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
Andria says
Hi, could this be made into cup cakes, if so how long would you cook them for?
Charlotte Oates says
You can. I’d recommend baking for c. 25 minutes.
Paul Meyer says
Love this cake I use both red and green cherries I also put in sultanas makes it christmasy
Patricia Anne Rowley says
Have made this cake many times. Never fails to please. Easy recipe and quick to make. I am about to make again today
Angie says
Can you give me the U.S. Measurements by chance ??
Charlotte Oates says
Click on the big purple button saying “US cups/ounces” just below the ingredients heading.
Simran o sharma says
Nice recipe. Can we make this eggless. And how?
Charlotte Oates says
I’ve not tested it eggless so I’m not sure of the adjustments it would need sorry.
Judith says
Love this recipe, it is a firm favourite of mine and everyone I offer a piece to loves it too. I even get requests to bake it from family and friends. Going to take one with me to the dog show on Saturday to share with my new friends.
Karen Dennis says
So easy to make, easy to follow with your uploaded video
Thank you Charlotte, and thanks for the tip about leaving in the oven to cool to prevent sagging, looking forward to tasting later =D
Lynne says
The cake is very tasty. Do have one question, when you say ground almonds are you talking about almond flour?
Charlotte Oates says
Almond flour is finer than ground almonds (as the flour is ground, blanched almonds, whereas ground almonds include the darker husk). I haven’t tested the recipe using almond flour but I would expect it to work in the same way if you use the same weight.
G H says
So delicious! Just made this cake for the first time and this is going to be a favorite from now on. Thank you for sharing!
Lyn says
Having made this once it has instantly become a family favorite, all generations. Second one baking as I write. Thank you for the recipe
Emily says
This recipe was just fabulous!
Easy, delicious, and an instant crowd-favorite.
Thank you so much!
Kevin Johnson says
Thank you
Kevin Johnson says
Would it be possible to make this as individual cakes in muffin cases? If so, any tips regarding quantities for 12 cakes and cooking time would be appreciated.
Charlotte Oates says
I did make these as cupcakes, but it was a very long time ago so I hope I’ve remembered correctly.
The ingredients listed should be correct for 12 cupcakes. I think they’ll take 20-25 minutes in the oven to bake at the same temperature as given in the original recipe.
Lesley says
I’ve been making a marzipan sponge for years, but this recipe lifted it to another level! Absolutely delicious!
Linda says
Made this for my sisters 70 birthday as she loves cherries and marzipan Gorgeous having read comments about dipping in the middle I just turned off the oven and left for 20 mins and was fine
Helen says
Made this a couple of times, absolutely delicious every time!
Anne Ashmore says
Exellent recipe is it meant to sink in the middle after baking on cooling
Charlotte Oates says
I’m not sure it’s “meant” to, but it always does for me. I sometimes think about going back and reworking the recipe to fix the issue with the middle dipping a little, but it gets such great feedback on the flavours I just don’t want to change it.
Cynthia Caton says
Another lovely cake from your recipes, delicious
Jay says
Really good. Actually looks quite professional too!
Katy Deboo says
Hi Charlotte, can you please let me know if this recipe can be made in a 2lb loaf tin? As I don’t have a round cake tin.
Or, could it be made in a large square 26cm x 23cm tray?
Also, do I need to adjust the recipe in any way or baking time?
Regards Katy
Charlotte Oates says
I’ve not tested it in a loaf tin, but other commenters have said that they’ve tried it and it worked well.
Jill Jones says
This is my favourite cake recipe ever and I pretty much make this cake once a week. It’s absolutely delicious. Marzipan and cherries together is the best combination.