Old-fashioned Cherry Cake Recipe

I tried many cherry cake recipes and frequently ended up with the cherries at the base instead of suspended in the cake. However, I find Delia Smith's Old-Fashioned Cherry Cake recipe to be the best. My whole family love it....and it does not last long...that's how tasty it is! Try and find out for yourself!

Ingredients:

225g butter at room temperature

225 caster sugar

4 large eggs, lighly beaten

225 plain flour

half a teaspoon baking powder

250g glace cherries,quartered

110g ground almonds

a few drops of almond essence

2 level tablespoons demerara sugar

1 tablespoon milk

Pre-heat the oven to gas mark 180 degrees Celsius.

Need round cake tin, 8 inches in diameter and 4 inches deep.

Line the base and sides of the tin with greaseproof paper or baking parchment, then grease the paper.

Cream the butter and sugar together until light,pale and fluffy. Now gradually beat in the whisked egg a little at a time. Then sift the flour and baking powder together, carefully fold this into the creamed mixture using a wooden spoon. Toss the quartered cherries in together with the ground almonds, and carefully fold these into the cake, adding one or two drops of almond essence and the milk. Now spoon the cake mix into the prepared tin, level off to top with the back of a spoon, then sprinkle with the demerara sugar.

Bake the cake in the centre of the over for 1 hour, cover with foil and continue cooking for a further 30 minutes, or until the cake has shrunk away from the side of the tin and the centre is springy to touch. Cool the cake in the tin for 15 minutes before turning it out on to a wire rack to cool. Store in a tin.