This rich, moist cake is a very delicious holiday treat full of almond and cherry flavor. It’s one that my Dad introduced me to. It also makes a lot — I had more batter than would fit in my holiday Bundt pan, so I made a second cake in a 5-inch round cake pan.

A nice thing about this cake, especially if you use a pan with a special shape (like the one in the photo above) is that you don’t need to ice it. A light dusting of powdered sugar is plenty. Though of course, if you want to be extra, you can opt for a drizzle icing with a vanilla or almond flavor.

2 c. sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 c. oil
1 tsp. vanilla
1 can (12.5 oz.) Solo brand almond filling (not paste!)
1 c. evaporated milk (not condensed)
3 c. flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1 c. chopped almonds
1 10-oz. jar maraschino cherries, drained and quartered

Preheat the oven to 350F and grease a large Bundt pan and a loaf or small cake pan. Dust a light coating of flour onto the grease and shake it around to remove any excess; this is especially necessary to ensure you can successfully remove the baked cake out of any Bundt or decorated pan later.

In a large mixing bowl, beat the sugar, eggs, oil, and vanilla. Add the almond filling and evaporated milk and mix together. 

In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, soda, and salt. Then add the almonds and cherries, stirring to coat the cherries and nuts in the dry mixture. Add to the wet mixture and mix together well. 

Pour the batter into the Bundt pan first, leaving maybe an inch and a half of space at the top, then add the leftover batter to the other pan. Bake for about 1 hour, checking after 40 minutes on the smaller pan first. The cakes are done when a toothpick poked in the center comes out mostly clear.

Let the cakes cool in the pan for at least 10-15 minutes before attempting to turn them out, at least until the pans are cool enough to handle comfortably without oven mitts.