Christmas Wreath Cherry Pound Cake

By Trix

A beautiful, delicious cake that deserves to be the centerpiece of your Christmas table. Fresh cherries and mint put it over the top!

Ingredients

• ORANGE GLAZE ICING:
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup butter
• 1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese
• 1 1/2 cups caster sugar
• 4 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon almond extract or almond essence
• 1 1/2 cup fresh cherries, pitted, or maraschino cherries, drained and halved
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• Fresh cherries for garnish
• Icing sugar for dusting
• Fresh mint sprigs for garnish
• 1 1/2 cups icing sugar
• 2 About 2 tablespoons fresh orange juice

Details

Servings 8
Preparation time 15mins
Cooking time 85mins
Adapted from tofoodwithluv.blogspot.ca

Preparation

Step 1

Preheat oven to 325°F. Grease and flour an 8-inch bundt pan. Mix together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.

In a large bowl, cream together the butter, cream cheese, and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the vanilla and almond extract. Beat in the flour mixture, mixing just until incorporated. Dredge the cherries in 1/4 cup flour, then gently fold into batter. Spread into prepared pan and level the mixture with a spatula.

Bake in the preheated oven for 60 to 80 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Let cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack and cool completely.

Once the cake has cooled, combine the ingredients for the orange glaze icing in a bowl until you get a smooth mixture that is not too runny. Drizzle the cake with the glaze and arrange fresh cherries on top. Add a sprig (or more) of mint leaves. Dust liberally with icing sugar. This cake is best served slightly warm (a few seconds in the microwave works great!).