For the first technical challenge for the fifth series of Bake Off, the bakers had to make Marry Berry’s Cherry Cake. This challenge seems pretty simple however the main problem with the bake would be the distribution of the glace cherries in the cake. If the cherries are cut to small then they will dissolve into the cake mix and if they are not coated in flour they will sink to the bottom of the cake.
Ingredients:
Cherry Cake:
200g Glace Cherries
225g Self-Raising Flour
175g Soften Butter/Baking Spread
175g Caster Sugar
50g Ground Almonds
3 x Eggs
Zest of 1 Lemon
Decoration:
175g Icing Sugar
Juice of 1 Lemon
15g Flaked Almonds
4 x Glace Cherries
1. Pre-heat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas Mark 4. Cut the glace cherries into quarters and then rinse the glace cherries in a sieve under a tap to remove the syrup from the glace cherries. Then dry the glace cherries with kitchen roll.
2. Place the chopped glace cherries in a bowl and add 1 tablespoon of self-raising flour. Mix the glace cherries and flour together until the glace cherries are evenly coated with flour, this will help to prevent the glace cherries from sinking in the cherry cake mixture.
3. In a large mixing bowl add the softened butter/baking spread, caster sugar, self-raising flour, ground almonds, eggs and lemon zest. Mix the ingredients until they are all evenly incorporated.
4. Add the flour-coated glace cherries and fold into the cherry cake mixture.
5. Grease a 23cm/9 inch round bunt tin (or savarin tin) with plenty of butter and pour the cherry cake mixture into the tin. Spread the cherry cake mixture evenly in the tin. Bake the cherry cake for 35-40 minutes.
6. While the cherry cake is baking, place the flaked almonds in pan and heat over medium heat. Keep the flaked almonds moving in the plan (this will help to prevent the almonds from burning). Toasted the flaked almonds till they are golden brown.
7. After 35-40 minutes the cake should be golden brown and when a skewer is placed in the cherry cake, it should come out clean. Once the cherry is baked leave the cake too cool on a wire rack for 20 minutes.
8. While the cake is cooling, make the icing by placing the icing sugar and lemon juice in a bowl and mix until a thick icing forms.
9. Drizzle the icing over the cherry cake, I placed my icing into a piping bag to do this.
10. Sprinkle the flaked almonds over the cherry cake.
11. Cut the rest of the glace cherries into small pieces and scatter the glace cherries over the cherry cake.
