Cherry Bakewell Slice

I think I can safely say this cherry bakewell slice is one of the finest things to ever have been created in my kitchen. Buttery pastry covered in sticky fruity jam and moist almond cake, all topped with sugary sweet icing and – of course – a cherry on top!

It’s not often something non-chocolate makes it’s way to the top of my favourite cakes list (everybody has one of those, right!?) but this is the perfect mix of sticky and sweet and is a wonderful accompaniment to a big mug of tea. To illustrate that point, I’m going to forfeit all dignity and admit that over the course of last Sunday I managed to fit 3 of these into my day. I wish I could say I I’m full of regret but honestly, it was pretty freakin’ great!

The recipe might look a little complicated but there are lots of little tricks to make it simpler. The sponge is a ‘chuck-everything-together-and-mix’ affair (my favourite kind of baking!). I used shop bought pastry and you could do the same for the jam if you prefer. Who knew a homemade cherry bakewell slice could be so easy 😉

Cherry Bakewell Slice

Yield: 12

Cherry Bakewell Slice

Ingredients

350g shortcrust pastry

For the jam:

2 cups pitted cherries, roughly chopped
75g caster sugar

For the sponge:

200g unsalted butter, softened
100g plain flour
100g ground almonds
200g caster sugar
1 tbsp baking powder
4 medium eggs

For the topping:

200g icing sugar
1-2 tbsp water
glace cherries to decorate

Instructions

Pre-heat the oven to 200°c. Let’s start with the jam! Add the cherries and sugar to a saucepan and simmer over a medium heat, stirring occasionally. Once the mixture starts to thicken (about 20-30 minutes) remove from the heat.
Whilst the cherries cook, roll out the pastry to fit a 20cm x 20cm baking tin. Grease the tin (or line with parchment paper) and lift the pastry into it, pressing into the corners. Blind bake for 10 minutes until slightly golden then remove to cool.
Onto the sponge – this is the easiest part! Pour all the sponge ingredients into a large bowl and mix together.
Assemble the traybake: spread the jam in an even layer across the pastry then pour over the sponge mix. Bake for 35-40 minutes, until a cocktail stick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Remove from the tin to a cooling rack and allow to cool.
Lastly, make the icing. Gradually add 1-2 tbsp water to the icing sugar whilst mixing to create a thick icing. Pour over the sponge and allow to set. Once set, decorate with glace cherries and slice!

Notes

Store in the fridge for up to 5 days (if they last that long!)

https://www.adashofginger.co.uk/2014/07/cherry-bakewell-slice-recipe.html