This almond cherry buckle features a soft buttermilk almond cake, a juicy sweet cherry filling, and a buttery almond streusel topping. – the best cake to make with in-season cherries!

Just a humble little cake loaded down with a bunch of summer gems!
Which is, of course, cherries. I am SO excited to share this buckle with you today!
We’ve done buckles around here before, but never a cherry version. Naturally cherries + almonds is a winning combo, thus this summer beauty was born!

Picture a fruit crisp meets fruit cake. – that’s this buckle in a nutshell. We’ve got three layers of buttery almond cake, juicy cherry filling, and crisp almond streusel topping.
Believe me when I say, this one will quickly become a summer staple.
This Almond Cherry Buckle features…
- A soft almond buttermilk cake base
- Juicy fresh cherry filling
- A buttery brown sugar almond streusel

Making the Almond Cherry Buckle
(scroll to the bottom of the post for the full recipe!)
Ingredients You’ll Need
- Cherries
- Butter
- Sugar
- Eggs
- Almond paste
- Greek yogurt
- Vanilla extract
- Flour
- Baking powder
- Salt
- Buttermilk
- Ground cinnamon
- Honey
- Lemon juice
- Sliced almonds
What is a Buckle?
A buckle is an old-fashioned coffee cake-like dessert. It’s best described as a cake with a fresh fruit filling and a streusel topping.
This incredible cake gets its interesting name from the fact that the cake “buckles” under the fruit and streusel as it bakes.
How to Prep Cherries
We recommend using sweet cherries in this recipe. You can use fresh or frozen in this recipe, just make sure you thaw first if using frozen.
To prep fresh cherries, remove the pit and slice cherries in half.

Tips for Baking Perfect Buckle
- Don’t overmix batter – when mixing the cake batter, very gently fold until batter is just combined. Be careful not to overmix, as this may lead to a tough cake texture.
- Layer cherries and streusel – spread the cherry filling over the cake batter and then sprinkle the streusel generously on top.
- Bake buckle until toothpick tests done – the cake will take around 40-45 minutes at 350F. Test the cake with a toothpick to ensure it is baked completely.
- Allow buckle to cool completely – allow the buckle to cool completely on a wire cooling rack before slicing.
Make Ahead Instructions
This cake is great to make ahead of time! The cake can be stored sealed on the counter up to 4 days and may also be frozen up to 1 month.

Y’all, words can’t even describe how much we love this buckle. The lovely almond flavor of the cake with the juicy cherries and all the streusel goodness…it’s just incredible.
The real beauty of this buckle is that it’s totally appropriate as breakfast OR dessert.
Maybe even in the same day? Anything goes here.

More cherry favorites to try next!
Almond Cherry Buckle
This recipe may included paid links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn a commission from qualifying purchases.
Ingredients
Cake Batter
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1/3 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled
- 1/4 cup plain Greek yogurt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2/3 cup buttermilk
- 1/4 cup almond paste, crumbled into pea-sized pieces
Cherry Filling
- 3 cups fresh (or frozen and thawed) sweet cherries, pitted and halved
- 3 tablespoons honey or agave syrup
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
Almond Streusel
- 1 cup all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
- 1/4 cup light brown sugar (or coconut sugar)
- 1/4 cup sliced almonds
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
Instructions
Cake Batter
- Preheat oven to 350F and adjust oven rack to middle. Line a 9×13 baking pan with parchment paper. Set aside.
- In a large bowl with an electric beater or whisk, beat sugar and eggs well 1-2 minutes until eggs are slightly thickened. Beat melted butter, yogurt, and vanilla until smooth.
- In a separate medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt. Gently fold half of flour mixture into liquid with half of buttermilk, then repeat with remaining flour mixture and buttermilk until batter is smooth.
- Scrape batter into prepared pan and smooth top. Sprinkle almond paste pieces over top. Set aside for a moment.
Cherry Filling
- In a medium bowl, combine cherries, honey, and lemon juice. Evenly spread cherry filling over cake batter.
Almond Streusel
- In a medium bowl, combine all streusel ingredients until crumbly. Sprinkle evenly over cherries.
- Bake buckle at 350F 40-45 minutes until a toothpick inserted in middle comes out clean.
- Cool buckle completely on a wire cooling rack, then slice into squares and serve. Enjoy!
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