Gochugaru Girl was paid the highest compliment by Junior Two this morning.
She said:
I am turning into my mother.
The reason she said this was not because she has decided to have her hair cut into a shorter style, or to have six cardigans or six pairs of trousers from the same shop (I hate shopping for clothes)…..or even to start watching Korean drama.
She said this because earlier in the week she made honey citron mini bundts:
I am like mum; I am not happy because the lemon cakes were not perfect. I need to make them again.
This is precisely what I am doing this afternoon – making a third cherry and almond cake. The first one was perfectly delicious and was eaten within the day by our family. However the cherries, which were halved, sank to the bottom despite my having washed the syrup off and dusted it with flour, before adding them to the cake batter.
First Cherry Cake
The second time round, I added the cherries (now cut into quarters) on top of the cake batter after it had been poured into the baking tin. I hated Physics at school, but can understand enough to work out that the rising batter might support the sinking cherries, and perhaps they will meet somewhere in the middle. This attempt at conflict resolution did not entirely work.
Second Cherry Cake
So I made a third cake, which I assumed was going to be perfect, as the cherries were cut into smaller pieces and folded into the cake batter at the last minute. The result was only slightly better than the first attempt.
The recipe I am giving below is going to be based on an imagined fourth attempt. I have run out of glacé cherries and Junior Two is now in possession of the kitchen.
I will post an update when I eventually make another cherry cake on a future occasion. If I don’t get an equal distribution of cherries then, I am calling it a day, or I am calling in Junior Two.
The almond extract is from Boyajian; I use their orange and lemon oils extensively in my baking. They cost an arm and a leg and as far as I know, there is only one supplier here in the UK, but I am sharing this because everyone who is serious about baking should try using these oils at least once.
For the Cake:
200 g glacé cherries
175 g unsalted butter, softened
150 g golden caster sugar
125 g self-raising flour
75 g ground almonds
3 eggs
2 teaspoons almond extract
You will also need a 20 cm round tin. I used my KitchenAid mixer, although it is perfectly possible to use a hand-held electric mixer.
How to Make:
Preheat the oven to 180°C/ 350ºF/ Gas 4. Grease and line the baking tin.
Rinse the syrup from the cherries and dry with a paper towel. Quarter the cherries and roll them in one tablespoon of flour.
In a large mixing bowl, beat together the butter and sugar until the mixture becomes pale in colour and lighter in texture.
Sieve in the flour and ground almonds, then add in the eggs and almond extract.
Continue beating on a medium speed until everything is incorporated.
Using a spatula, scrape half the cake batter into the cake tin.
Gently fold the cherries into the remaining cake batter.
Now add this mixture on top of the cake batter already in the cake tin.
Bake in the preheated oven for 55 minutes, or until the cake bounces back when touched. A metal skewer inserted in the centre should come out clean.
Leave the cake to cool slightly in the tin before turning out onto a wire cooling rack to cool completely.
The cake will slice into 8 thick or 12 medium-sized slices – perfect with a cup of English tea in the afternoon.
Third Cherry Cake
