Black Walnut Cherry Coffee Cake

I was craving something home baked and came up with this, which is a modification of a couple of internet recipes - what a surprise huh?! This dish doesn't utilize anything from our garden, but it does incorporate local honey and local black walnuts, and local food is a growing passion for us - no pun intended. I recently read that the attitude you have while you're eating something can have a great effect on how it's processed in your body. That made a lot of sense to me. Making this was therapeutic, smelling it was therapeutic, tasting it was healing!

Black Walnut Cherry Coffee Cake

3 tablespoons butter
1 C whole oats
1/4 C whole wheat pastry flour
1/4 cup brown sugar
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2 C whole wheat pastry flour
1/4 C honey
1/2 C brown sugar
1/4 cup canola or walnut oil
1 cup skim milk
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg, slightly beaten
1 (12-ounce) bag frozen, unsweetened tart cherries, thawed and drained
1/4 cup chopped black walnuts or substitute any other nut of choice

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 9-inch round cake or 9 x 9 square pan. Mix butter, oats, 1/4 cup flour and 1/4 C brown sugar in small bowl with fork or pastry cutter until crumbly. Set aside. Combine flour, honey, 1/2 C brown sugar, oil, milk, baking powder, cinnamon, salt and egg in large bowl. Beat mixture by hand or with a mixer for 1- 2 minutes, until well blended. Stir in thawed cherries. Spread half of the batter in pan and sprinkle ½ of oat mixture on top. Add remaining batter and sprinkle with remaining oat mixture and chopped walnuts. Bake 40-45 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Serve warm.