Irish Cherry Tea Cake

 

I had some glace cherries leftover from Christmas and was wanting to use them up.  I spied this recipe for an Irish Cherry Tea Cake over on Irish American Mom. It looked really tasty!

This is a very European cake. As I was explaining to my sister most European cakes are quite sturdy in nature, with textures not dissimilar to pound cake.  The Madeira Cake is a perfect example of that.  They have a tight crumb and are meant to be enjoyed along side hot drinks.

 

North American cakes tend to be much less dense with a moist texture. In the U.K. they would be considered to be dessert cakes or gateaux. Celebratory types of cakes.

Tea cakes are cakes meant to be enjoyed and quaffed down with copious cups of hot tea. Both are delicious and have their places.  

This cake is simply a really lovely cake. If you enjoy cherries, you will enjoy this simple and robust cake!  I am storing it in my Cath Kidston chocolate tin that I got a few years back.  It is airtight and the perfect place for storing a delicious cake such as this one!

 

 

WHAT YOU NEED TO MAKE IRISH CHERRY TEA CAKE

Just a few simple store cupboard baking ingredients. The cherries might be a bit more difficult to procure, but you can use maraschino cherries if you wish. Simply wash them very well and pat them dry before cutting in half to use. You will also need an 8-inch round cake tin with a removable bottom.

• 1 cup (125g) plain all-purpose flour, unsifted
• 1/8 cup (2 TBS) corn starch (corn flour)
• pinch salt
• 8 ounces (about 1 cup/227g) glace cherries, halved (reserve 12 halves for the top)
• 3/4 cup (170g) of butter
• 3/4 cup (150g) granulated sugar
• 3 medium eggs
• 4 TBS whole milk
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 TBS demerara sugar to top

As I said you can also use maraschino cherries if you cannot get the glace cherries. I use regular salted butter and whole milk. I also make sure all of my ingredients are at room temperature prior to beginning.

Demerara sugar is the same as turbinado sugar.

 

HOW TO MAKE IRISH CHERRY TEA CAKE

Simple ingredients put together in the most delicious way.

Preheat the cake to 350 degrees F. Butter an 8-inch round spring form pan well. Line the bottom with parchment paper and grease the paper.

Cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, one at a time.

Remove 1 TBS of flour and toss the cherries with it. (With the exception of the ones reserved for the top.)

 

Sift the remaining flour together with the corn starch, salt and baking powder.

Add the flour mixture to the creamed mixture, alternating with the milk, making three dry and two wet additions. Fold in the cherries.

Spread into the prepared pan, smoothing over the top. Sprinkle the top with the demerara sugar and place the reserved cherries on top decoratively.

 

Bake in the preheated oven for 55 to 60 minutes until well risen and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. (If you think it is browning too quickly you can top loosely with a sheet of foil.

Leave to cool in the pan for 20 minutes before removing from the pan to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container and cut into wedges to serve.

 

The original recipe said to bake this cake for an hour and a half.  That is far too long. I checked mine at 50 minutes and I am glad that I did for it was done perfectly. Any longer and it would have been over baked.

It is quite simply a lovely cake.  Generously studded with sweet, candied cherries and with the lovely crunch of demerara sugar on top. You can obviously leave that off it you wish. Beautiful with a hot drink. It actually tastes better and improves in texture with each day that passes.

 

At first you might think that this is a somewhat dry cake. It isn't. It is a sturdy cake. A cake that is meant to be enjoyed along with copious amounts of hot tea.  

Simply put, it is a delicious cake with the dense texture of a pound cake, studded generously with plenty of glace cherries.  It is also a cake that improves with standing, and which will keep for quite a while.

 

Are you as fond as I am of a nice piece of cake enjoyed with your hot drink?  If so, then you might also enjoy the following delicious options!

QUEEN ELIZABETH CAKE - We are especially fond of this old, old recipe for Queen Elizabeth Cake. It goes way back. It is a simple and delicious cake!  The dates make it incredibly moist. It is also studded with plenty of toasted walnuts. Topped with a sweet caramel icing and sprinkle of coconut, this is a real treat! 

TRADITIONAL SEED CAKE - Seed cake is actually a very traditional cake which goes way back in British history.  It was very popular in Victorian times, and a good seed cake recipe would have been included in most cookery books of that era. It has a texture very similar to a pound cake and is studded with caraway seeds. It was said to be William Wordsworth's sister Dorothy's favorite cake.  All I can say is that she had exceedingly good taste! 

Yield: One 8-inch round cake

Author: Marie Rayner

Irish Cherry Tea Cake

Prep time: 10 MinCook time: 60 MinTotal time: 1 H & 10 M

This is a dense cake with an almost pound-cake-like texture. Studded generously with glace cherries and topped with more cherries and a generous sprinkle of demerara sugar, this is beautiful quaffed down with hot cups of tea.

Ingredients

• 1 cup (125g) plain all-purpose flour, unsifted
• 1/8 cup (2 TBS) corn starch (corn flour)
• pinch salt
• 8 ounces (about 1 cup/227g) glace cherries, halved (reserve 12 halves for the top)
• 3/4 cup (170g) of butter
• 3/4 cup (150g) granulated sugar
• 3 medium eggs
• 4 TBS whole milk
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 TBS demerara sugar to top

Instructions

1. Preheat the cake to 350 degrees F. Butter an 8-inch round spring form pan well. Line the bottom with parchment paper and grease the paper.
2. Cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, one at a time.
3. Remove 1 TBS of flour and toss the cherries with it. (With the exception of the ones reserved for the top.)
4. Sift the remaining flour together with the corn starch, salt and baking powder.
5. Add the flour mixture to the creamed mixture, alternating with the milk, making three dry and two wet additions. Fold in the cherries.
6. Spread into the prepared pan, smoothing over the top. Sprinkle the top with the demerara sugar and place the reserved cherries on top decoratively.
7. Bake in the preheated oven for 55 to 60 minutes until well risen and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. (If you think it is browning too quickly you can top loosely with a sheet of foil.
8. Leave to cool in the pan for 20 minutes before removing from the pan to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container and cut into wedges to serve.

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