Chocolate cherry Bakewell cake

Chocolate cherry Bakewell cake

By Cassie Best
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(10 ratings)
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Prep: 25 mins Cook: 1 hr, 10 mins plus cooling

Easy

Cuts into 8-10 slices
An irresistible almond sponge, studded with juicy cherries and chocolate chunks, that'll keep in your cake tin for a few days - if it lasts that long!

Nutrition and extra info

  • without chocolate drizzle

Nutrition: per slice (10)

  • kcal490
  • fat32g
  • saturates16g
  • carbs42g
  • sugars30g
  • fibre2g
  • protein7g
  • salt0.6g
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Ingredients

  • 200g butter, softened, plus extra for greasing
    Butter

    Butter

    butt-err

    Butter is made when lactic-acid producing bacteria are added to cream and churned to make an…

  • 140g fresh cherry, halved and stoned
    Cherry

    Cherry

    che-ree

    One of the delights of the summer, cherries are much loved for their succulent texture, flavour…

  • 140g plain flour
  • 200g golden caster sugar
  • 3 medium egg
  • 1½ tsp baking powder
    Baking powder

    Baking powder

    bay-king pow-dah

    Baking powder is a raising agent that is commonly used in cake-making. It is made from an alkali…

  • 75g ground almond
  • 2 tbsp milk

    Milk

    mill-k

    One of the most widely used ingredients, milk is often referred to as a complete food. While cow…

  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 tsp almond extract
  • 200g dark or milk chocolate, chopped
  • 2 tbsp toasted flaked almond

Method

  1. Heat oven to 160C/140C fan/gas 3. Grease and line a 900g loaf tin with baking parchment. Toss the cherries in 1 tbsp of the flour, then set aside.

  2. Put the butter and sugar in a large bowl, and whisk until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, mixing well between each addition. Fold in the remaining flour, the baking powder and ground almonds. Stir in the milk, the vanilla and almond extracts, and 100g of the chocolate with a spatula. Scrape half the cake mixture into the tin, scatter half the cherries over the top, then add the remaining cake mixture and the remaining cherries. Bake for 1 hr 10 mins or until a skewer comes out clean.

  3. Cool in the tin for 10 mins, then remove and place on a wire rack to cool completely. Melt the remaining chocolate in the microwave in 20-sec bursts, then drizzle or pipe over the top of the cake and scatter with the almonds. Wait for the chocolate to set a bit before slicing. Will keep in the cake tin for up to 3 days.

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Comments (16)

Hrgoodey's picture
Hrgoodey19th Jul, 2016
3.75

This cake was a total disaster the first time I made it - complete sinkage & a greasy base! However, the flavour was delicious so I decided to try again. I followed the recipe exactly but made it in a 22cm square brownie tin & baked for 50 mins. Success! I have since made it a number of times & it's now a firm favourite.

bakingmecrazy's picture
bakingmecrazy11th Aug, 2015
5

Absolutely delicious according to all those who tasted for me. Avoided cherry sinkage by chopping into smaller pieces than recommended - this adds very little to overall time spent making and solves the problem (I would recommend sixteenths rather than halves). Mixed cherries throughout mixture which also improves aesthetics. Very easy recipe and full of flavour!

bakingmecrazy's picture
bakingmecrazy11th Aug, 2015
5

All those who sampled this cake have said it is absolutely divine. Topped with cherries dipped in dark chocolate for added luxury. Prevented cherry sinkage by cutting cherries into smaller pieces than suggested - halves are far too big, sixteenths are better and it adds very little time to overall making. Mixed cherries throughout mixture on second attempt - again much better for aesthetics. Will definitely add this to my repertoire for a repeat run.

AnnaChester's picture
AnnaChester17th Jul, 2015

My experience has also been one of 'cherry and chocolate' drop which is such a shame as the cake tastes wonderful and is just let down by its looks!
Second attempt I made a few changes - I used more flour, I cut the cherries into quarters to make them a bit lighter and I increased the cooking temp by 20 degrees.
Result! perfect to both taste and look at!!

Essexhels's picture
Essexhels26th Apr, 2015
3.75

OK so this was absolutely delicious although I was annoyed that the chocolate and cherries all sank to the bottom. However the people eating the cake thought the chocolate cherry layer was a treat and the bakewell cake itself amazing and light

rach_pach's picture
rach_pach18th Feb, 2015

This cake is delicious. We made it with gluten free flour the second time around and it was still great :)

talltone's picture
talltone25th Oct, 2014
2.5

I was a little disappointed with this, although I did use tinned cherries because I couldn't get hold of fresh. The cherries sank, even coated in flour - probably due to the soaking in syrup they'd already had. I found the cake quite dense, and not really Bakewell-esque at all. The chocolate on top felt like an after-thought. I would try scattering the almonds directly on the cake with twenty minutes of the bake to go and forgetting about the chocolate.

mcw's picture
mcw20th Sep, 2014

I have just made this cake and it is a disaster. The mixture poured out of the tin and I have ended up with a very very messy oven. I have had to through everything away. Explain where I went wrong please.

Gill87's picture
Gill876th Jul, 2014
3.75

This is a good cake which I will make again. I used chocolate chips rather than chocolate which worked well. The cake is moist with a crispy top. I put all the cherries in the middle and then pushed in a few extra halves on the top before baking. I also wish I'd used more almond extract than the recipe called for as the almond taste is getting lost by the taste of the chocolate. I would also use less chocolate next time - will definitely make it again, it's yummy.

Nico_cook's picture
Nico_cook2nd Jul, 2014

It was fab' and everybody raved about it! My boyfriend's colleagues asked for the recipe!!! I definitely think it's a complete success!

gillyflower12's picture
gillyflower1226th Jun, 2014

I wouldn't make it again.

gillyflower12's picture
gillyflower1226th Jun, 2014

I made it yesterday. It's what I call a family cake, OK. Keep the children quite until dinner time. It's stodge and a waste of very expensive cherries. I am going to palm it off to an English friend. She can give it to her farmer husband when he comes in from the fields. I will stick to Bakewell tart, much nicer.

FauxFox's picture
FauxFox22nd Jun, 2014

Easy to follow recipe with delicious results. I used jarred Morello cherries I had and dried them a little with kitchen towel before dusting them in the flour. They worked fine. To get the lovely delicate drizzled finish effect of the photo you'll need a lot less than the reserved 100g of chocolate. When I make this again I'll probably try with just 50g - much less wastage to have to eat. Definitely my favourite cake on this site so far.

kascrofton's picture
kascrofton15th Jun, 2014
5

This is my favourite cake of the moment. I grates the chocolate (hard work but I think worth it) and I think this helps and put two thirds of the cake mixture before adding the cherries. I cook in a 20cm round tin which I also prefer. Great cake and it is gone in a flash.

sophiebrown's picture
sophiebrown14th Jun, 2014
3.75

I made this cake tonight. I followed the recipe exactly. The sponge was perfect,It tasted delicious but all the cherries and chocolate chunks sunk right to the bottom! Please can you explain why this occurred

sharonfrieze's picture
sharonfrieze18th Jun, 2014

If you coat the cherries & chocolate chunks in a light coating of flour before mixing into the cake mixture they should not sink to the bottom of the cake

Questions (2)

biscuit5's picture
biscuit524th Feb, 2015

I made this cake today and had exactly the same problem as MCW in September. The mixture poured over the sides of the tin and the remaining mixture did not cook. I am a competent cook and run my own small independent coffee shop - I was so looking forward to serving this cake up. Please tell me what I have done wrong.

sophiebrown's picture
sophiebrown16th Jun, 2014
3.75

I followed this recipe to the letter and the sponge was perfect but all the fruit and chocolate sank to the bottom. Please explain why this happened and what I can do next time to prevent it from happening

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