When it all goes wrong.....

Here's todays effort ~ almond & cherry bundt cake. It all went wrong, but I wanted to show it so you know that my baking is sometimes a failure. I did a pretty good rescue job on it. A shame because this is a really lovely cake and I have used that tin more times than I can remember and have never had an issue with it. This is a very traditional English kind of cake and is quite moist and not too sweet. When you have mixed it up it will seem to be quite a thick consistency, that's how it's supposed to be.

The cake, fresh from the oven ~ I greased the tin with melted butter using a pastry brush, popped it in the fridge for a few minutes and greased it again, then floured it generously. Baked then cooled in the tin for 10 minutes.

The top if the cake was left behind in the tin! Never mind, I can patch this up.

A bit of almond flavoured glace icing drizzled over and the top scattered generously with toasted flaked almonds.

There we go ~ I don't think anyone will really notice. Crisis over.


















Cherry & Almond Bundt Cake

You will need a 23cm bundt tin, well greased and floured (see pics above).

For the cake:
150g glace cherries, quartered
225g self raising flour
175g soft unsalted butter, plus extra for greasing the tin
175g caster sugar
50g ground almonds
3 large free range eggs
1 teaspoon almond extract

For the decoration:
175g icing sugar
water
15g flaked almonds, toasted
few drops almond extract

Pre heat the oven to 180deg C, 350 degF, gas mark 4.

Cream the butter for a minute or so, then add all the other cake ingredients to the bowl except for the cherries. Beat for a minute until smooth.

Spoon half the mixture into the tin and smooth it out as best you can, sprinkled the quartered cherries over the top of then put the rest of the cake mixture over the cherries, gently spread it evenly with the back of a spoon.

Pop it into the oven and bake for 35 - 40 minutes, it will be golden brown, well risen and feel pretty firm when you press it with a finger.

Leave it to cool in the tin for 10  minutes, then run a flat bladed knife around the sides of the tin. Lay a wire rack over the top of the tin and quickly invert the cake. I find a sharp tap on the bottom of the tin will (usually) release the cake. Let it cool completely, then mix the ingredients for the icing together, using just enough cold water to give a nice smooth and thick consistency. Drizzle it over the cake and sprinkle with the flaked almonds.