RECIPE: CHERRY CAKE

Oh la la! What a rich and yummy cake. This is definitely a keeper and I believe even without the cherries, as a pure butter cake, it will still be delicious. My only issue is with the aesthetics of the cake; the cherries have the tendency to sink. Oh well, a minor issue - totally overcomed by its taste!


Ingredients

170g plain flour
Pinch of salt
1 tsp baking powder
250g butter
200g caster sugar
5 eggs (see my GLOSSARY post on EGGS)
1 tsp vanilla essence
100g fresh cherries – pitted and sliced (see my GLOSSARY post on CHERRIES)
Extra cherries – halved (to decorate – optional). See Note 1

Method

Preheat oven to 160°C. Line and grease an 18 cm square/round tin.

Sift the flour, salt and baking powder into a bowl. Set aside.

Beat the butter and sugar until very creamy. Add in the eggs, one at a time, and beating well after each addition. Lastly add in the vanilla essence and beat for 1 minute.

Add the sliced cherries into the flour mixture. Distribute the cherries evenly thoughout the flour and fold the flour gradually into the butter mixture. In other words, using a spatula or large spoon, gradually mix in the flour mixture.

Bake in the oven for 45 mins to an hour (See Note 2). Cool in the tin for 10 mins. Remove from the tin and further cool the cake on a wire rack.


Note 1

Place the halved cherries on top of the cake after 10 minutes of being in the oven. This SHOULD prevent the cherries from sinking to the bottom. However, do be careful as removing the cake from the oven may cause the cake to slightly ‘drop’ in the middle.

Note 2

This is a very moist cake and has the tendency to be still ‘wobbly’ eventhough it is cooked. If a cake tester comes out clean when inserted into the cake (make sure that you do not skewer the cherries as this will give you a false reading) and the cake has ‘left’ the sides of the tin, it is cooked. It will ‘firm’ up after it has cooled.

VG’s Rating: 4 Stars