CHERRY SWIRL, ALMOND LOAF CAKE: It’s cherry season! …and what better way to en…

CHERRY SWIRL, ALMOND LOAF CAKE:
It’s cherry season! …and what better way to enjoy them than in cake form?! As requested by quite a few of you in DMs here’s the recipe for the next loaf cake in my swirl series! I like to top this one with white chocolate stars (a white chocolate drizzle would also work) and fresh cherries ?
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Don’t forget you can see how I make a swirl cake in my highlight called ? Blueberry ? (lemon cake with blueberry swirl) – I use pretty much the same method for this one so it might be helpful!
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
——
INGREDIENTS & METHOD:
(For the cherry filling):
200g fresh or frozen cherries
2.5tbsp caster sugar (frozen cherries may be sweeter so adjust as needed)
1tsp vanilla
Squeeze lemon
•
– melt everything (except the lemon) in a saucepan over a low heat, squashing the cherries to get the juice out (so the sugar doesn’t burn), about 2 mins.
– turn the heat up and bring to a boil – let it go for a few mins, until it looks jammy and thick. Add a squeeze of lemon and leave to completely cool.
•
(For the actual cake – 1 standard loaf)
6oz cooking butter
6oz caster sugar
1tsp vanilla extract/paste
2tsp almond extract
•
– pre-heat oven to gas 5
– cream the above together until pale and smooth then add:
7oz self raising flour
2oz ground almonds
1tsp baking powder
2 medium eggs
•
– alternate the flour/almonds and eggs to prevent splitting then give everything a good whip until combined.
•
(For the swirl)
– remove 1/3 cake mix and pop in a separate bowl
– spoon in the thick cherry mix, reserving any liquid
– mix until combined (note: you can add a pinch of flour to prevent splitting if needed)
•
– you should now have 3 bowls: the almond cake mix, the cherry cake mix and the cherry liquid.
– line your loaf tin and add the cake mixes, alternating and swirling as you go
– see my highlight called ? Blueberry ? (lemon cake with blueberry swirl) for detailed steps
•
Oven: gas 5 for 50-55min until a bamboo stick comes out clean (check from about 45mins to be safe)