Sunday afternoons are what i enjoy most, the Sunday roast gets put in the oven about 3pm and then its time to get out and about with Belle.
This Sundays walk was better than usual as Lillie joined me, this doesnt happen often as she spends most afternoons on Skype or Facetime catching up with her friends.
As we walked and chatted we discovered a new route and decided we would have a bit of a look around, Lillie to her amazement found eight cherry trees and decided she was going to pick some for Zoe, her Mam.
" Dad chuck me up the tree"
" Dad give me a bunk-up"
" Dad grab the branch" this is what i done and the picking began.
After about 30 minutes of having a laugh and generally enjoying the simple things in life, Lillie had filled her small bag, this was when she decided to call it a day.
On the walk home we talked about the trees we had found and what we could do with the cherries from them.
This got me thinking of an old recipe i had once used with great results so i thought i would share it with you today, please find it below
Cherry Bakewell cake
For the cake
200g butter, well softened, plus extra for greasing
200g golden caster sugar
100g ground almonds
100g self-raising flour
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp almond extract or essence
4 large eggs
For the filling and top
½ a 340g jar morello cherry conserve
175g icing sugar
5-6 tsp water or lemon juice
1 tbsp ready-toasted flaked almonds
Method
Heat oven to 180C/fan 160C/gas 4 and make sure there’s a shelf ready in the middle. Butter and line the bases of 2 x 20cm round sandwich tins with baking paper.
Using electric beaters, beat together all the cake ingredients with a pinch of salt until smooth, then spoon into the tins and level the tops. Bake for 30 mins or until golden and springy. Don’t open the oven before 25 mins cooking time has passed.
When they’re ready, cool the sponges for a few mins, then tip out of the tins and cool completely on a wire rack. Make sure the top of one of the cakes is facing up as you’ll want a smooth surface for the icing later on.
When cool, put one sponge on a serving plate, then spread with jam. Sandwich the second sponge on top. Sieve the icing sugar into a large bowl. Add the water or lemon juice, then stir until smooth and thick. Spread evenly over the top and let it dribble over the sides. Scatter with the nuts and leave to set for a few mins before cutting.
