’s handbook on how to adjust the temperature and baking time accordingly.

CONVERSIONSTo convert from cups to grams, and vice-versa, please see this handy Conversion Chart for Basic Ingredients.

Nutrition

Serving Size:
Calories:
Sugar:
Sodium:
Fat:
Carbohydrates:
Fiber:
Protein:
Cholesterol:

A Traditional Almond Seasoning

The magic of the cake is that it’s made not from wheat flour, but from roughly half wheat flour and half dehydrated, ground, sifted wild cherries. If you caught my discussion Cherry Pits: A Traditional Almond Seasoning, you’ll know that cherry stones are often seen as toxic or hazardous as they contain Amygdalin-a potentially dangerous glycoside that your body converts into cyanide.

Stone fruit kernels have been used in traditional foods for a long time.

You’ll also know that at the very least, there’s three heavily documented examples of different cultures around the world drying wild cherries whole and using them, shell fragments and all, as as a traditional food.

Sifted wild cherry flour ready for baking.

Drying and cooking denatures the amygdalin, making it safe to consume. My friend Linda Black Elk, a Native American ethnobotanist, also told me that she worked with a lab to determine exactly when the amygdalin starts to break down during the process of making chanpah (chokecherry patties).

Dried cakes of wild fruit. pictured are from wild plums with the stones removed.

Linda mentioned breaking open the shell and exposing the stones to air also begins the denaturization process, which would make sense as the almond aroma of ground, wild cherries quickly dissipates after grinding into flour, and I assume the aroma of almond and presence of amygdalin are linked.

Cherry Pie Filling

The cherry pie filling is made with a generous amount of fresh cherries. Hence, it is perhaps best to make this pie when cherries are at the peak of their season and are, therefore, more reasonably priced.

You could also make this pie with frozen pitted cherries.

The most time-consuming part of this recipe is to stone the cherries. If you have a special cherry or olive pitter, that would come in handy here.

The only shop-bought cherry pie I have tried was comprised mostly of a thickened red cherry juice and had very few pieces of fruit throughout. So how chunky you want your pie is up to you – if you like the filling to be more smooth, cook the filling for longer to allow the fruit to break down more.

The cornflour (cornstarch) is what will ultimately thicken the cherry filling, preventing it from making the pastry go soggy and also giving the filling some body when you cut into the pie.

Cherry Pie Recipe

Leila Lindholm’s Twin Peaks Cherry Pie is comprised simply of a cherry compote which has been thickened with cornflour (cornstarch) and enhanced with the flavourings of a vanilla bean, and encased in a lovely shortcrust pastry.

The end product was a pretty quick and easy cherry pie which tastes just as it is described, packed full of cherries and little else.

This cherry pie is delicious served warm with a scoop of vanilla ice-cream, but I wouldn’t refuse a slice of cold cherry pie either.

120 g of bird cherry flour;
250 g sour cream;
150 g wheat flour;
½ tsp soda;
2 egg;
200 g sugar;
50 g butter;
20 ml lemon juice.

600 g sour cream;
80 g of powdered sugar.

More Cherry Recipes

If you are looking for cherry recipes, you might also be interested in:

How to Make Cherry Pie

Making a cherry pie from scratch is really easy, especially with the recipe below.

I like to make the cherry pie filling in advance so that it has had a chance to cool properly.

The pie pastry can also be made a few days in advance and stored in the fridge until needed.

Shell fragments

I’ve gotten a few messages about the shell fragments. To be very clear, yes, there will be tiny fragments of shell left in the cake. This is why the sifter you use is so important.

Very small pieces of shell are traditional, and add a texture to the cake that will grow on you. It’s not unpleasant, sandy, or a danger to your pearly whites, as long as you have a fine mesh sifter.

Lattice Pie Crust

The pie pastry itself is super quick and easy to make.

This pie pastry recipe is foolproof and what I love best is that it does not shrink upon baking.

This means that, if you like to make decorative pies with intricate pastry designs, or maybe even a classic lattice pie crust, this pastry will keep its shape upon baking, ensuring that the finished pie will look very much like how it was prepared when uncooked.

To make a lattice pie crust, please see my recipe with step-by-step photos here.

Siberian Bird Cherry Cake

A modified version of traditional bird cherry cake made with dried, sifted wild cherry flour is one of the most incredible desserts you will ever taste.

Bird cherry, Chokecherry

1 spring form pan
1 spice grinder or vita mix

150 g dried wild cherries. Or 1 cup of ground, sifted cherry flour.
(120 g) all-purpose flour, or equivalent
large eggs, room temperature
(150 g) sugar
(235 g) full-fat sour cream
vanilla extract or Galium Vanilla Extract

Cherry frosting

(340 g) full-fat cream cheese
(115 g) unsalted butter
(115 g) powdered sugar
optional, this is mostly for color
(85 g) sliced almonds, toasted, for garnish

Make the cherry flour

Grind the cherries as fine as possible in a spice grinder or high-speed blender.
If you use a spice grinder for the cherries, it will be very loud, and you’ll want to grind 2 or 3 tablespoons at a time. Sift the cherry flour, saving the shells to make Wild Cherry Liqueur.
Sift the all-purpose flour, salt, and baking powder together, then mix thoroughly with the cherry flour and reserve. Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C) and butter an 8-inch (20 cm) springform pan.

Baking

Now you’re ready to assemble your cake. Using a long knife, preferably 10 inches (26 cm) or longer, carefully cut the cake in half horizontally, keeping the layers as equal as possible.
Spread a generous amount of the frosting on the bottom layer of the cake (you’re looking for a good ½ inch / 1.25 cm here) then put on the top and spread on the rest of the frosting using an offset spatula or a spoon.
Gently press the almonds into the sides of the cake to help cover up any lightly frosted areas or exposed seam, then slice and serve.
Kept in the fridge, lightly covered with cling film, the cake will last for a week.

Many different types of wild cherries can be used here, such as black cherries, pin cherries, or sand cherries.

Cherries I’ve used

Each cherry will give a slightly different character to the finished cake. Chokecherries keep a tiny bit of their astringency, black cherries I find to be the most well-rounded, but there’s many that can be used. So far I’ve used pin cherries, black and chokecherries, sand cherries, as well as an ornamental I don’t know the name of.

Making the cake

The cake is easy. Whip some eggs with sugar, then add some dry ingredients and bake. As the cake is made with half flour, it has a more firm, chewy texture than most cakes, which also improves its shelf life.

Once the cake is made and cooled it’s traditionally coated with a sour cream frosting. Heretical though it might be, I love cream cheese frosting and fruit, so I make a frosting tinted into pastel with my wild cherry gastrique or another fruit syrup.

Syrups made from different cherries will give different colors. Wild grape reduction makes a nice purple one-see below.

Variations

This is more than just an incredible cake made from foraged cherries. I’ve used the same proportions here to make cakes with flour from different fruits and all of them are unique.

Top to bottom: Aronia, chokecherry, wild plum, serviceberry, wild grape.

Wild plums (stones removed before drying) have a sour, tart edge. Aronia berries are mild tasting but have an intense color. Serviceberries are sweet with a milder almond taste than cherries.

Wild grape flour makes an intense purple cake.

Wild grapes make a tart, and deeply grapey version with slightly more seed particles. Use your imagination, but try the original first.

Cooking

1. Mix bird cherry flour with sour cream, mix the mass well with a kitchen whisk, cover with foil and refrigerate for 10-12 hours. The base for the bird cherry dough should be plastic so that the cakes are tender. If you have too thick sour cream, then 1/5 of it can be replaced with milk.

2. As soon as the bird cherry mixture with sour cream is infused, we proceed to further work. Break eggs into a mixing bowl and add sugar. Beat the contents of the bowl into a strong airy mass, that is, until a thick light foam. This usually takes 4-5 minutes when running the mixer at maximum power.

3. Gradually add bird cherry flour mixed with sour cream to the egg-sugar mass. We continue to beat the dough at maximum speed for another 2-3 minutes, so that everything turns out homogeneous. Then we introduce melted butter and lemon juice, which will help the cakes become more airy. Beat for 1 more minute.

4. Now it remains to mix the dry ingredients into the liquid part of the dough. Sift to the mass of wheat flour, combined with soda. Soda should not be extinguished, as it itself will react with lemon juice and sour cream acid. Thoroughly mix the dough ingredients with a spatula and pour it into a form with a parchment-lined bottom. Flatten the dough in the form with a rotating motion so that it rises evenly. Then we put the form in an already hot oven at 180 degrees. for 35-40 minutes, be guided by your oven.

5. For 15 minutes, let the biscuit “rest” in the form, after which we take it out and shift it upside down on a flat surface. Don’t forget to remove the sheet of parchment from the bottom of the cake. We leave the biscuit in this position until it cools completely for about 4-5 hours. Then we cut it into 3-4 cakes using a special fishing line or a sharp knife. By the way, the impregnation of the cakes for this cake is not needed at all, because the cakes will be quite wet due to the cream.

6. It remains to prepare the cream, and for this we will take the fattest sour cream that we could find. Add powdered sugar to it, focusing on preferences for sweetness. With a mixer at low speed, beat the sour cream until the powder dissolves in it. At the end, you can add a little vanilla for a brighter taste.

7. We begin one of the most crucial moments – the assembly of the cake. On the center of the tray or plate put 1-2 tbsp. spoons of cream and, as it were, “glue” the bottom cake to the dish with it. And on the top of the cake we distribute 3-4 tablespoons of cream, then put the next cake and thus collect the whole cake. We also decorate the top cake with cream, smooth it with a pastry spatula or a regular spoon. We also decorate the sides of the cake with the rest of the cream. There should be quite a lot of cream in this cake, as its liquid part will be quickly absorbed. If the sour cream is too liquid or there is not enough cream, then cakes with a thin layer of cream will remain on the cut.

8. In this form, leave the cake in the refrigerator for at least 3-4 hours for good impregnation and stabilization. After a long standing in the refrigerator, the creamy coating of the cake may turn yellow due to the coloring action of the cakes. Therefore, before serving, you can update the external impregnation with sour cream to remove the yellowish tint. At the end, you can move on to decorating the dessert. Fresh berries or fresh flowers are ideal for this, but for lack of it, you can use jam, chocolate, dried fruits and other sweets. Alternatively, you can sprinkle the top of the cake with the remnants of bird cherry flour.

9. Our bird cherry cake with sour cream is ready to serve. The cake should be cut with a sharp enough knife so that the cut is neat and the cakes are not wrinkled. After each cut, the knife should be wiped with a napkin so that the subsequent cut is neat. Bird cherry cake will complement not only home tea drinking, but also a family celebration.

Twin Peaks Cherry Pie

Despite being a true American dessert, this cherry pie recipe actually comes from a popular Swedish cook, Leila Lindholm, from her book, One More Slice.

Lindholm seems to be as smitten as I am with American diner desserts and her cherry pie recipe takes inspiration from the cult TV series of the early 90s, Twin Peaks, in which one of the show’s characters, Agent Cooper (played by the dashing Kyle MacLachlan), habitually ordered a slice of cherry pie with his coffee whenever he visited the local diner.

Now that I have had a taste of a cherry pie, I can see why one can become rather fixated with this classic dessert.