Almond, cherry & pineapple wreath cake

Ring cakes cook faster than traditional fruitcakes and are easy to decorate so they look festive. We used a fluted baba tin for an especially attractive result.

175g butter, softened

175g caster sugar

3 eggs, lightly beaten

1 tsp vanilla extract

1⁄4 tsp almond essence

1 lemon, finely grated zest

70g ground almonds

200g self-raising flour

3 tbsp milk

150g glace´ cherries, halved (reserve a few for decoration)

100g glace´ pineapple, coarsely chopped (reserve some for decoration) 30g blanched almonds, coarsely chopped

Icing

150g icing sugar

1 tsp butter, almost melted 1-2 tbsp warm water

Red food colour

Silver cachous for decoration

Heat oven to 170C. Grease and flour a 20cm ring tin, shaking out excess flour.

Cream butter and sugar then gradually add beaten eggs, vanilla, almond essence and lemon zest. Stir in ground almonds then fold in flour alternately with milk. Gently fold in cherries, pineapple and chopped almonds. Transfer mixture to prepared tin and bake 50-60 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the cake comes out clean. Leave to cool about 10 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Icing:

Sift icing sugar into a bowl. Combine butter and 1 tablespoon water and gradually mix into icing sugar to form a smooth paste, adding extra water if needed. Add food colour in very small amounts to reach desired hue. Drizzle icing over cake and decorate with reserved cherries and pineapple and silver cachous. Cake will keep for up to a week in an airtight container.