Cherry Blushing Betty

 

I really wanted to bake a delicious dessert to get the month May off to a good start.  I love Blushing Betty it is one of my favorite old-fashioned desserts.  If you have been reading me for a while you will know I really love anything that is old-fashioned and traditional.

Traditionally a Blushing Betty is a type of dessert with a fruit compote base covered with a light sponge cake topping.  Generally speaking, the compote will be made using rhubarb. We are almost into rhubarb season here, but not quite.

In the U.K. I used to love buying the forced rhubarb which came from Yorkshire, from the Rhubarb Triangle as it was known.  A delicious 9-square mile area in West Yorkshire, known for their fabulous rhubarb.

 

We don't get forced rhubarb here. Our winters are far too cold, and I don't have any rhubarb plants of my own either. I have to wait until it shows up in the shops and it is probably a tad bit on the early side at the moment, although it won't be long.

But you know how that goes.  I had an idea in my mind to enjoy a Blushing Betty and there was nothing for it but to make one with what I did have and that was Cherry Pie Filling.  (I think Strawberry Rhubarb filling would be fabulous in this.)

And so that is what I did. I used some cherry pie filling and made myself a Cherry Blushing Betty. It went down a real treat. There were no complaints. This would make a fabulous dessert for Mother's Day. Just saying  . . . 

 

WHAT YOU NEED TO MAKE CHERRY BLUSHING BETTY

Just a few simple every day ingredients.  You know the drill. 😊 I don't do complicated if I can help it. Not that I am lazy, but  . . . 

• 1 large tin of cherry filling for the base (ED Smith, Comstock, Princes or whatever you have available to you.
• 1/3 cup (80g) butter, room temperature
• 1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar
• 1 cup (125g) self-raising flour (see recipe notes)
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 1 TBS whole milk
• a handful of flaked almonds

  

In the U.K. the brand of fruit (pie) filling is Princes and it comes in regular and dark cherry.   Here in North America I used ED Smith. You can use any brand that you like and that is available to you. You can even use another type of fruit pie filling if you wish.

I use salted butter. I only keep salted butter in the house.

I always have self-rising flour in my home, but that is because most British cakes use it rather than regular flour.  You can easily make your own if you don't have any. Check out the recipe notes.

I used granulated sugar, Kirkland organic.  In the U.K. I would use castor sugar as the granulated sugar there is a bit too coarse in my opinion.

You don't have to use the flaked almonds on top, but I think they make for a much prettier presentation.  I also dusted it with icing sugar to serve.

 

HOW TO MAKE CHERRY BLUSHING BETTER

This is so simple to make.  The cherry filling is already made, and you need only make the cake batter to bake over top.

Preheat the oven to 350*F/180*C/gas mark 4. Butter a large (10-inch) pie dish. Set aside.

Measure your flour out into a bowl.

Cream the butter and sugar together for the cake topping. Beat in the vanilla.

Beat in the eggs, one at a time, adding 1 TBS of the measured flour after each addition. This helps to keep the batter from splitting and curdling.

Add the remaining flour and milk, mixing everything together just to combine.

 

Spoon the cherry filling evenly into the pie dish, making sure the cherries are evenly distributed.

Spoon the cake batter over top, trying as best as you can to cover all of the cherry filling. Sprinkle a handful of almonds over top.

Bake in the preheated oven for 35 to 40 minutes, until the cake springs back when lightly touched and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, with no wet batter attached. If you need to you can bake for a bit longer.

If it is browning too quickly you can cover lightly with aluminum foil.

Serve warm spooned out with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top or with lashings of cream or custard. Delicious!

 

I did dust some icing sugar over top to pretty up the presentation.  Totally unnecessary of course but looked very nice I thought.

You can easily make your own self-rising flour if you don't have any in the house. For every cup (125g) of flour simply whisk it together with 1 1/2 tsp of baking powder and 1/4 tsp of salt. Works a charm!

 

This was really delicious.  I didn't have any straight vanilla ice cream in the house to serve with it, but I did have Grapenut Ice Cream which I enjoyed with it in its place.  If I was in the U.K. I might have had pouring cream or custard, but the Canadian in me wanted ice cream.

I love easy desserts like this.  I sent half of it over to my next-door neighbor whose eyes really lit up at the sight of it!  This was so delicious that I might make it when my brother comes to visit later this month!

You could replace the cherry filling with any kind of fruit pie filling that you have in the house or enjoy. All would work well. I think strawberry rhubarb would be fabulous!

 

We absolutely love cherry desserts in my family. Here are a few other options for cherry desserts that I felt you might also enjoy! The bonus is that if you always keep a tin of cherry filling in your store cupboard you are never far from being able to many any of these delicious bakes!

 

SMALL BATCH CHERRY CHEESECAKE - Are you a smaller family. Think you would struggle to eat a full-sized cheesecake. This is no longer a problem with this small loaf pan sized cherry cheesecake. It lacks none of the deliciousness of its full-sized counterpart. What you get here are four delicious slices of the perfect cherry cheesecake.

CHERRY CROISSANTS - These are a delicious doddle. Perfect for breakfast, brunch or any time at all. Only a few ingredients are needed. A tin of pie filling and a can of croissant dough.  They go together quickly and easily.  Once baked a delicious glaze is drizzled over the top. I have never had anyone turn down one of these!

Yield: Serves 4 to 6

Author: Marie Rayner

Cherry Blushing Betty

Prep time: 15 MinCook time: 40 MinTotal time: 55 Min

A soft sweet cherry filling topped with a fluffy layer of sponge cake. Traditionally made with rhubarb, but one needs must. Delicious served warm with a scoop of cold vanilla ice cream on top. (On this day I only had Grapenut Ice Cream. Still delicious.)

Ingredients

You will need:

• 1 large tin of cherry filling for the base (ED Smith, Comstock, Princes or whatever you have available to you.
• 1/3 cup (80g) butter, room temperature
• 1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar
• 1 cup (125g) self-raising flour (see recipe notes)
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 1 TBS whole milk
• a handful of flaked almonds

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350*F/180*C/gas mark 4. Butter a large (10-inch) pie dish. Set aside.
2. Measure your flour out into a bowl.
3. Cream the butter and sugar together for the cake topping. Beat in the vanilla.
4. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, adding 1 TBS of the measured flour after each addition. This helps to keep the batter from splitting and curdling.
5. Add the remaining flour and milk, mixing everything together just to combine.
6. Spoon the cherry filling evenly into the pie dish, making sure the cherries are evenly distributed.
7. Spoon the cake batter over top, trying as best as you can to cover all of the cherry filling. Sprinkle a handful of almonds over top.
8. Bake in the preheated oven for 35 to 40 minutes, until the cake springs back when lightly touched and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, with no wet batter attached. If you need to you can bake for a bit longer.
9. If it is browning too quickly you can cover lightly with aluminum foil.
10. Serve warm spooned out with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top or with lashings of cream or custard. Delicious!

Notes

You can easily make your own self raising flour by measuring out a cup of plain all-purpose flour (125g) and whisking in 1 1/2 tsp baking powder and 1/4 tsp of salt.

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