Sour Cherry Coffee Cake

Daughter's baby shower was lovely and she received so many wonderful gifts. The food was all delicious. I spent a good part of the day today putting away all the catering goodies that I drug out to use. I kind of moved slowly knowing that this is my last full weekend at home for a while -- until the end of tax season to be exact. I start working 6 days a week this week. I'll miss my play time at home but I am so busy this time of year that it goes very quickly. After a nice long walk outside (an amazing January day in Nebraska), I enjoyed a leisurely coffee time this afternoon with a piece of the leftover coffee cake -- well, I ate about 2 bites of it and then was done....son came over helped me out with the rest of it :)

Sour Cherry Coffee Cake
(Printable Version)

Topping:
4 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted, plus more for dish
3/4 c all-purpose flour, plus more for dish
1/4 c granulated sugar
1/4 c packed light-brown sugar
1/4 c sliced almonds
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
Cake:
1-1/2 c all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
8 Tbsp (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
3/4 c granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/2 tsp almond extract
1/4 c buttermilk
2 c fresh sour cherries, pitted (I used frozen)

Preheat oven to 350° F. Butter a 9-inch round baking dish (I am used a spring form pan so as to be able to display it on a cake plate), dust with flour, tap out excess. In a medium bowl, stir together butter, flour, sugars, almond slices, salt, and cinnamon. Set topping aside. Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl. Using a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter and granulated sugar until pale and fluffy. Beat in eggs, vanilla and almond extract. Working in alternating batches, add flour mixture and buttermilk, beginning and ending with flour. Beat until just combined. Pour into prepared dish, and smooth with an offset spatula. Dot top with cherries, and sprinkle with crumb topping. Bake until golden and a tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 1 hour. Let cool before cutting.