Cherry & marzipan cake
- Preparation and cooking time
- Prep:
- Cook:
- Easy
- Cuts into 12 slices
Ingredients
- 250g butter, softened, plus extra for greasing
- 175g golden caster sugar
- 5 eggs, beaten
- 250g self-raising flour, plus an extra 2 tbsp
- 1 tsp baking powder
- zest 1 orange, plus 2 tbsp of the juice
- 250g natural marzipan, coarsely grated (easiest if chilled beforehand)
- ½ tsp almond essence, optional
- 200g glacé cherry, halved
For the decoration
- 100g icing sugar, sifted
- 50g toasted flaked almond
- 12 natural glacé cherries
- zest 1 orange
Method
- STEP 1
Heat oven to 160C/fan 140C/gas 3 and butter and line a 20cm round, loose-bottomed deep cake tin. Beat the butter and sugar together with electric beaters or a tabletop mixer until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, 250g flour, baking powder, orange zest and juice and beat well till thick, creamy and evenly mixed.
- STEP 2
Toss cherries in the extra 2 tbsp flour and fold into the batter along with grated marzipan and almond essence (if using). Spoon into the prepared tin, level and bake for 1 hr 30 mins, or until well risen and golden. A skewer will come out clean when ready. Leave to cool in tin for 10 mins, then turn onto a cooling rack to cool completely.
- STEP 3
Mix the icing sugar with just over 1 tbsp water to make a loose but not-too-runny icing. Scatter the almonds over the top of the cake and position the 12 glace cherries around the edge, using a dot of the icing to fix. Drizzle the icing over the cake and finish with a scattering of orange zest.