An easy yet delicious Cherry Bakewell cake – thick layers of almond sponge filled with vanilla buttercream and cherry jam. Using an optional almond liqueur syrup adds to the almond flavour. If you love a Cherry Bakewell tart, you’ll love this cake!
I bake 2 separate cakes to make 2 layers of cake every time, but you could bake the whole thing as one then slice it horizontally. You’ll have to extend the baking time though and keep an eye on it to make sure it doesn’t dry out.
Using a stand mixer for this recipe means you can throw all the cake ingredients in and let the mixer do the work!
Psst…see those links? They’re Amazon affiliate links – if you click them and purchase something, I may get a tiny commission (enough for a cuppa, maybe? ☕️) at no cost to you. I only recommend products I genuinely love, so you’re in good hands!
Easy Cherry Bakewell Cake Recipe
Equipment
- Greaseproof Paper
- Small saucepan
- Piping Nozzle
- Palette Knife
Ingredients
For the Cake
- 230 grams caster sugar
- 230 grams Stork or unsalted butter, softened
- 4 medium eggs
- 250 grams self raising flour
- 50 grams ground almonds
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
For the Filling
- 400 grams icing sugar
- 200 grams butter at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 4 tablespoons cherry jam
- 12-15 glace cherries
Optional Almond Liqueur Syrup Drizzle
- 100 grams caster sugar
- 5 teaspoons water
- 5 teaspoons almond liqueur
Instructions
For the Cake
- Preheat the oven to 175ºC. Grease and line 2 x 7 inch cake tins with greaseproof paper or baking paper.
- Using a stand mixer, cream together the Stork and caster sugar until light and fluffy.
- Crack the eggs in a separate jug and add to the cake mix. Add the almond extract.
- Add the ground almonds and mix well.
- Add the self raising flour and mix until just combined. Be careful not to overmix.
- Divide the mixture into the 2 tins and bake for 30-35 minutes or until golden on top. You'll know the cakes are done when you insert a skewer into the centre of the cake and it comes out clean.
- Turn the cakes out onto a wire rack until completely cooled before you start to add the buttercream and brush with the almond liqueur syrup if you want – it's totally optional!
- To make the almond liqueur syrup, add the water, sugar and almond liqueur to a small pan. Dissolve the sugar over a low heat and the syrup is ready when you can't see or feel (with a spoon) any sugar crystals. If using the syrup on the cakes, brush the hot syrup to the cooled cakes.
For the Buttercream
- In a stand mixer, add the butter and icing sugar. Start on a low speed and gently mix until well combined.
- Add the vanilla extract and mix for a couple of minutes on medium-high speed to get nice, light buttercream.
To Assemble the Cake
- Put one of the cooled cakes on a cake board or plate the same size as the cake. Don't worry if you don't have a 7" cake board – you can use anything you have to hand.
- Spread a thin layer of cherry jam onto the cake, then add the vanilla buttercream. I like to pipe the buttercream on but if you don't have a piping bag, you can use a palette knife to spread a layer of buttercream.
- Stack the cakes, making sure they're stacked neatly above each other.
- You can either cover in a thin layer of buttercream to get a semi-naked finish, use a thicker buttercream coating or pipe some buttercream dots to the top of the cake and top with glace cherries.
Recipe Variations
If you don’t have 2 x 7 inch cake tins, divide the cake mix by 2 and bake as 2 individual cakes before cooling and stacking. This will take longer but not many people have space to store a load of cake tins! I always bake them separately as I have a small kitchen and only 1 7 inch cake tin.
The almond liqueur syrup is optional but helps to add an extra almond flavour. It’s best to apply the warmed syrup to a cooled cake, or cooled syrup to a warm cake, but don’t worry if your cake and syrup are at the same temperature.
How long will this Cherry Bakewell cake store?
Stored in an air tight container, this Cherry Bakewell cake should be good for up to 5 days. It’s a Madeira cake base and using vanilla buttercream rather than fresh cream means it doesn’t need to be refrigerated. You can also pop it in the freezer and save for up to 3 months – simple portion up, and wrap each portion in cling film. That way you can just defrost the amount of cake you need – it should thaw out in an hour or so if left at room temperature.
Some Other Easy Cake Recipes:
Apple and Cinnamon Cake with Toffee Glaze Rec
