Recipe by: Vanessa Vermaak, (@my_homemade_kitchen_za)
“Cherries have to be my all-time favourite fruit. It’s such a pity that we have such a short window to enjoy them each year. I don’t often use them for baking or cooking since, I must confess, I usually gobble them up before that. But this time I restrained myself long enough to make this deliciously simple rustic Cherry Almond Cake.
“This Cherry Almond Cake is such a quick and simple cake to throw together and not overly sweet. It’s the perfect cake for a tea party, visit from a friend, or even as a hostess gift.
With the holidays coming up I’m sure we’re not going to be as social as usual, but this cake is definitely a go to foodie gift.”
Ingredients:
- 250 g Fresh Cherry Time™ cherries pitted (approx. 250 – 350g)
- 113 g Unsalted Butter softened to room temperature
- 150 g Golden Castor or Light brown sugar white/castor will also work if needed
- 2 Large Eggs
- 5 ml Vanilla Extract
- 64 g All-Purpose/Cake Flour
- 2 g Baking Powder
- 1.5 g Salt
- 100 grams Ground Almonds / Almond Flour
- Icing sugar for sprinkling/decorating
Instructions:
- Preheat the oven to 190°C. Then grease a small 18 – 20cm springform cake tin with non-stick cooking spray and line the bottom with a piece of baking paper. Set aside
- De-stalk and pit the cherries, trying to keep them whole. Set aside*
- In a large bowl with an electric hand mixer, or in the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the softened butter and sugar together until smooth
- Then add the vanilla, then the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
- Sift in the flour, baking powder and salt and mix through. Then fold in the ground almonds until incorporated
- Spoon half the batter into the prepared cake tin then even out to cover the bottom. Add half the cherries, then spoon over the remainder of the batter to cover the cherries. Add the remainder of the cherries on top. Note: The batter should be thick and not too easy to spread. It will only fill the tin around ⅓ – ½ way, but it does rise while baking. During the rise the top cherries will sink down so you do not have to push them into the batter before baking
- Bake for 25 – 30 minutes or until golden and a skewer/cake tester inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean (Please do test the cake as cherries hold a lot of moisture which might require an extra 5 minutes of baking time)
- Leave the cake to cool in the tin for around 10 – 15 minutes. Then remove from the tin and leave to cool completely on a wire rack
- Dust with icing sugar before serving
NOTES: If you do not have a cherry pitter, you can use a thick skewer/sosatie stick and push the back end through the cherry. The pit should pop out the other end.
Order delicious cherries from www.cherrytime.co.za to have them delivered to your door. They’re also available at Pick ‘n Pay and other select local stores.