Black Cherry Sour Cream Coffee Cake

Make some black cherry jam when cherries are at their peak!  What else can you do with cherry jam?  Add them to this buttery coffee cake!

Ingredients:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 Tbsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 1-1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs, at room temperature
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup black cherry jam  (see below)
• Confectioner's sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Grease and flour a 10-inch Bundt pan.
Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt.  Set aside.
Beat butter until light and cream.  Add sugar and beat until fluffy.  Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition.  Mix in sour cream and vanilla, beating until smooth.  Gradually add flour mixture, mixing just until blended.
Transfer 1/2 cup of batter to a small bowl.  Stir in preserves, mixing well set aside.
Pour remaining batter into prepared pan and smooth top.  Make a 1-inch trough in the center of the batter all the way around the pan.  Spoon batter/jam mixture into trough, spreading evenly.
Bake for 1 hour, or until a pick inserted into the center comes out clean and the cake begins pulling away from the edges of the pan.
Cook cake in pan about 15 minutes.  Then, invert onto a wire rack to cool completely.  The batter/jam mixture will sink to the bottom of the cake.
Dust with confectioners' sugar before serving.

 Black Cherry Jam

5 cups bing cherries, pitted and halved (about 1 pound)

2 cups sugar

1/4 cup water 

1/3 cup fresh lemon juice

1-1/2 tsp. fruit pectin

Combine cherries, sugar and water and bring to a boil. 

Boil 5 minutes and add lemon juice.

Return to a vigourous boil for 10 minutes.

Add pectin and boil hard one minute.

Remove from heat and let cool completely.

Makes 3 pints.

Cooks Note:  Jam should be boiled to 220 degrees.

~Recipe adapted from bakeorbreak