So yeah, I basically made this cake so I could use this obligatory food pun…

So minus the glorious food pun (which you should know by now, I am a BIG fan of) I made this cake because you just can’t beat the flavour of a Cherry Bakewell. A tea time classic, this little pud was slightly overlooked when I was younger – anything with those cherries on top was a no go – but if I could have it my way now, I wouldn’t be without one.

Almond flavouring is definitely up there with Vanilla, though you can’t use it as frequently I absolutely love adding it to my bakes as it is just as moreish and makes a beautiful tasting cake – the addition of ground almonds adds a great texture too. When making fruit cakes, you may have come across that sinking feeling at some point but follow the tip below from Mary Berry and you’ll have a fabulous cake with cherries evenly dispersed throughout the sponge.

Recipe (fills a 25cm flute Bundt tin and serves 10-12 ): 

For the sponge –

• 250g Homepride self raising flour
• 200g unsalted butter, at room temp
• 200g caster sugar
• 4 medium sized eggs
• 1 tsp good quality Almond extract
• 50g ground almonds
• 150g glace cherries

For the icing & decoration –

• 2-4 tbsp water
• 200g icing sugar, sifted
• dried raspberries
• flaked almonds

Method:

1. Start by following a very good tip from Bezza (Mary Berry) herself by chopping the glace cherries in half (and again if you want smaller chunks) and adding to a colander. Rinse with warm water until all the sugar syrup is removed from the fruit
2. Dry thoroughly with some paper towel then place into a bowl with two tablespoons of the measured flour. Pre-heat the oven to 175 degrees C and grease your bundt cake tin thoroughly with butter, making sure you get within all the grooves/creases
3. Set aside and beat together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Next add the eggs one by one, stirring continuously until well combined
4. Follow by folding in the flour, ground almonds and almond extract before adding the cherries, folding into the batter a metal spoon until evenly distributed. Pour the batter into the Bundt tin, tapping the bottom of the tin on the surface lightly so all the cake batter seeps into the creases. Place in the oven for 30-35 minutes or until the cake is a light golden brown colour and a cake tester comes out clean
5. Leave to completely cool before removing from the cake tin, setting aside on a wire rack. Make your icing by mixing some sifted icing sugar with a couple of spoonfuls of water – the icing should be quick, but easy to drizzle
6. Pour the icing over the cake as you wish then scatter some freeze-dried raspberries, flaked almonds and any left over glace cherries (should you wish) just before serving. When stored in a cool dry place, the iced cake will keep for up to 5 days

Serve and enjoy, Nic x

Like this recipe? Why not try my Marble Malteser bundt or Strawberry Eton Mess bundt cake. 

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