Cherry Bakewell Loaf

It's the week after a Bank Holiday weekend, so I think we all need a little pick me up to get you through it.

And I have just the thing. This is a delightful little loaf. Perfect for an afternoon tea tray. It’s dense and nutty and not too sweet. I adapted this from a Nigella recipe, and I added a little extra sweetness (as is my wont) by drizzling some icing sugar on top to recreate the Bakewell Tart flavours I wanted.

I adore the individual components in a bakewell tart- the flaky pastry, nutty almonds, zingy cherries and sweet white icing, but they really sing when they’re all together.

But making a tart is kind of time consuming. And making a loaf cake is not. And sometimes you want (NEED!) something quick and sweet, but also homemade and lovely.

Ingredients

• 150g glace cherries
• 250g plain flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 225g butter
• 175g caster sugar
• 3 eggs, beaten
• 100g ground almonds
• 50g ground almonds
• 1/3 cup milk
• 100g icing sugar

Method

Preheat the oven to 160 degrees Celsius and grease and line a loaf tin.

Halve the cherries, toss in a little bit of flour and set aside.

Cream the butter and sugar and add in the eggs. Mix in the ground almonds, flour and baking powder and mix well.

Fold in the cherries, half the sliced almonds and then finally the milk.

Pour into the prepared tin.

Bake for 45-60 minutes.

Meanwhile, place the icing sugar in a bowl and add just enough water to make a thick, pouring consistency.

Allow the loaf to cool in the tin for 20 minutes or so, and then remove to a cooling rack. Drizzle over the icing sugar mixture, scatter over a few sliced almonds and allow to cool completely before slicing and serving.