Read my Blog article on “Cherry Aid” to see how you can celebrate and support National Cherry Day, and Britain’s hard working cherry farmers (see www.foodloversbritain.com). After you have bought a great big punnet, or two, of British cherries, eat one and bake with one. Here is a lovely recipe you can make either in smaller brioche fluted tins, or in mini muffin tins. You can buy baking tins from your local kitchenmonger. Buy local, buy seasonal, buy British, and God will walk with you.
Ingredients to make 8 cakes in 8 cm. diameter brioche tins with fluted edging, or 12 mini muffins
200g. unsalted butter
200g. caster sugar (I use Billingtons)
60g. plain flour
1 good, rounded teaspoon of baking powder
60g. pistacchio nuts, raw with no shells
60g. blanched almonds
zest of 1 unwaxed lemon
1 vanilla pod
2 large free range, fresh eggs
24 fresh, ripe British cherries, and extra cherries for decoration on top
Icing sugar for sifting
Method
1. Firstly, prepare all the ingredients in front of you in little bowls. Weigh and measure everything you need. Finely grind the pistacchio and almonds in a food processor, until they resemble a gritty powder. Zest the lemon. De-seed the vanilla pod, and put the empty vanilla pod in the sugar bowl, to make vanilla sugar. Beat the eggs, with the vanilla seeds. Using a paring knife, remove the stones from the cherries, and set aside the flesh.
2. Pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees C. Butter the brioche tins, or the muffin tins.
3. In a little sauce pan, melt the butter very gently so it does not burn.Pour the butter from the saucepan into a mixing bowl. Add the sugar and mix well (I use a hand held electric mixer, or a Kitchen Aid, but a wooden spoon will do as well ). Add the beaten eggs with the vanilla seeds and continue mixing, for 2-3 minutes.You want to incorporate as much air as possible.
4. Add the dry ingredients: flour, ground nuts, lemon zest, baking powder and sliced cherry pieces. Fold all the dry ingredients in very well, to ensure you keep the mix light and fluffy.
5. Spoon the cake mixture into the prepared muffin or brioche tins. I place my brioche tins on a baking tray, for ease of transport to and from the oven. Do not fill the tins too much, as the mixture will rise during baking. Bake for approximately 20 minutes, keeping a close eye, as they do brown quite quickly.
6. When the cakes are ready, they will feel firm and springy to the touch, and they will have a lovely nutty brown colour to them. Leave to cool for a few minutes in the tin. Using a sharp, pointed knife, go around the edges with the point to ease the cake out of the tin. Cool the warm cakeson a wire rack. Dust with icing sugar, and decorate with fresh cherries.
Further reading:
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