Old English Cherry Cake Food

MARY'S CHERRY CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 180C/160C Fan/Gas 4. Grease a 23cm/9in bundt tin or savarin mould with butter.
• Cut the cherries into quarters. Set aside five of the quartered cherries for the decoration later. Put the rest of the quartered cherries in a sieve and rinse under running water. Drain well then dry thoroughly on kitchen paper and toss in two tablespoons of the flour.
• Measure all the remaining ingredients into a large bowl and beat well for two minutes to mix thoroughly. Lightly fold in the cherries. Turn into the prepared tin.
• Bake in the preheated oven for 35-40 minutes until well risen, golden-brown and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Leave to cool in the tin for 10 minutes then turn out and cool on a wire rack.
• For the icing, mix the icing sugar together with the lemon juice to a thick paste. Drizzle over the cooled cake using the back of a spoon, sprinkle over the toasted almonds and reserved cherries.

OLD-FASHIONED CHERRY CAKE

Steps:

• Begin by preparing the cherries. If they're dripping in syrup, pat them dry with kitchen paper, then slice each one into four. For the cake, cream the butter and sugar together until light, pale and fluffy. Now gradually beat in the whisked eggs a little at a time. Then sift the flour and baking powder together, and carefully fold this into the creamed mixture using a metal spoon. Toss two thirds of the cherries together with the ground almonds and carefully fold these into the cake, adding one or two drops of almond extract and the milk. Now spoon the cake mix into the prepared tin, level off the top with the back of a spoon, then sprinkle over the remaining third of the cherries and poke them just under the surface with a teaspoon. Bake the cake near the centre of the oven for 50 minutes, then cover with foil and continue cooking for a further 10 minutes, or until the centre is springy to touch. Cool the cake in the tin for 15 minutes before turning it out onto a wire rack to cool. Store in an airtight tin.

FRESH CHERRY CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease a deep 9x13-inch baking dish.
• Whisk flour, baking powder, and salt together in a bowl.
• Place 1 cup sugar and butter in a separate bowl; beat with an electric mixer until light and fluffy, 4 to 5 minutes. Stir in milk and vanilla extract. Add flour mixture to butter mixture; mix until batter is well blended and thick, 2 to 3 minutes.
• Spread batter in the prepared baking dish; arrange cherries on top. Drizzle cherry juice over the cherries. Sprinkle remaining 1/2 cup sugar over the surface.
• Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 40 to 45 minutes.

CHERRY MADEIRA CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 180 C/350 F/160 FAN/Gas Mark 4.
• Grease the tin with the teaspoon of butter and line with baking parchment.
• Wash the cherries, cut into halves and dry on kitchen paper.
• In a food mixer or large bowl, cream the butter and sugar together until very soft and fluffy.
• Beat the eggs individually and add them one by one to the cake batter, mixing well after each addition.
• Use a tablespoon of the flour to mix with the cherries and add the rest of the flour, baking powder and the ground almonds to the batter.
• Fold in the flour mixture with a metal spoon.
• Put half of the batter in the bottom of the tin and spread into a layer.
• Push half of the cherries in and repeat.
• Bake for 50-60 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean.
• Leave it to cool for 5 minutes in the tin and then transfer to a cooling rack.
• Wait until the cake is completely cool before slicing.

EASY CHERRY CAKE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 160C/140C fan/gas 3. Line the base and sides of a 20cm deep cake tin. Beat together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, then beat in the eggs, one by one. Fold in the almond extract, flour, ground almonds and baking powder, followed by the cherries and milk.
• Scrape into the prepared tin, scatter over the flaked almonds, then bake for 1 hr-1 hr 15 mins. Cool the cake in its tin before serving.

CHERRY LOAF CAKE

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Butter a 900g loaf tin and line with baking parchment. Beat the butter and sugar together until pale and fluffy, then beat in the eggs one at a time, followed by the vanilla and almond extract (if using).
• Toss the cherries with 2 tbsp of the flour in a bowl. Tip the rest of the flour, the ground almonds, baking powder and a pinch of salt into the bowl with the sugar and eggs, and mix until just combined. Fold in the cherries and any remaining flour in the bowl. Spoon into the prepared tin and smooth over the top.
• Bake for 50-55 mins, or until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean. Leave to cool for 10 mins in the tin, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Serve as it is, or mix the icing sugar with the extract and enough milk to make a thick but pourable consistency. Drizzle over the loaf cake, and scatter over the flaked almonds to serve.

FRESH CHERRY CAKE WITH A HINT OF CINNAMON

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to fan 160C/ conventional 180C/gas 4. Grease and base line a 20cm round cake tin, about 5cm deep. Sift the flour, cinnamon and caster sugar into a bowl. Make a well in the centre and add the egg, milk and melted butter, then combine with a wooden spoon or electric whisk. Beat well to make a thick, smooth mixture. Spoon into the tin and spread evenly.
• Remove the stalks and stones from the cherries, using a pitter if you have one to keep the fruit whole. Scatter the cherries over the mixture and gently press them in.
• To make the topping, tip all the ingredients into a bowl. Rub in the butter with your fingers to make a crumb-like mixture, then work the mixture until it comes together in pea-sized pieces. Scatter the topping over the cherries.
• Bake for 30-35 minutes until a skewer pushed into the centre comes out clean. Leave in the tin until cool enough to handle, then run a knife round the edge, remove the cake from the tin and leave on a wire rack until completely cold.
• For a picnic, make the cake up to 24 hours ahead and return it to the clean tin when cold. Dust liberally with icing sugar, then wrap in cling film or foil.