Wild Cherry Bakewell Cake - Recipes

One of my favourite storecupboard treasures.. Wild Cherry Jam! The process of collecting and de-stoneing thousands of little Wild Cherries isn't rewarded until you hear the pop of a lid coming off a new jar. I make a lightly spiced and what can only be described as 'moody' Wild Cherry Jam. It is simply lovely, put it into a sweet cake like this and that is Sunday afternoon looked after! Search the hedgerows and woodland this summer and find your own tree(s), its worth it for just the jam let alone a Wild Cherry Bakewell cake!!

Wild Cherry Bakewell Cake

For the cake:

200g butter, softened, plus extra for greasing

4 Large Eggs

200g golden caster sugar

100g ground almonds

100g self-raising flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 small Pinch of Salt

½ tsp almond extract (not the essence!!)

For the filling and topping

175g Wild Cherry Jam

175g icing sugar
1 tbsp Flaked almonds
6 tsp Water

Get the oven on at 180 degrees C

Prepare your cooking tins and butter and line the bases of 2 x 20cm rounds with baking paper.

Beat together all the cake ingredients until smooth and completely combined. Spoon into the tins and level the tops making sure that you have even amounts of the mixture in each tin. Bake for 30 mins or until golden and springy. Don't open the oven before 25 mins cooking time has passed, use a wooden skewer to see if the cakes are cooked through, insert the skewer into the centre of the cake if it comes out clean the cake is cooked.

When they're ready, place them onto a cooling rack and allow to cool.

When completely cooled, put one sponge on a serving plate (or cake decorating platform) and spread with jam. Sandwich the second sponge on top.

Next make the topping - sieve the icing sugar into a large bowl. Add the water and stir until smooth and thick. Spread evenly over the top and let it trickle over the sides of the sponges (elegantly if you can). Scatter with the nuts (lightly toast them if they aren't already) and leave to set for as long as you can before cutting.

Cup of tea and this cake?? Oh yes!

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