Cherry and almond cake

Ingredients:

■ 220g pitted fresh cherries

■ 225g self-raising flour

■ 160g butter, softened ■ 160g caster sugar ■ 3 large eggs ■ 25g ground almonds

■ 1 tsp vanilla extract

Method:

■ Preheat the oven to 180°C. Grease and line a 7-inch cake tin.

■ Sift the self-raising flour into a large mixing bowl, add the softened butter, caster sugar, eggs, ground almond and vanilla extract and mix with a whisk. Mix until just combined, then add the pitted cherries. You can cut the cherries in half or quarters before adding to the cake batter.

■ Pour the cake batter into the prepared cake tin and make a dip in the centre of the cake before putting into the preheated oven to bake for 45-50 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean when put in the centre of the cake.

■ The dip in the cake batter will make sure that the cake has an even surface and does not form a dome, while baking.

■ Let the cake cool slightly before removing from the cake tin. Once cool, store in an airtight container. You can keep it for up to a week. Serve with a cup of tea.