The fresh cherry cake turned out deep and moist. The cherries still soft and all over the place not sunken down as I had feared. After great debate about what to make with the cherries this cake seemed the best option. T-W-O likes cherry cake made with glace cherries and adores almonds. This cherry cake is a bit of a step up I think from sticky glace cherries and would be good served as a pudding cake with a spoon of vanilla ice cream. It is not overly sweet and so easy to make.
Oven to 180 degrees C – reduce to 160 for a fan oven(Gas Mark 4) – put the shelf in the middle.
140 g cooking margarine suitable for baking (I used an own brand, olive oil, reduced fat spread)
250g of self raising flour
150g of ground almonds
140g caster sugar
2 big eggs
125ml milk
200g of fresh cherries, stalks and stones removed
Flaked almonds for decoration.
Line a 20cm/8 inch round deep baking tin with baking parchment. I use the loose bottom sort.
Put the flour and butter in a bowl and rub together until it resembles breadcrumbs. Stir in the sugar (I had to sieve mine as it had become lumpy) and the ground almond.
Whisk the eggs until beaten then add with the milk to the dry ingredients.
Give it a good stir then tip in the cherries and give it another stir – but not too much you don’t want pink cake!
Tip it all into the cake tine and smooth the top down, sprinkle on some flaked almonds.
Put a bit of foil very loosely over the top. It shouldn’t be touching the cake .(so you can whip it off half way through without your cake sinking) and pop in the oven. Set the timer for 1 hour 10 minutes and drop the open temp to 170 degrees (Gas mark 3)
Before removing the foil turn up the oven up to 180 degrees (Gas 4) and then swiftly remove the foil. Get the oven door shut quickly, don’t bother peeking!
When it’s cooked take it out the oven and then let it sit in the tin for 10 minutes. Then remove from the tin and allow to cool.
