This week we are celebrating the Ramadan Bayram here in Istanbul, also known as Eid al-Fitr. The holiday marks the end of the Holy Month of Ramadan, when practicing Muslims fast from dusk to dawn. At the end of the month there are 3 days of celebration which often turn into longer as most combine it with the weekend before or after or even both. Many people spend the days visiting family and friends and sharing meals together. It is also referred to as the holiday of sweets, Seker Bayrami, as it’s tradition to offer candy and other treats to guests, especially children. The markets have been stocked with giant bins of colorfully wrapped sweets in preparation for this. My husband says this was the most exciting part of the holiday for him growing up and how the anticipation would build up as the holiday neared and he knew everyone would be handing out “seker.”

This is only our second Eid living here in Istanbul and I’m still learning some of the traditions and customs. That includes feeling comfortable enough to cook or bake something to share that my in-laws might actually eat. My “yabanci” (foreign) food can sometimes be a bit too yabanci for their tastes and a lot of of the ingredients I use aren’t so common in the traditional Turkish dishes they are used to. But I managed to make a few things this week that I think were actually a hit. The first I’ll share with you is this Summer Cherry Cake because it’s just too easy and too delicious and I’d feel bad keeping it to myself.

Perhaps you’ve had or made a French Apple Cake. One of those simple, yet irresistible cakes where an easy, one-bowl batter goes into a cake pan, some chopped or sliced apples go on top and a little sugar is sprinkled over them? I’ve made a few different apple versions and they’re always so good. Last summer, I stumbled upon a strawberry one over at foodtasticmom.com and am obsessed and have made it several times since. The strawberries make for such a beautiful, elegant treat and I’ve been really wanting to make it again lately. But the fact we didn’t get much of a spring here this year, really had an effect on the availability of organic strawberries. Perhaps you remember me bragging about them last year with this Strawberry Crisp. Well serves me, right. This year practically nada. So, I decided to use what I did have available and make the same cake using cherries and added a sprinkling of pistachios on top for a truly Turkish combo. What’s not to love there, right?

The end result was a beautiful, yet simple, delicious cake featuring one of summer’s (and Turkey’s) most beloved stone fruits. It is so quick to throw together and bakes up in just about 40 minutes. Most of the ingredients you probably have on hand right now. Don’t have cherries, substitute strawberries, peaches, apples, or perhaps a combo of berries. No pistachios, use almonds or no nuts at all. The only thing that takes a little extra time here is pitting the cherries. I generally don’t love this task but with a decent cherry pitter, or even small knife, it’s not too bad and can be done in about 10 minutes and was really worth the effort here. The cake was gone so quickly, I’m excited to make it again and this time will be sure to remember the pistachio ice cream that I think is going to take it to the next level, not only flavor-wise, but aesthetically too, if you can picture what I’m thinking.