Читать книгу Cake Angels: Amazing gluten, wheat and dairy free cakes - Julia Thomas - Страница 17

Traditional cherry & almond cake

A truly traditional tea-time cake, this is wonderfully crunchy on top with a crispy edge and melt-in-the-mouth texture. My grandmother used to make this cake when she had guests for tea, and just the smell of it baking brings back memories of long summer holidays spent with my grandparents in Frinton-on-Sea.

serves: 8

preparation: 25 minutes

baking: 1 hour

cooling: 35 minutes

freeze: Yes

250g (9oz) natural colour glacé cherries

100g (3½oz) ground almonds

185g (6½oz) wheat- and gluten-free self-raising flour

1 tsp xanthan gum

200g (7oz) dairy-free spread

200g (7oz) caster sugar

3 large eggs, beaten

Finely grated zest and juice of 1 lemon

6 white sugar cubes, crushed

equipment

20cm (8 inch) deep cake tin

* Preheat the oven to 180°C/160°C fan/Gas 4. Grease the cake tin, then line the base with baking parchment.

* Wash the sticky syrup off the cherries by rinsing them under the tap, then dry and chop into quarters. Mix the cherries with the ground almonds and 1 tablespoon of the flour.

* Sift the remaining flour and xanthan gum into a separate bowl.

* Using a hand-held electric mixer on a high setting, cream the dairy-free spread and sugar together for about 3 minutes until light and fluffy.

* Gradually add the beaten eggs on a medium speed setting, mixing well between each addition. Don’t worry if the mixture curdles slightly; just turn the mixer setting up to high for a couple of seconds and the mixture will become smooth again.

* Fold in the sifted flour and xanthan gum using a large metal spoon so you don’t knock the air out. Slowly fold in the cherry and ground almond mixture, again using the large metal spoon. Finally, fold in the grated lemon zest and juice.

* Spoon the mixture into the prepared tin and level out with the back of a dessert spoon. Make a small dip in the middle to stop the cake peaking during baking. Sprinkle the crushed sugar cubes evenly over the mixture.

* Bake for approximately 1 hour or until the cake is beginning to shrink away from the sides of the tin and is golden brown in colour. Remove from the oven and leave to cool in the tin for 15 minutes, then remove from the tin and cool completely on a metal cooling rack.

tip: Always wash the syrup off glacé cherries before using in baking. This stops them from sinking to the bottom of the cake.