Cherry, almond and honey upside-down cake

Living in Kent I am very lucky to have an abundance of cherries in the season and as much as I like to enjoy them as is, they are great in bakes too. This very delicately flavoured cake is a crowdpleaser. Not only is it easy to make, it also somehow tastes of long summer evenings. Enjoy warm with a scoop of ice cream, or serve with some crème fraîche.

SERVES 10–12

220g (7 3/4 oz) unsalted butter, softened, plus more for the tin

250g (9oz) cherries, halved

70g (2 1/2 oz) flaked almonds

200g (7oz) runny honey, plus 2–3 tablespoons, to glaze

100g (3 1/2 oz) golden caster sugar

100g (3 1/4 oz) ground almonds

120g (4 1/4 oz) self-raising flour

4 large eggs

Preheat the oven to 180C (350F), Gas Mark 4. Butter a 25cm (10 inch) springform round cake tin and line the base with nonstick baking paper. Place the cherries, cut-sides down, in the prepared tin. Sprinkle some of the flaked almonds in between the cherries.

Put all the ingredients for the cake, except for the remaining flaked almonds, in a bowl and whisk for 2 minutes with an electric whisk until the batter is creamy and fluffy. You can also use a food mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Now add the rest of the flaked almonds and fold them in. Pour the batter into the prepared tin and bake for 40–45 minutes until a skewer inserted comes out clean.

Let the cake sit in the tin for 5 minutes, then turn it out onto a plate and carefully peel off the baking paper.

Warm the 2–3 tablespoons honey until it’s runny and spreadable and brush this over the cherries. This will keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3–4 days. Bring it to room temperature before serving.

This recipe is from Chetna’s Easy Baking by Chetna Makan.

If you liked this recipe, check out this raspberry and rose gin mille feuille from The Pastry School by Julie Jones.