If you feel like a change from slicing up a big cake, whoopie pies are cute transportable mini cakes with their own filling. The classic combo of cherries and chocolate are honoured in these black forest whoopies.

Makes 28-30 singles

175 g softened butter

150 g brown sugar

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla extract

225 g flour

75 g cocoa powder

2 tsp baking powder

150 ml milk

2 Tbsp yoghurt

225 g finely chopped cherries, fresh or tinned

250 g mascarpone cheese, or cream cheese

1/4 c icing sugar or honey

Preheat oven to 1...

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Clafoutis is a cross between a custard and a flan and makes a quick dessert because everything is just whizzed in the blender. You can easily make yours gluten-free, dairy-free or sugar-free too. Use whatever fresh, frozen or tinned fruit you have on hand. It can be served warm or cold, for breakfast even!

½ c any milk of choice

½ c ricotta (or use milk)

3 eggs

½ c natural sweetener such as brown rice syrup (or maple or honey)

½ c flour of choice 

1 tsp vanilla extract

Lemon zest, optional

Granul...

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Raw slices are great to make because they keep in the freezer for months and you can just take out slice as you need and defrost for half an hour before eating. You could also use other berries for the filling such as blueberries, raspberries or strawberries. This is from Donna Hay's Modern Baking (Fourth Estate, 2018).

Base:

1 c cashews

1 c desiccated coconut

1/4 c brown rice syrup

Filling:

1 c desiccated coconut

120 g fresh medjool dates (about 6-7)

1/3 c melted coconut oil

1 tsp vanilla extract or ...

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I made up this recipe to use some glacē cherries that had been at the back of the fridge for too long. Almonds match well with cherries, as does chocolate.

Makes 12 big cookies

1tbsp ground flaxseed

2 1/2 tbsp water

150g butter, at room temperature

3/4 c coconut sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 c flour (I used spelt)

1 tsp baking powder.

1/2 c glace cherries

1/2 c chopped almonds

1/2 c dark chocolate chunks/melts/buttons

Mix flaxseed and water together in a cup.

In a large bowl cream the butter and sugar un...

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Here's another excellent vegan chocolate cake (another one here) zhujed up with some cherries in the chocolate ganache. A 3-tiered cake means business! Thanks to Nadia Lim for the foolproof recipe. She says you can use any liquid but coffee gives more depth and richness to the cake.

2 1/2 c self-raising flour or plain flour with 3 1/2 tsp baking powder

3/4 c cocoa

1 1/2 c sugar (I used coconut)

1 tsp baking soda
pinch salt

2 c coffee, water or milk (I used decaffeinated coffee)

2 tsp vanilla extract...

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This is a bonus C bake in my list of alphabetical bakes. It's is one of the simplest recipes I've found for a quick cake. Cherries taste great but you can also use apricots, peaches, feijoas, pears - any fresh or canned fruit you have on hand.

125g butter or non-dairy spread
1/2 c brown rice syrup
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 eggs
1 c almond meal
1/2 c flour (I used spelt)
At least 1 c pitted cherries (fresh, frozen or canned,and drained)

Preheat oven to 180C in line a 20cm x 20cm cake tin.

Cream...

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No. 2 of 26 alphabetical bakes! I've never considered making bakewell tarts before as they look rather time-consuming - there's pastry, blind baking, frangipane, and more baking. But it was a good experiment in veganising a classic. I used coconut sugar, hence the deep brown colour, far more rustic-looking than the ones from Lazy Cat Kitchen from which I borrowed the recipe. The traditional bakewell has strawberry jam between the pastry and filling and is covered with white icing; I did the c...
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I've always wanted to make a cherry pie and try my hand at lattice pastry. Not perfect-looking as I didn't crimp my edges but hey, tasted great. Thanks to Inspired Taste and Food.com for the inspiration. If you want a 100% cherry pie you'll need 4 1/2 cups of pitted cherries and adjust your sweetener to suit.

For the pastry:
2 1/2 c flour (I use spelt)
1 tsp sugar (optional)
1 tsp salt
230g cold butter cut into small cubes
6-8 Tbs ice water

For the pie:
1/2 c brown sugar
1/4 c cornflour
1 tsp cinnamon
1...
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Upside down cakes are so much fun to make! I made this gluten free for a morning tea and was much appreciated by my GF friends.
60g butter
1/2 c brown sugar
7 slices canned pineapple and reserve the juice
25 maraschino cherries
1 2/3 c gluten free flour (I used GF mix and buckwheat)
1 tsp xantham gum (be careful not to use more as it will make the mixture too gummy)
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
60g melted butter
1/2 c brown sugar
1/4 c rice malt syrup
1 egg
1 tbsp vanilla extract
1...
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By Frances
Yet another great recipe from Julie Le Clerc's Favourite Cakes. Didn't rise a heck of a lot but still yummy with a macaroony taste with the coconut. Cross between a brownie and a cake.

100g butter, cubed
100g quality dark chocolate, chopped
1/3 c brown or dark sugar
1/2 c self-raising flour (I used rice and added 1 tsp baking powder)
1/4 c dessicated coconut
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/3 c chocolate chips (didn't use)
1 c pitted cherries (fresh or well-drained preserved che...
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By Frances

 

I started out wanting to make lemon poppyseed muffins. A quick flick to the index of Marian Keyes’ Saved By Cake (Penguin, 2012) didn’t have what I wanted but I saw these muffins under M - mmm, tamarind, interesting. Indeed, Marian says tamarind is her ‘thing’ and these muffins have a ‘wonderfully intriguing sourness’. I used cranberries instead of sour cherries but they still tasted yummy and tangy.

 

100g dates

100g dried sour cherries (I us...

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I adapted this recipe from Fiona Smith's chocolate, raspberry & coconut slice in A Treasury of New Zealand Baking (Random House 2009).

125g butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
3 eggs, separated
1 1/2 c flour
2 Tbs cocoa powder
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
3/4 c jam (I used cherry)
50g chocolate, grated
1/2 c dessicated coconut (or long threaded)

Preheat oven to 180C. Grease a 18cm x 28 cm cake tin with baking paper.
Cream butter and half the sugar till light and fluffy. Beat in egg yolks, Sift in flour, cocoa and...
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Confession: my very first batch of hot cross buns was a disaster - I used nearly 100% gluten flour by mistake! They looked great, iced and glazed, but they were balls of elastic - totally inedible. I didn't bother reading the back of the gluten flour packet, which said to use only 2 Tbsp of the flour in a recipe. But I managed to salvage the cherries and choc bits to use on the next batch, which was a raging success.

Recipe from April's Mindfood

750g plain flour
1/3 c caster sugar (I just used s...
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This cake is an adaption of two recipes: Fijian chocolate cake by Alexa Johnston from foodie.co.nz (http://foodie.co.nz/Recipes/Fijian-Chocolate-Cake-by-Alexa-Johnston.aspx) with a Black Forest-type filling. Alexa calls in Fijian because it uses coconut cream. It makes a really dark, moist chocolate cake. I made 1 ½ times this recipe to make a big cake to feed 10 adults.

210 g flour
55 g cocoa
2 tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
200 g sugar
2 eggs
125 g melted...

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