Cheerwine.
Sunday, August 08, 2010Have y'all heard of Cheerwine?!
Probably those of you from or around the Carolina's have, but I was absolutely clueless what Cheerwine was until some good friends introduced me to it a few months ago. They had taken a road trip to NC and had come home raving about this delicious soda beverage. And me, being the clueless Cheerwine novice, felt silly because I had been to NC a number of times and had never encountered the drink! Upon hearing this, my friends were concerned for my well-being and recently made sure that I acquired a can of Cheerwine to sample. With the can of Cheerwine, I was also given a recipe for Cheerwine pound cake. So, today (being the exceedingly hot and unbelievably humid day that it is), I decided would be a perfect day to try out this Cheerwine stuff and whip up a Cheerwine pound cake.
For those of you who don't know what it is or have never heard of it, Cheerwine is simply a cherry soda. I totally thought it was a wine at first, don't worry! I felt even sillier when I was told it was indeed NOT a wine, but a soda. Cheerwine is a deep red color and I think it is quite tasty! I am excited to procure some upon moving to NC (although I don't think my dear husband will find it as delicious as I - he is not a fan of anything cherry!) - which is where Cheerwine is based out of - the small town of Salisbury, NC. Cool, huh?!
There are quite a few recipes out there that utilize Cheerwine in them - it adds a little kick for a sweet flavor boost! There are many different Cheerwine cake recipes, but of course, because pound cakes rock this world, there are Cheerwine pound cake recipes. The one I was given is one of the many you can probably find. Here is the recipe I used, if you are interested (I was also thinking that really, you could try this with any soda?! I dunno, it might be worth experimenting!):
Cheerwine Pound Cake
1c butter
1/2c shortening
3c sugar
5 eggs
1/4tsp salt
2 tsp lemon extract (I used fresh lemon juice, since we have NO lemon extract)
3c flour
1c Cheerwine
8 drops red food coloring (if you want a pinker cake!)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare bundt/tube pan.
Cream softened butter, shortening and sugar until light and fluffy.
Add eggs one at a time, blending well after each addition.
Add salt and lemon and beat.
Alternate adding flour and Cheerwine, in two additions, and beat until mixture is smooth.
If you want a pinker cake, add your food coloring and mix well.
Pour batter into prepared greased pan.
Bake cake for 1 hour and 15 minutes (up to 1 hour and a half).
When cake is done, toothpick will come out clean!
*I then let my cake sit for 5-10 minutes before taking it out of the pan and letting it cool the remainder of the way.
I really enjoyed the Cheerwine pound cake! I thought it had a little bit of cherry goodness, but not enough to be over-powering. It was also not TOO sweet - it felt like a good combination of sweet and delicious! The density was great (aren't most pound cakes?! I'm definitely a fan of dense, moist cakes!!) and we all really have enjoyed it!!!
Yay for Cheerwine and my first Cheerwine experience. Hopefully there will be more to come in the future! I am now off to read a book and eat some popcorn! Woot!
3 comments
the first time someone asked me if I wanted a Cheerwine I was seriously expecting wine. Even after they poured the glass I was waiting for my wine lol
ReplyDeleteNow I'm craving cherry soda! lol I will find a Doctor Pepper at lunch today
ReplyDeleteThey sell Cheerwine by the case here in Georgia! It's so good!
ReplyDelete