Fresh Cherry and Almond Cake
Fathers day has come around again, giving me a great excuse to get in the kitchen and bake a cake for my dad. This year I decided to go for a cherry and almond cake, as this is something I have not made before. Most recipes call for using glace cherries but I wanted to try substituting these for fresh cherries as they are in season right now. This was a bit risky because using fresh fruit in cakes can affect the texture as they release water whilst the cake is baking. I decided to go for it anyway as I like to experiment a little! I halved and stoned my cherries then soaked them overnight in amaretto liqueur and a little sugar. The recipe I used contained both ground almonds and flour, but I also added almond extract to bring out the flavour of the almonds.
About 10 minutes before the cake had finished baking, I used the amaretto syrup from which the cherries had been soaked in to brush over the top of the cake in order to keep it nice and moist plus packed with almond flavour. For a bit of decoration, I drizzled glace icing over the cake- quite a nice finishing touch I thought!
The resulting cake turned out really well, and the texture was beautifully moist without being too heavy or pudding like. Most importantly, my dad thought it was delicious, but then again he says that about most things!
