Cherry Crisp Cake

An aerial view of a cake topped with cherries and oatmeal crisp with slices cut out of it.

5 from 1 vote

Layers of moist vanilla cake with cherry pie filling, a crisp oat crumble, and the best vanilla bean buttercream come together to make this Cherry Crisp Cake!

Prep Time45

Cook Time40

Additional Time1

Total Time2 25

Course: Cake

Cuisine: American

Servings: Servings

Calories: 829kcal

Author: Amy Nash

Ingredients

Cake

1 cup salted butter room temperature
⅓ cup canola oil
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon salt
5 large eggs room temperature
3 cups + 2 tablespoons cake flour
2 ½ teaspoons baking powder
1 cup Greek yogurt room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Crumble

½ cup old-fashioned oats
¼ cup all-purpose flour
¼ cup brown sugar
3 Tablespoons salted butter room temperature
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon salt

Cherry Filling

2 ½ cups cherries pitted
¼ cup granulated sugar
1 Tablespoon cornstarch
¼ cup water
2 teaspoons lemon juice

Frosting

2 cups salted butter softened
6 cups powdered sugar
1 Tablespoon vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract
Pinch of salt
¼ cup heavy cream

Instructions

Cake

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare three 8-inch cake pans by lining the bottoms with parchment paper and spraying with non-stick spray.
Beat the butter, oil, and sugars in a large bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment for 2 minutes until light.
Add eggs, one at a time, beating on medium-low after each addition and scraping the sides of the bowl as needed.
Add half of the flour, baking powder, and salt, mixing just until combined.
Add greek yogurt and vanilla. Mix again just until combined.
Add remaining flour, mixing again to combine. Divide between baking pans.
Bake for 23-25 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cakes comes out clean.
Cool completely.

Crumble

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Mix crumble ingredients together in a medium bowl using a fork or your hands to cut in the butter until crumbs form. Spread out on the baking sheet and bake for 8-10 minutes, stirring halfway through. Let cool.

Filling

Combing the cherries with the sugar and cornstarch in a medium saucepan.
Add the water and lemon juice, then bring to a boil over medium heat. Cook and stir until thickened and the cherries have softened, about 5 minutes.
Cool completely before using to fill the cake or the warm filling will melt the buttercream frosting.

Frosting

Beat the butter in a large bowl of a stand mixer using the paddle attachment for 3 minutes until light and creamy.
Add the powdered sugar, mixing until combined.
Add the vanilla bean paste, cream, and salt. Beat on medium-high speed for 5 minutes to lighten the frosting.
Use a strong wooden spoon or spatula to stir the frosting to knock out extra air bubbles before using on the cake.

Assembly

Place the first layer on an 8 ¼-inch cardboard cake round or directly onto a cake plate. Frost the top with a thin layer of frosting.
Pipe a thick ring of frosting around the edges of the cake layer on top to hold in the filling. Add half of the cooled cherry filling. Sprinkle with with about half of the crumble.
Add next cake layer and repeat with the process of frosting, piping a dam, and filling with remaining cherry filling and most of the crumble topping, reserving ¼-1/2 cup for decorating the outside of the cake. Top with final layer of cake.
Transfer the whole cake to the freezer and freeze the whole cake for 10 minutes to set the frosting and filling. You could use the fridge instead, but it will take more like 30 minutes for it to really set.
Frost the entire cake with a thin crumb coat and freeze for another 10 minutes to set.
Frost the sides of the cake. I like to use another 8 ¼-inch cake round (I have a plastic one for decorating purposes but another cardboard one will work as well) placed directly on top of the cake to act as a guide so it's easy to get a ¼-inch of frosting evenly around the edges of the cake. Just fill in frosting around the edges and hold a bench scraper at a 45 degree angle against the frosting, spinning the cake slowly to get a smooth, clean edge. You may need to do this a couple times, filling in holes with extra frosting and scraping off the excess from the bench scraper until the outside edges are clean and smooth.
Freeze the whole cake for another 10 minutes, then use a thin knife to cut off the top plastic guide and use the last of the frosting and an offset spatula to frost the top of the cake.
Decorate with reserved crisp topping and fresh cherries for a garnish, then serve.

Notes

Store any leftover cake in the fridge wrapped tightly in plastic wrap for up to 4 days. You can also freeze cake slices wrapped well in plastic wrap. Thaw before serving.
The cake layers, cherry pie filling, crisp topping, and buttercream can all be made ahead and frozen. Just thaw the filling and buttercream in the fridge overnight and let them come to room temperature on the counter for 1-2 hours before using. I like to be the buttercream again so it's silky and easy to spread before using.
Canned cherry pie filling may be used instead of making the filling from scratch.
Vanilla bean paste is wonderful for this cake because it adds beautiful flecks of vanilla bean on the outside. But you can use the same amount of regular vanilla extra instead if you don't have vanilla bean paste on hand.
Cake flour substitute: If you don't have cake flour, you can make a good substitute using all-purpose flour and cornstarch. Just add 2 tablespoons of cornstarch to a 1 cup measuring cup, then fill the rest of the way with all-purpose flour for each cup of cake flour in a recipe. In this cake, that would translate to 6 tablespoons of cornstarch and 2 ¾ cups all-purpose flour.

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