Cherry and almond tray bake | Recipes

Ingredients

For the filling

• 300g butter
• 300g caster sugar
• 375g self raising flour
• 1 lemon, zest & juice
• 85g ground almonds
• 4 free range eggs, lightly beaten
• 25g marzipan, chilled & grated
• 2 tsp almond extract
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 3 tbsp whole milk
• 200g glacé cherries, quartered. Reserve 8 for decoration
• flaked toasted almonds

For the icing

• Fondant icing sugar
• Juice of 1 lemon

How to prepare cherry and almond tray bake

1. Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4.

2. Grease and line a square traybake tin, about 28 x 28cm, with baking parchment.

3. Put all the cake ingredients (apart from the cherries) in a large mixing bowl or tabletop mixer and beat together until thoroughly combined.

4. Toss the cherries in a little flour, then fold them into the cake mixture using a spatula.

5. Spoon the mixture into the prepared tin and bake for 30-35 mins until the cake is golden brown, springy to the touch, and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Leave to cool completely in the tin.

6. To make the icing, sift the icing sugar into a bowl, then add the lemon juice and enough water to make a thick yet fluid icing. Spoon the remaining icing over the cooled cake – it should be liquid enough to level itself out; if not, use a palette knife to smooth it.

7. Cut into squares and garnish with glace cherry quarters and toasted flaked almonds.