Delicious almond sponge with cherries and a layer of gooey marzipan in the centre.
Tomorrow there is a coffee morning at my son’s school, as at many other places around the country, to raise money for Macmillan. I’ll be going along to support the school and this brilliant charity and I’ll be doing my bit by drinking lots of tea and coffee and sampling lots of cake!! This year I’m taking this marzipan and cherry cake as my contribution to the baking.
I’m really hoping my cake this year is more successful than last year’s effort – coffee cake with white chocolate icing. The cake tasted delicious, the problem was that I didn’t put the tin lid on properly.
That combined with the fact that I tripped as I was walking out of the front door meant that the cake ended up all over my hall floor rather than in the school hall where it should have been (actually there were three pieces that managed to stay in the tin, but I wasn’t sure I could turn up with three pieces of slightly battered looking cake so I ate them at home!).
Since then I’ve invested in a much sturdier cake tin and I’ll be wearing sensible shoes, so fingers crossed no mishaps tomorrow.
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Marzipan and Cherry Cake
INGREDIENTS
- 150 g unsalted butter - softened
- 2 large eggs
- 150 g caster sugar
- 150 g self raising flour + a little extra for dusting the cherries
- 150 g ground almonds
- 25 g flaked almonds
- 1 tsp almond extract
- 150 g glacé cherries
- 150 g marzipan
- A little icing sugar – to help roll out the marzipan
RECIPE VIDEO
INSTRUCTIONS
- Pre-heat the oven to 180°C/160°C fan
- Butter and line a deep 18cm cake tin – alternatively I use Delia Bake-O-Glide reusable cake tine liners which don’t need to be buttered
- Beat the butter (150g) and caster sugar (150g) until light and fluffy
- Add the eggs one at a time, and beat well after after adding the first egg before adding the second.
- Add the almond extract (1 tsp)
- Fold in the self-raising flour (150g) and ground almonds (150g)
- Prepare the cherries by cutting half (75g) in half, keeping the other half (75g) whole
- In a seperate bowl, sprinkle a little flour over the cherries and mix to lightly coat the cherries – coating the cherries in flour will help to stop them sinking to the bottom of the cake when it bakes
- Fold the cherries into the cake mixture
- Roll out the marzipan (150g) into a circle roughly the same size as the tin – sprinkle a little icing sugar on the worktop and rolling pin to prevent the marzipan from sticking
- Spoon half the mixture into the prepared tin and even out the top
- Lay the marzipan on top of the mixture in the cake tin then add the other half of the mixture and even out the top.
- Scatter over the flaked almond (25g)
- Bake for approximately 50 minutes – You can use a skewer to check if it’s done, however a little of the marzipan may stick to the skewer meaning it doesn’t come out clean even when the cake is cooked.
- Once baked, remove from the oven and leave to cool in the tin for about 20 minutes, remove from the tin and transfer to a cooling rack and allow to cool completely (although the cake tastes delicious eaten warm.
NOTES
NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION
Any nutritional information provided is the estimated nutritional information per serving. Please refer to my guide to Charlotte’s Lively Kitchen nutritional information if you would like to learn more about how this is calculated.
Free From/Suitable For…
The ingredients I used to make this recipe are all free from the following allergens. However, please check any labels carefully for allergens you need to avoid as brands can vary and product recipes can change over time.
- Suitable for Vegetarians
- Peanut-Free (contains Tree Nuts)
- Sesame-Free
- Soya-Free
- Fish-Free
- Crustacean-Free
- Mollusc-Free
- Celery-Free
- Mustard-Free
- Lupin-Free
Sophia says
Ive been baking this cake for years now and it NEVER disappoints, its my goto cake for sure and always a crowd pleaser.
Sunflower says
I love your cakes, I’ve never baked one that I haven’t enjoyed. Not baked this but I know it will be lovely. I’m making a selection of your cakes for a party. They all freeze well.
Fiona Nicholson says
Do you put the cake on the top of the oven or the middle?
Charlotte Oates says
The middle is usually the safest option if you are unsure.
Paulette B says
This is the best cake I have ever tasted. My partner and I love it so much I had to stop making it so often to save ourselves. It’s a bakewell tart in a cake and on another level.
Annette Holbrook says
Hi Charlotte,
I have baked this cake before and it was enjoyed by all, however yesterday I baked it, and it turned out really heavy.
It feels quite hard, any ideas as to why it may have turned out this way, I baked it as a loaf this time and added a few more minutes baking times, as you would.
Wonderful recipes you supply, always enjoyed by family & friends.
Annette
Charlotte Oates says
Unfortunately t does sound like the change to a loaf tin may have been the change that affected the consistency to the cake. As I haven’t tested this baking method, I couldn’t tell you exactly what adjustments are best to make or if it is best avoided at all.
Karen says
Have made this many times. Anything with marzipan, cherries and almond always a winner in our house! Easy and always a success. I’ve found the recipe perfect..timings just right for my oven. I freeze left over Christmas cake marzipan in 150g balls so that I have the correct amount for the recipe. Thank you Charlotte for such a delicious cake.
JULIE FISHER says
Baked by a friend as a thank you for my husband.
Oh wow, absolutely delicious . Now I’m going to make it for us.
I fear I am creating a rod for my own back
Rosalie Walther says
I’m making this cake for my partner’s birthday and the mixture seems really thick to me not runny like normal cake mix. Is this correct?
Charlotte Oates says
To be honest there is no “normal” cake mix texture, the thickness is going to be different depending on the recipe. This is a fairly thick batter so I don’t think you have any reason to worry!
Vivien says
Beautiful and delicious but can you freeze this cake
Charlotte Oates says
Thank you and yes you can, just make sure it is well wrapped and ideally kept in a zip lock bag or sealed container.
Mark says
Great recipe……out of the oven for.30 minutes we all finished it with cold custard….never even got the chance to eat it as a cake. so delicious hot…..making another at the weekend but will let it cool this time .
Viv says
Can you freeze this cake
Charlotte Oates says
Yes, just make sure it is well wrapped and ideally kept in a zip lock bag or sealed container.
Stephanie Spano says
I keep going back to this recipe as I know it will definitely be a family favorite. I haven’t made it yet because I really do need the measurements in customary, which is what is used here in the United States.
Would you please be so kind to translate units and oven temperatures!
Thank you so much.
Charlotte Oates says
You can find my grams to cups guide here https://charlotteslivelykitchen.com/grams-to-cups-conversions/
Ernmare says
I made this cake today, it was delicious! As others noted, the mix seemed very stiff before baking, so I folded in 4 tablespoons of milk.
I also used soft baking margerine instead of butter for economy, and I used a 2lb loaf tin, with the block marzipan cut to size. I would advise using a long strip of lining paper, protruding a few inches at either end for ‘handles’ to extract the cake from the tin, so all the flaked almonds don’t fall off!
Thanks for the recipe.
Cakie Steve says
Wow what a delicious way of using up leftover cherries and marzipan, an amazing recipe I did add a couple of tablespoons of milk to the mixture as mine seemed quite thick so the milk made it a bit more pliable when it came to putting it into the baking tin
Sadly it did not last long once baked so unctuous.
Neil says
Really good. I have made it a couple of times. I even topped one with chocolare ganache to be super bad.
Cakie Steve says
Was looking for a recipe which would use up some leftover ingredients from some Christmas cakes I had made this year , so this recipe was ideal Marzipan, Cherries, and Almonds so this was ideal , I have to say I found the mixture to be a bit on the stiff side so added a couple of tablespoons of milk just to make the mixture a bit more pliable, popped it in a fan oven set at 155 degrees as opposed to the 160 degrees 50 minutes later perfection I did use 200gram of Cherries just to use the whole tub up but wow delicious and so moorish very impressed thank you for the recipe Charlotte .
Janis says
This cake is so ‘Yes’ for a cold, damp winter’s day. A nice cup of tea , chat with family or a good friend by the fire and a slice of this delicious cake.
Thank you for this lovely recipe, been making it for last couple of years in the winter-time , loved by us all.
Catriona Morgan says
Absolutely love this recipe but in these economically straightened times I substituted half the ground almonds with fine cornmeal. Worked a treat! Still tasted very almondy.