Fresh Cherry Loaf Cake

Serves	Makes 10 to 12 slices
Prep time	10 minutes
Cook time	1 hour
Total time	1 hours, 10 minutes
Allergy	Egg, Wheat
Dietary	Vegetarian
Meal type	Dessert, Snack
Misc	Child Friendly, Freezable, Pre-preparable, Serve Cold, Serve Hot
Occasion	Birthday Party, Casual Party, Formal Party
Region	British
By author	Karen S Burns-Booth

A cheery cherry cake that will delight all who eat it whilst the cherry season is in full swing! You can substitute glacé cherries if you cannot source fresh cherries and also add a drop of almond essence to the cake batter for a wonderful taste combination.

Ingredients

225g butter, softened
225g caster sugar
4 eggs, beaten
225g self-raising flour
350g fresh cherries, pitted
Icing sugar

Note

Directions

Step 1	Pre-heat oven to 180C/350F/Gas mark 4 and grease and/or line a 2lb (1kilo) loaf tin.
Step 2	Beat the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy and then add the beaten eggs and a little flour bit by bit, gently folding them in after each addition.
Step 3	Make sure the cherries are dry and not wet, and then fold them into the cake mixture.
Step 4	Spoon the cake mixture into the prepared loaf tin and bake for 1 hour, or until the cake is well risen and when a skewer is inserted into the middle of the cake, it comes out clean.
Step 5	Leave to cool the cake in the tin for a few minutes, and then turn the cake out of the tin and cool on a wire rack. Sprinkle the icing sugar over the top and cut into slices to serve. (Can be served warm with cream too).
Step 6	Note – as the cherries are fresh, they well sink to the bottom of the cake, but it still tastes amazing and it’s quite pretty to see the cherries in a layer at the bottom.