Feast logo

Large Cherry Almond Sharing Cake!

A Baking Story (Pt.26)

By Annie KapurPublished 3 years ago 4 min read
1
some drips down the sides so that all slices get a bit of the jam...

Of course, you probably know me very well for invading Vocal with my film studies stuff and articles entitled ‘a filmmaker’s guide’. I have often explained that I love to bake as well. Since I was young, I have loved the idea, the creativity and the relaxation of baking different things. I love to make macarons, layer cakes and gingerbread in particular and the activity of it really gets me away from my laptop (where I’m sure you know that I spend most of my life). So, I hope you enjoy me talking about what I bake and why I bake it complete with pictures (if not very good) of me actually baking, my baked goods in the process of being created and when they’re finished. I’m really happy to share this with you. And if you like, you can show me your baking (yes, I spend a lot of time writing, but I also spend a lot of time reading other people’s articles!), I would love to see it. Since I was in school, I was always interested in creating things, whether that be pieces of writing, welding things to make small statues or baking foods and making sweets (candy, if you’re American). I hope you enjoy looking at some of the stuff that has honestly kept me sane, because I seem to be going slightly mad.

Large Cherry Almond Sharing Cake

Cherries and almonds give a winter amaretto kind of taste and really, this is the perfect sweet and tart sharing cake for a family party at Christmas time. It's soft and spongey and has a lovely texture. Surprises of Glace Cherries chopped nicely inside and mixed in with some flaked almonds. This cake is a beautiful ending to a wonderful night. Everyone getting a nice slice, this cake goes best with a warm cup of hot chocolate or, in my case, a nice coffee. I would though, also recommend a mint or herbal tea alongside this cake. The lightness of the two is very relaxing to eat and drink.

I love the cherry and almond flavour and at a shop called Hotel Chocolate, you can actually get a box of these six amaretto cherries that have been covered in chocolate and it is very tasty [and expensive!]. I usually buy them as a Christmas treat and in this cake, I have tried to imitate their flavour [just without the chocolate because the cake is sweet enough as we make it!].

Let's have a look at how it is made then...

Recipe

You Will Need

  • 300g Softened Butter
  • 300g Self Raising Flour
  • 310g Caster Sugar
  • 4 Medium Eggs
  • 150g Quartered Glace Cherries
  • 4 tsp Vanilla Extract
  • 100g Flaked Almonds
  • 200g Ground Almonds
  • 1x Jar of Jam [Black Cherry or Blackcurrant or Raspberry Flavour]

Instructions

Mine is just going in the oven now...
  1. Preheat your oven to 200C and grab yourself a large baking dish, preferably glass and square/rectangle. Trust me, you're going to need something quite big if you want it to bake all the way through
  2. Cream together the butter, sugar and vanilla
  3. Beat the eggs and then add them to the mixture and mix once more
  4. Add the ground almonds and flour and mix once more
  5. Mix together 100g of the flaked almonds and all of the chopped glace cherries so that they are combined well and then, add them to the mixture - this is to get them well distributed so nobody gets just a mouthful of cherry or almond
  6. Make sure the mixture is mixed together so that it looks white in colour
  7. Grab your baking dish and spread a bit of oil across it.
  8. Pour in your cake mixture and then tap the filled dish on the table so that there are not any air bubbles left. The reason you do this is so that there is no air bubbles and because there is a lot of liquid in cherries. If the liquid gets out, it needs to go back into the cake. But, if you have air bubbles then it will trap in the bubbles and stop the cake from cooking in the middle. You will therefore be left with raw cake.
  9. Put the dish in the oven for 45-50 minutes
  10. Then, allow to cool for 20 minutes in the fridge.
  11. When you get it out of the fridge, tap down the middle of the cake slightly so that you get a small dent in the shape of a circle but do not make a hole in the cake. Fill this little dent with some jam, as much as you think is appropriate for your eating habits. I used blackcurrant, but you can use any that I have put in the 'you will need' list.
  12. Once you have done this, sprinkle some powdered sugar on your cake and then, sprinkle the remaining flaked almonds upon the jam part of the cake. Finally, add one last sprinkling of desiccated coconut to your cake and then, put it back in the fridge, getting out at least fifteen minutes before eating.
I put mine upside down, because it is easier to pat down to create the little dent in which I'll put some jam...

The reason you keep it in the fridge is so that the glace cherries inside the cake keep cold. Especially if you have a warm kitchen, they can release even more unwanted liquid if they get a little warm. It is not absolute that you keep it in the fridge but, just to be on the safe side, you may want to do this.

This part is probably my favourite part of the cake, all sweet and nutty...mmmm!

Enjoy your perfectly made family-sharing cake!

recipe
1

About the Creator

Annie Kapur

190K+ Reads on Vocal.

English Lecturer

🎓Literature & Writing (B.A)

🎓Film & Writing (M.A)

🎓Secondary English Education (PgDipEd)

📍Birmingham, UK

Reader insights

Be the first to share your insights about this piece.

How does it work?

Add your insights

Comments

There are no comments for this story

Be the first to respond and start the conversation.

Sign in to comment

    Find us on social media

    Miscellaneous links

    • Explore
    • Contact
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms of Use
    • Support

    © 2024 Creatd, Inc. All Rights Reserved.