INGREDIENTS
Serves 6-8
CRUMBLE MIXTURE:
200g Plain flour
100g Ground almonds
200g Butter (Must be refrigerated)
100g Demerara sugar
CAKE:
200g baking fat (stork SB – must be refrigerated)
200g caster sugar
4 medium eggs
2 teaspoons Almond extract
200g self raising flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 tin of Cherry Pie filling (or jar of cherry jam)
100g Marzipan (can be either the yellow one or the natural coloured one- it doesn’t matter)
METHOD:
- Preheat the oven to 180°C/fan 160°C/gas 4
- Line and grease 2 x 20cm/8” spring form cake tins (The tins MUST be spring form or at least loose bottomed because the cake cannot be turned out upside-down once cooked …. Remember the crumble topping!!!)
For the Crumble:
- Make the crumble first, by putting butter and flour into food processor and using the blade attachment, process the mixture until fine breadcrumbs are created.
- Then process a bit more until the crumbs start to come together to form clumps, this should take no more that 30 seconds.
- Stop at this point as any further action will form short crust pastry and we don’t want that!
- Add the Demerara sugar to the crumble and mix by hand
- Leave mixture to one side whilst the rest of the cake components are prepared. If it is a hot day, store the crumble in the fridge or freezer until needed.
Note: This crumble mixture can be made in advance and stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week or freezer for up to three months.
For the cake:
- Beat the baking fat and the caster sugar until pale and fluffy.
- Beat in the eggs and almond essence into the fat/sugar mixture, loosening the mixture. (if mixture splits, a table spoon of flour should stop this)
- Sift in the flour and baking powder.
- Fold in carefully using a large spoon or spatula.
- Thoroughly incorporate the flour into the mixture ensuring no pockets of flour remain.
- The cake is now ready to be assembled
Putting the cake together:
- Divide the cake mixture equally into the two baking tins and level out
- Add 3 tablespoons of cherry pie filling or Jam on top of the cake batter and lightly swirl cherry filling around the cake batter and level out.
- Scatter 1cm cubes of marzipan around the top of the cake and poke into the batter even amounts for both cakes
- Finally, divide the crumble mix equally between the two tins and put on top of the Cherry filling.
- Bake on the middle shelf of the oven at 180°C/fan 160°C/gas 4 for 35 minutes
- After 35 minutes, check the cake is cooked through by inserting a skewer in the middle. The skewer should come out clean. If it doesn’t, put cake in for another 10 minutes and check again.
- Once the cake is cooked, remove from the oven.
- Allow the cakes to cool slightly before releasing from its tins.
- Cool cakes on cooling rack
- Decorate the top of the lower tier by drizzling lightly with extra cherry filling/jam.
- Put the upper tier on top of the 1st cake and decorate by dusting lightly with icing sugar.
- Serve warm with custard or cream or ice-cream (or all three)
- Cake can be stored refrigerated (due to fruit content) in an airtight tin for up to a week.