Its been lovely warm days, sort of tea party in the garden days, and the thing about a tea party in the garden is that you need cake. Simple cake. But a luscious cake. A cake that is delicately scented with almonds, and studded with bits of bright berries or cherries. Preferably a whip-it-together sturdy little cake that you can keep on hand, for a number of days, for when that moment presents itself and you find yourself saying: please come to tea this afternoon!
So I decided to whip up this cake, based on almonds and dried fruit (I used cranberries but would have used cherries if I had had any on hand; fresh berries such as raspberries would probably be exquisite–and in addition to, or instead of, almond essence, i might put a splash of rose water, then decorate the plate with rose petals, the roses that look beautiful and smell sweet this time of year) which I thought would be tasty for a garden afternoon, or if it rained, delicious indoors, too. And as it happened, as soon as the cake was baked, I found myself issuing invitations, and piling a plate with slabs of this almondy fruity deliciousness, and then…..when my back was turned……all i can say is that Jake was so quick! whoosh, up onto the table, little snout into the cakes, dragging moist chunks away and munching them down to crumbs. It all took place in a flash–but at least I was able to save enough for our tea, and grab my camera to get a shot of Jake in action…..
But I’ll make the cake again: it was delicious. And also Jake has made me promise.
Jakes Buttery Almondy Tea Cake
Serves about 6-8, or 4 adults and 1 greedy Jack Russell
6 oz/175g softened butter (if hard, place it in a microwave for about 20 seconds)
4 oz 125 g soft golden brown sugar
4 oz/ 125g white sugar
3 eggs
7 oz/ 200g self rising flour
Pinch salt
1/4 cup sour cream, fromage frais, or Greek yogurt
3 oz/ 100g ground almonds
1/4 tsp or to taste (depending on its strength) almond essence/extract
3 oz/ 100g dried sweetened cranberries or sour cherries
Buttered and floured cake pan (about 10-12 inches in diameter)
Turn oven on to 350F.
Mix together, beating with a wooden spoon, the soft butter with the two sugars, then beat in the eggs, one at a time; when smooth-ish but looking a bit curdled, beat in the flour and salt, then the sour cream, ground almonds, and almond essence.
Pour into the prepared pan, then make a layer of the dried fruit, then pour in the rest of the batter.
Bake about 40 minutes or until the mixture seems firm and a skewer poked into it comes out clean.
Let sit a few minutes–lets say 10–then take a small knife and run it around the inside sides of the pan, then invert onto a rack. If it doesn’t want to unmold, and a bit stays behind in the pan, scrape it up and place it on top of the cake as if i belongs.
Sprinkle a generous amount of powdered/ icing sugar over the top, along with sprinkles of cinnamon. Serve warm or cool, preferably without a maurauding jack russell jumping up onto your table……