Cherries and raspberries buckle down to flavor in moist, delicious cake

Cherries and raspberries are at their peak right now, and the two have a beautiful friendship in a dessert from Eating Well magazine.
   Cherry-Raspberry Buckle (click for the recipe) is a moist homestyle cake, studded with berries and a crisp sugared top.
   It’s delicious, and would do well with a small scoop of vanilla ice cream on the side.
   The recipe says it can be made with any fruit combination, such as a suggested blueberries and apricots combo. I’m guessing that would be terrific, too.
   When I first took the cake out of the oven, I worried the top had browned too much.
   My worries were quickly dissipated when we tried the cake. The well-browned top was a sign that the cake had baked to a moist texture, not a soggy one, which is always a danger with fruit-filled cake.
   The recipe calls for white whole-wheat flour. Since I didn’t have the time to look for this, I simply used white flour.
   The recipe also says to use a “nine-inch baking dish or springform pan” – I used a nine-inch square baking pan.
   The cake is very easy to make.
   Flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt are mixed together. In another bowl, milk, applesauce, olive or canola oil, sugar, egg and vanilla are whisked together.
   The wet ingredients are poured into the dry and the two are gently folded together until blended. Raspberries and cherries are added and folded in, then the batter is spooned into a prepared baking dish or pan. The batter is sprinkled with sliced almonds and raw cane sugar.
   The cake is baked until golden brown, about 45 to 55 minutes (I baked mine for 45 minutes), then cooled for at least 30 minutes before serving.