Cherry Limeade Cake

OHHH SO DELISH!!!!  We found this recipe and thought it would be the perfect dessert our family cookout.  Who doesn't like cherry limeades!?  The highlight for the kids was trying our our new cherry pitter. Fresh cherries are amazing right now!  Our family loves them!  Well now they love them even more with this fun little gadget!  If you do not have a cherry pitter, our recipe source, Recipegirl.com, says a straw works well also.  You will also need a bunt pan for this recipe.

Here the kids are having fun with the cherry pitter.  You will need to pit and quarter 2 cups fresh cherries.

 Helpful tip:  make sure you pit the cherries over something that will not stain:)

 Preheat over to 325,  Grease and flour bunt cake pan.  To do this rub butter all over the pan.

 Sprinkle flour over the butter and tap out the excess.

 Mix together three cups of flour and 1/2 teaspoon of salt in a medium bowl.

 In another large bowl, use an electric mixerr to cream together 1 1/2 cups unsalted butter and 3 cups sugar and 1 1/2 teaspoon fresh lime zest

 Add 5 eggs one at a time until all are nicely included.

 Mix in 1/3 of the flour mixture.

 and 1/4 of the (3/4) cherry 7up.  Rotate between flour mix and 7up until both are included.

 Stir in cherries.  

 Scrap batter into the prepared bunt pan.  

 Tap pan on counter several times to get rid of all the air bubbles.

 Bake 1 hour and 15 minutes or until sharp knife comes out clean when inserted into the middle of the baking cake.  When done pull out pan and place on chopping block to cool for 20 minutes.  While cake is cooling prepare cake glaze.

In a medium bowl  whisk together 1 1/4 cup powdered sugar, sifted, 

 2 tablespoons cherry 7up 

 and 1 1/2 teaspoons freshly grated lime zest.

After 20 minutes of cooling put a serving plate over the pan and flip over.  Tap the bottom of the pan gently to loosen the cake if needed.  

 Let the cake cool completely on the plate before adding the glaze.

 The kids throughly enjoyed taking turns drizzling on the glaze.

OH SO DELISH!  Enjoy!

cherry- limeade pound cake

Yield: 10 to 12 servings

Prep Time: 30 min

Cook Time: 1 hour 15 min

Reminiscent of the flavors in Sonic Drive In's infamous Cherry Limeade.

ingredients:

CAKE:
3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups unsalted butter, at room temperature
3 cups granulated white sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons freshly grated lime zest
5 large eggs
3/4 cup Cherry 7-Up (*see tips below)
2 cups pitted and quartered fresh sweet cherries

GLAZE:
1 1/4 cups powdered sugar, sifted
2 Tablespoons Cherry 7-Up
1 1/2 teaspoons freshly grated lime zest

directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Grease and flour a 12-cup bundt cake or tube pan.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour and salt

3. In a large bowl, use an electric mixer to cream together butter and sugar. Add lime zest. Beat in eggs one at a time, until each is well incorporated. Mix in 1/3 of the flour mixture at a time, alternating with the 7-Up. Stir in cherries.

4. Scoop batter into the prepared pan. Tap the pan on the counter several times to rid the batter of any air bubbles. Bake 1 hour and 15 minutes, or until sharp, thin knife inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Place the pan on a wire rack and let cool for 20 minutes, then place a serving plate over the top and gently flip over. Give the bottom of the pan a few taps if you need to loosen the cake from the pan. Let cake cool completely on the serving platter before topping with the glaze.

5. Prepare glaze: in a medium bowl, whisk together the glaze ingredients until smooth. Drizzle over the cooled cake.

tips:

*If you only have regular 7-Up, Sprite, or even generic lemon-lime soda on hand, go ahead and use that- but add in a splash of maraschino cherry juice to make it a cherry flavored soda- and make sure it still comes out to 3/4 cup. For the glaze, use 1 1/2 Tablespoons of soda + 1/2 Tablespoon juice.

Source: RecipeGirl.com