Cherry, Pistachio & Coconut Cake

This is adapted from a recipe by Honey & Co. I have wanted to try this combination of cherry, coconut and almonds as it seemed promising. And it was. It’s a wonderfully moist cake and although the recipe called for fresh-pitted cherries, I used a bag of frozen cherries, which made the whole thing a lot quicker and easier. The only drawback was that frozen cherries contain a lot of water, so the cake needs to bake for a lot longer to dry out the top, or else defrost and drain the cherries before using.

There’s’ a small amount of ground pistachios in the batter, which I substituted for finely chopped pistachios, and I quite liked the crunch they added. This is truly a rookie recipe as the cake batter is super easy to put together with no equipment.

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Cherry, pistachio & coconut cake (pictured top)
Sarit Packer uses a spice called “Mahleb” which is hard to find. It’s an almond flavoured spice extracted from cherry pits. I substituted it for a bit of crushed cardamom and vanilla mixed together. Orange blossom water would be another option. Either ways the cake is delicious, and an excellent keeper. Eat plain or serve with some crème fraiche or Greek yoghurt.
Cuisine Modern British
Prep Time 15 min
Cook Time 45 min
Servings
round cake
Ingredients
Cuisine Modern British
Prep Time 15 min
Cook Time 45 min
Servings
round cake
Ingredients
Instructions
  1. Preheat the oven to 190C (170C fan) and lightly grease a 9” ring cake tin with butter.
  2. If using frozen cherries, allow to defrost and drain.
  3. Mix all the dry ingredients together in a large bowl. Pour over the melted butter and mix in the eggs.
  4. Spoon the batter into the pre-greased tin and smooth down.
  5. Place the pitted cherries on top the batter.
  6. Sprinkle the chopped nuts and the 2 tablespoons of sugar.
  7. Bake for 30-45 minutes until the cake looks a deep golden. A toothpick inserted into the centre should come out clean.
  8. Allow the cake to cool in the tin, for about 1 hour. Then gently remove by running a knife around the edges.
  9. The cake stores really well at cool temperature or in the fridge, but is best eaten at room temperature.
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