Gâteau au Cerises

Cherries, cherries, everywhere! Every year at the beginning of summer, the cherry trees produce millions of dark red, juicy cherries. The problem is that the trees produce fruit faster than we can eat it. Cherries from a neighbor, a local farmer, Christophe's grandmother and friends! It's kind of like a dream come true.

Remembering how difficult they were to find and how expensive they were to buy when we had the restaurant in Florida, makes this seem unfair. Now I am only baking for two and I can't keep up! Here is variation on a staple recipe in most French homes.

Yogurt Cake with Cherries

• 3-4 cups ripe cherries, pitted and stemmed
• 1 cup plain yogurt
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil or olive oil
• 2 cups all purpose flour, sifted
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• a pinch of salt

Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a 10 inch cake pan and line bottom with parchment paper. Pit and stem cherries.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together yogurt, sugar, eggs, oil and vanilla. In another mixing bowl, blend the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add the liquid ingredients to dry and whisk until blended. Place the prepared cherries in the greased cake pan and pour batter to cover cherries evenly. Bake for 30-40 minutes or until a knife comes out clean. Serve warm or room temperature.