Instructions: To prepare topping: Stir together flour, cocoa powder and cinnamon. Use a pastry blender to mix in brown sugar. Cut in cold butter until mixture is made up of medium crumbs about the size of peas. Stir in almonds; refrigerate topping while preparing cake.

To prepare cake: Grease bottom of an 8- or 9-inch square disposable pan; place in a larger pan or on a baking sheet. Set aside. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In large bowl of an electric mixer, stir together flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. Briefly beat in eggs and butter; mixture will be crumbly. Drain liquid from cherries into a measuring cup; add enough cream to make 3/4 cup liquid. Beat liquid into cake mixture. Add extract; continue to beat at medium speed until batter is smooth and light. Stir in cherries and minichips.

Spread batter evenly in prepared pan; smooth top. Sprinkle with crumb mixture. Bake about 35 minutes. (Test for doneness with wooden pick in center of cake.) Let cool completely in pan. Just before giving or serving, dust with sifted powdered sugar.

Yield: 1 cake.

To make ahead: Chill, then freeze. Thaw, still covered, in refrigerator.

There is a simple cake (that we are always delighted to see at church carry-ins and neighborhood potlucks) made with a cake mix and a can of pie filling. Elinor Klivans chocolate cherry buckle ("Bake and Freeze Desserts," Morrow, 1994), is an elaborate, five-step dessert using the same flavor combination. Our recipe strikes a happy medium between the ordinary and the ornate. Be sure to thaw the cherries in a bowl before starting the recipe, at least 2 hours at room temperature or overnight in the refrigerator.

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