You will need
1 x 600 g Ina Paarman’s Vanilla Cake Mix (reserve 2 T)
100 g red glacé cherries, cut whole ones into ¼ ‘s
250 g butter at room temperature
1 t (5 ml) almond essence
3 extra large eggs, at room temperature
1 ½ cups (375 ml) buttermilk
1 T (15 ml) grated lemon zest
1 T (15 ml) fresh lemon juice
30 g flaked almonds
double cream yoghurt or whipped cream
Method
Adjust the oven rack to the middle position. Preheat the oven to 180°C.
Butter a 20 cm cake pan. Line the base with baking paper.
Ignore package instructions and follow the method below.
Reserve 2 T (30 ml) of the dry Cake Mix and toss with the quartered cherries.
Cream butter and almond essence until butter is soft. Add 1 egg and 1 heaped tablespoon of Cake Mix at a time, beating after each addition, until you have used all 3 eggs. Don’t be concerned if the mixture curdles.
Add buttermilk, lemon zest and juice. Beat it in. Add all remaining dry Cake Mix. Add floured cherries and gently fold in by hand with a spatula until evenly mixed. Don’t over mix.
Spoon mixture into the prepared pan. Make a slight hollow in the middle of the pan to prevent it from forming a peak when baked. Sprinkle the almonds over the top. Flatten them lightly into the mix with the back of a spoon.
Bake for at least an hour until nicely browned and cooked in the middle. Allow to rest in the pan for 10 minutes.
Turn out onto a cooling rack and remove baking paper from the base.
Allow to cool completely before storing in an airtight container.
Serve with yoghurt or cream.