I have a nostalgic fondness for this yellow slab punctuated by waxy halves of scarlet cherries - the cake we called station cake at home - but this is best with those dark and glossy natural-coloured glace cherries.
Recipe posted by Nigella
CHERRY ALMOND LOAF CAKE
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Ingredients
Switch to Cup Measures- 200 grams natural-coloured glace cherries
- 250 grams self-raising flour
- 225 grams butter (softened)
- 175 grams caster sugar
- 3 large eggs (beaten)
- 2 drops almond essence (or 3 drops)
- 100 grams ground almonds
- 6 tablespoons milk
Method
- Preheat the oven to 170ºC/gas mark 3. Halve the cherries, wash them in a colander under cold water, then pat them dry, toss them in some flour and shake well to get rid of excess.
- Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Gradually add the beaten eggs and almond essence, then gently fold in the flour and ground almonds. Fold in the cherries and then the milk and spoon the thick mixture into a lined and buttered loaf tin (23 x 13 x 7cm) and bake for ¾-1 hour, or until a cake-tester comes out clean.
- As with all of these sorts of cakes, leave in the tin on a wire rack until completely cooled.
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I have tried to make this cake twice, using different ovens and following the recipe exactly; but both times it has been disastrous! There seems to be too much liquid and I can't get it to cook, even after an hour and a quarter it was extremely soggy in the middle, but crisp on the outside. Apart from a slice at each end, it was inedible. I'd really like to make this successfully and wonder if you can give me an idea about what I am doing wrong - or is there an error in the recipe?
Posted by cmhunter on 5th Aug 2011 at 20.11
I made it with 125g of butter not 225g and it was lovely, perfectly cooked..
Posted by Fi Sothcott on 8th Oct 2012 at 14.34
i halved this recipe, used only one egg and spooned them into cupcake liners. loved it!
Posted by selena.s on 29th Oct 2012 at 14.12
I tried this recipe today. I am quite a beginner at baking and it turned out wonderful. I had to bake for closer to 1 hour and a quarter for it to cook fully inside. The boyfriend i'm sure will demolish this within a couple of days!
Posted by Taradelf on 4th Mar 2013 at 16.52
I have just made this cake. I never knew that rinsing the cherries and dusting them in flour would stop them from sinking. Worked perfectly and a top tip to remember. Needed quite a bit longer than stated for it to be cooked, took about 80 minutes in my oven. Delicious. Will be making again.
Posted by pearplumpie on 10th Apr 2013 at 19.02
I've read the comments that have been written by others but was not put off. I followed the recipe and method with one small difference, that was to wash dry and mix the cherries with the ground almonds before adding to the mixture. As others have stated it took about 1 hour 5 mins to cook. I used a skewer to test and returned to the oven until it was done. It looks and takes good. I'm a novice baker and a bloke so anyone should be able to follow the recipe successfully.
Posted by caretakerfrankie on 3rd May 2013 at 13.13