I baked this cake in honor of my mom’s birthday. She often reminisced about the cakes she remembered from childhood, and two of her favorites were coconut cake and cherry chip. It occurred to me that putting all of those flavors together in one cake could be something pretty special.
I served this cake on Mom’s vintage china, which made the moment feel even more meaningful. She collected the Florenteen Fantasia dishes using S&H Green Stamps and was very proud when she finally completed the set. Those dishes were always brought out for special occasions, so it seemed like the perfect way to celebrate her birthday.
Almost like a fruit and nut Easter egg
Another one of Mom’s favorite treats was fruit and nut Easter eggs. When I tasted this cake, it reminded me a little of those — sweet, nutty, and full of flavor. Bringing together coconut, pecans, cherries, and white chocolate creates something that really does taste like a celebration. I hope you enjoy it as much as we did.
Creating the Recipe
This recipe began with the White Chocolate Christmas Cake from Taste of Home, which has long been one of my favorite cakes. It already included many of the flavors I had in mind. The only thing missing was maraschino cherries.
So I made a few tweaks. I added chopped maraschino cherries and a little of the cherry juice to the cake batter, and then added more maraschino juice to the frosting. The result is a cake that is moist, flavorful, and just a little nostalgic.
Worth the dishes and the Wait
Fair warning — this cake will likely produce enough dishes to fill the dishwasher! You’ll melt white chocolate in a saucepan, chop pecans into large pieces, and prepare the cherries (I like to pulse them briefly in the food processor). You’ll also need another bowl and beater set to whip the egg whites.
Two steps also require a little patience. The melted white chocolate needs about 30 minutes to cool, and the egg whites should come to room temperature before whipping, so plan a little extra time when making this cake.
Moist and delicious
The combination of flavors really takes this cake to the next level. I’ve found that cakes containing fruit — like carrot cake with pineapple — tend to stay moist longer than others, and this cake is no exception. It keeps beautifully under a cake dome for two to three days.
If you’d like a little more visual flair, you could add a drop or two of red food coloring to the batter to give the cake a soft pink tint from the cherries. But that’s entirely up to you.
Enjoy!
Nellie’s Cherry Pecan Celebration Cake
Ingredients
- 4 large eggs separated
- 1/2 cup water
- 4 ounces white melting wafers (Ghirardelli)
- 1 cup butter softened
- 2 cups sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 – 2 TBSP maraschino cherry juice
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 10 ounces maraschino cherries chopped drain and reserve juice
- 1 cup sweetened shredded coconut
- 1 cup pecans chopped large
- 3 drops red food coloring (OPTIONAL)
Frosting
- 8 ounce block cream cheese softened
- 1 cup butter softened
- 2 pounds confectioners' sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 TBSP reserved cherry juice
- 1 TBSP milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 drops red food coloring OPTIONAL
Instructions
Preparation
- Separate eggs and place whites in a bowl; let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes. This will be beat to soft peeks and folded in the cake at the end. Reserve yolks for later in recipe.
- In a small saucepan, bring water to boil. Remove from heat; stir in white chocolate until blended. Cool 20 minutes.
- Chop pecans, optional, reserve 3-5 for decorating.
- Drain cherries, reserve juice and 3 – 5 cherries for decoration if desired. Chop cherries by hand or pulse in food processor to desired size.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line bottoms of three 8" or 9" round pans with parchment and grease sides of pans.
Mix the Cake
- 1. Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.2. Beat in egg yolks one at a time. 3. Add vanilla and melted chocolate. 4. In another bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and baking soda. Add to the creamed mixture alternately with buttermilk mixed with cherry juice, beating after each addition. 5. Fold in the coconut and pecans. 6. With clean beaters, beat egg whites on medium speed until stiff peaks form; fold into the batter. 7. Transfer batter to prepared pans. Bake until a toothpick inserted comes out clean, 19-25 minutes. Cool in pans 10 minutes before removing to wire racks; remove parchment. Cool completely.
Frosting
- 1. Beat cream cheese and butter until smooth. 2. Beat in the confectioners' sugar, 2 TBSP cherry juice, red food coloring, salt and vanilla. 3. Add milk if needed to desired consistency. 4. Assemble the cake with frosting between layers and frost exterior of cake, decorate as desired using reserved Cherries and Pecans.