Raspberry Bakewell Cake

What do you do when the rain is pouring down and it's too miserable to go out for a walk or even just to sit in the garden . . . well, if you are me, you bake a cake.

I had been eyeballing this recipe for a Bakewell Cake on the cover of the August issue of Good Food Magazine ever since it slipped through my mail slot several weeks back. Now was my chance.

It was ever so easy to throw together. All the work was done in the food processor. I turned my oven on to pre-heat it and proceeded to put the cake together. Easy Peasy Lemon Squeasy, right? WRONG! My oven isn't working! Oh no! The burners are working, the grill is working, but the oven is not. Bummer. The dang thing is only 6 months old.

We call the manufacturer. An engineer can't call until Monday . . . Double bummer . . . what to do, what to do. I hate waste. I especially hate the thought of wasting a delicious looking cake.

We hopped into the car and drove to the nearest Curry's. (I know . . . I'm a spoilt brat) Back in the early 1980's I had a combi oven . . . combination microwave/convection/grill oven. I am sure they still make them and they are probably not all that expensive.



They do, and it's affordable, and here it is. Problem solved.



The cake turned out beautifully. It cooked to perfection on the convection setting. In fact, it cooked so perfectly that I may use my new combi oven to bake all my cakes from now on.



If I recall correctly, my old one used to make really scrummy baked potatoes, with incredibly crispy skins. Yummo!!



And here we have it . . .

A delicious, perfectly baked, tasty Bakewell Cake . . . courtesy of Good Food Magazine, very little work, a few ingredients and a lot of ingenuity!



*Raspberry Bakewell Cake*
Serves 8
Printable Recipe

This recipe is adapted from a recipe in the August 2009 issue of Good Food Magazine. It's totally scrummy. I'm not sure it can be improved . . . well a bit of a drizzle icing on the top would probably go down well, but really . . . with a dollop of creme fraiche, it went down a real treat! Moreishly delish!

5 ounces ground almonds
5 ounces unsalted butter, softened
5 ounces golden caster sugar
5 ounces self raising flour
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
9 ounces raspberries
2 TBS flaked almonds
icing sugar
creme fraiche



Pre-heat the oven to 180*C/350*F. Base line and butter an 8 inch round deep cake tin with a removable bottom.

Place the almonds, flour, butter, sugar, eggs and vanilla in the bowl of a food processor. Blitz until well combined and smooth. (It should be quite pasty) Spread half of it in the prepared baking pan. Scatter the raspberries over top. Dollop the remaining batter over top and then spread it evenly over all. (I used the bowl of a wet spoon for ease) Sprinkle the almonds evenly over top.

Bake for 50 minutes until well risen and golden brown. (It took 60 minutes in my combi oven to be baked to perfection) Cool in the tin on a wire rack before removing from pan. Dust with icing sugar before cutting into slices to serve. If desired serve with dollops of creme fraiche.



I suppose when you really think about it, and consider what I went through to have this cake . . . it may well be the most expensive cake I've ever baked, but I have to say . . . the results were well worth the cost! Dig in!!