This marzipan and cherry cake recipe is my husband's favourite. We made it together to celebrate our first anniversary of the day we met. A rich, almondy and gooey delight, this cake will satisfy your sweet cravings on a romantic afternoon.
- 150 g unsalted butter - softened
- 3 eggs
- 155 g caster sugar
- 150 g self-raising flour + a little extra for dusting the cherries
- 150 g ground almonds
- 30 g flaked almonds
- 1 tsp almond extract
- 150 g fresh cherries
- 150 g marzipan
- some icing sugar for rolling the marzipan
Preheat the oven to 180°C/160°C (if you are using a fan).
Butter and line a deep 23cm cake mold.
With an electric mixer beat the butter and caster sugar for 5 minutes.
Add the eggs one by one. Beat well after each addition.
Add the almond extract if you'd like to use it.
Add in the self-raising flour and ground almonds.
Remove the cherry pits and cut in half (75g) of the cherries and keep the other half intact (75g) whole.
Sprinkle a little flour over the cherries and coat them. This will help to stop the cherries from sinking to the bottom of the pan as it bakes.
Fold the cherries into your cake batter.
Roll out the marzipan into a circle the size of the bottom of the cake tin. You can use the icing sugar to prevent the marzipan from sticking.
Using your spoon, pour half the mixture into the prepared cake tin and even out the top.
Lay the marzipan on the cake mix then add the other half of the cake mix and even out the top.
Scatter flaked almond over the top.
Bake for approximately 45 minutes.
Once baked, remove from the oven and leave to cool in the cake tin for about 15 minutes. Then remove from the cake tin and transfer to a cooling rack and let cool completely.
