Cherry Bakewell cake

  • Serves 10
  • Preparation Time 10 Minutes
  • Cooking Time 40-45 Minutes
  • Approximately 370 calories per serving

Vegan, vegetarian, egg-free and milk-free

In our house Cherry Bakewell is such a favourite flavour.

Over the years I have made many Bakewell related goodies such as tarts, Victoria sponge, hot cross buns, ice cream, and cake. They were always winners and are devoured with pleasure, not a crumb left to go stale.

This was my first attempt of a free from one, I wanted it to be both vegan and gluten-free. I love a challenge and have experimented with a lot of cake recipes, some not so successful. This one both satisfied and passed the test with non-vegans who could taste no difference

Baking without gluten requires a different approach and for me I find I get the best results in making sure I use a good quality gluten-free flour. I have baked this cake with both Doves Farm flour and my version of a cake flour mix which I have been working on. Each produced lovely cakes with great texture.

Glace cherries are the bane of my life in baking but I adore them. It is a fine line with having the cake with the right structure to hold them in place in the cake. I find rinsing the syrup off them, drying and then coating in flour usually produces the best results, although the other day they all lay along the bottom of the baked cake. This day it was an epic fail on the cherry front.

I hope you love this cake as much as my family does. It really is so simple to make and it is nice for once to not need an electric mixer. Just a bowl, jug and a wooden spoon.

Ingredients

  • 200g self-raising flour (gluten-free if needed)
  • 150g ground almonds
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 200g caster sugar
  • 120ml melted coconut oil
  • 280 ml almond milk
  • 2 tsp almond extract
  • 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
  • 200g glace cherries rinsed and dried

For the top 2-3 tbsp icing sugar, 1/2 tsp almond extract and a handful of flaked almonds.

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 180C/ Gas mark 4 and line a 2lb loaf tin or a 9 inch round cake tin.
  2. Put the dried cherries in a small bowl and add a little flour, stir until the cherries are coated.
  3. Add all of the dry ingredients together and sift into a large bowl.
  4. In a measuring jug add the milk and the rest of the wet ingredients and stir to combine.
  5. Slowly add the wet mix to the dry and mix well to combine. If the mixture is too dry then add a little more milk. You do not want this mixture too runny as it will not hold the cherries and they will all sink to the bottom, as you can see in the bottom picture. Although it still tastes gorgeous it is nice to see the cherries dotted through the cake. Then fold in the cherries and quickly pour the mixture into the tin and put it into the oven.
  6. Bake the cake for 40 minutes and then check to see if it is cooked through by placing a metal skewer in the cake. If it comes out clean then remove from the oven. If not give the cake another five minutes cooking time.
  7. Leave to cool in the tin for 30 minutes and then place on a cooling rack and wait until it is completely cool before decorating it.
  8. Mix the icing sugar, almond extract and a few drops of water until you have a thick icing, but loose enough to drizzle over the top of the cake. Scatter the flaked almonds over the top. Wait for the icing to set and then it is ready to devour.

If you like this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Twitter as @veganalchemist1 or my Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/thegfveganalchemist Iwould love to see seeing your versions of the recipes from the blog. All your comments and suggestions are welcome.

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