Preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit. Butter and flour a 9" cake pan (the taller the sides the better) or bundt pan. Set aside.
In a large bowl whisk together flour, sugar and salt. Cut in butter with two table knives until butter is combined with flour and is the size of small peas. Remove 1 cup of flour & butter mixture into a second bowl and set aside (you'll use it for your topping later).
Add in baking powder and soda to base flour mixture and whisk gently (or sift before hand). Add buttermilk, vanilla and egg and stir until mixture is free of flour streaks. Lumps are ok as your butter is still chunky, but streaks tell you it's not quite mixed enough.
Pour flour mixture into prepared pan. Scatter ground cherries (or fruit of your choice) over the top. Next, add nuts, brown sugar and cinnamon to your small bowl of flour that is set aside. Stir and sprinkle over the top. It will be thick, that's ok. It equals crunchy goodness.
Bake for 60-75 minutes (depending on the color of your cake pan) until a skewer (wooden or metal) comes out crumby, but clean. If your nuts start to get too dark (dark brown good, burnt bad), apply foil over the top of your pan to halt that process and allow the cake to continue cooking. Remove from oven and allow to cool for at least 15 minutes in the pan. Serve and enjoy!