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.
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
Maria says
Very tasty and didn’t last in the cake tin for long. Just one query, both my daughter and I have made this cake using different ovens – both cakes sunk a little in the centre – any hints please?
Charlotte Oates says
The slight dip in the middle is unfortunately a quirk of this recipe. I’ve thought about going in to fix it, but everyone seems to love the flavour and texture of the cake so much that no-one seems to want me to change it to correct the problem.
Sandra says
Absolutely delicious! Made it in a loaf tin for convenient slicing and it worked perfectly. Thanks for the recipe. Will be making again and again!
Neil says
Excellent. Put some chocolate ganache on top. Just the thing in lockdown.
Caroline Bowen says
Can, I do this in loaf tin
Charlotte Oates says
I’ve not tried it but it should work as they’re a similar depth to the round tin I use.
Ruth says
I made it in a loaf tin.
It was delicious
Gemma B says
Our favourite ‘go to’ cake for afternoon tea! Easy and delicious – highly recommend.
Sue Lloyd says
Have made this today and added a layer of giant Bournville chocolate buttons on top of the marzipan, delicious!
Margaux Meakin says
Made this for Valentines day!It was a success with all the family, so yummy. I put some extra marzipan around the sides to decorate and add some more sweetness (to my personal taste and preference) will 100% make again.
Zoe Xydias Nicolaou says
Can fresh fruit b used instead of glace cherries?
Charlotte Oates says
I haven’t tried it with fresh cherries, but I have with fresh raspberries and it worked just as well. If you have a look through the comments, you’ll also find some from others that have switched in fresh cherries and have had a very successful result.
Lily says
Is cake is lovely and I send it to all my friends thank you.
Hayley says
This looks lovely…. just taken it out the oven can’t wait to try it. If it’s like the other recipes I’m sure it will be divine. Fabulous recipes.. Thank you
Lesley says
Loved this cake with it’s squidgy centre , I did substitute a well drained tin of cherries for the glacé ones and it worked well , yummy.
Rio cook says
Delicious cake. I made it with Doves gluten free SR flour, and dairy free margerine and added 2 tbsp of oat milk. Many thanks for recipe.
Oakleigh says
An amazing cake that I’ve made on numerous occasions following demand from all of the family. We all absolutely love the combination of almonds, marzipan and cherries and it bakes perfectly.
Lesley A says
Worked perfectly using both gluten free and traditional flour. Absolutely delicious. I used a jar of black cherries in syrup which I think is better than the glacé version.
Kitty says
Absolutely delicious; our new special occasion cake. Thank you very much.
Steph Corrin-Pendry says
Absolutely delicious, easy to follow recipe, and makes a lovely dessert with cream or ice cream, and just perfect with a cup of tea. I made one this year instead of Christmas cake, and found it worked really well converted to cup cakes with small balls of marzipan and chopped cherries last summer. An absolute winner in my book!
Thank you so much for sharing Charlotte, I’m looking forward to trying some of your other recipes now! ☺️
Margaret Hamilton says
First time I have made this, have made a similar one with raspberries. Will this freeze okay as I would like it for over the festive season.
Charlotte Oates says
It should be fine
Kevin Johnson says
An excellent cake. I was worried that the mix appeared to be very thick but it cooked well and tastes great.
Belinda says
I absolutely love this recipe. The cake is delicious and it never lasts for very long! Easy to follow and never a flop.
Pam says
Cherry cakes always have the problem of the cherries dropping to the bottom but the marzipan stops that happening. I made the cake without adding the cherries and then pushed them into each layer. Worked a treat. Genius!