Cherry Bublanina

It's summer already and the cherries are showing up in grocery stores and farmers' markets. According to Chinese medicine, cherries are nourishing to the blood and are great for arthritis. While they're great on their own, why not add a little butter and sugar to sweeten the deal? This is a variation of a recipe my best friend's mom made for us during sleepovers in grade school. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 3 large eggs divided, at room temperature
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• Pinch of cream of tartar
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 pound washed, pitted and halved red cherries
• Confectioners' sugar

Preparation:

1. Place rack in center of oven and heat to 350 degrees. Grease a 9-inch-by-9-inch baking pan. In a medium bowl, cream together butter, sugar and yolks until light and fluffy. Add salt, mixing well.
   
   
2. In a clean medium bowl, beat egg whites with cream of tartar until stiff. Alternately fold in egg whites and flour into butter-egg mixture.
   
   
3. Turn batter into prepared pan and scatter cherries evenly over top. Lightly press down cherries into batter until partially covered. Bake 30 to 40 minutes or until toothpick inserted near center comes out clean. Cut into 6 equal pieces. Serve warm or cold dusted with confectioners' sugar.