Cherry Genoa Cake by Miss Hope, author of Miss Hope's Teatime Treats by Hope and Greenwood (£12.99, Ebury Press)
Genoa - as any fool doth know - is in Italy, adjacent to the seaside where doth livest Chris Columbus. Behold a man who sailed about finding things that no one had lost, including cherries, which he spotted somewhere at the edge of the world where there are giant squid.
He did come ashore, and lo there were some cherry trees and some fair waitresses on roller skates did come to him and feed him this golden light Cherry Genoa Cake flecked with spiced cinnamon and island secrets. And he did eateth of the cake, in fact quite a bit of it because it was well tasty, and he did falleth into a slumber. And behold! He did miss the last ship home.
Cuts into 8 golden slices; Takes 1 hour 35 minutes to make, and three years to sail to the edge of the world.
100g (4oz) softened unsalted butter, plus extra for greasing
100g (4oz) glacé cherries, quartered
50g (2oz) soured cherries, halved
100g (4oz) plain flour, sifted
100g (4oz) golden caster sugar
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
2 large eggs, beaten
1 tsp baking powder
50g (2oz) ground almonds
10g (1/4 oz) flaked almonds
Sugar crystals, to sprinkle
Preheat the oven to 150C/300F/Gas 2. Grease and line the base and sides of a 12 1/2cm (5in) round cake tin with greaseproof paper.
Drop the glacé cherries into a heatproof bowl and add the soured cherries. Cover with boiling water and soak for 10 minutes. Drain well. Nice job.
Dash the flour into a bowl, add both types of cherries and storm-toss together. Set aside.
Beat the butter, sugar and cinnamon in a bowl until pale, soft and creamy, then gradually beat in the eggs. If it looks like the mixture is curdling; just throw in a smidge of flour (minus the cherries) to help bring it back together.
Fold in the remaining flour and cherry mixture, the baking powder and ground almond. Spoon into the prepared tin, sprinkle over the flaked almonds and sugar crystals and bake in the oven for 1 hour 15 minutes, or until a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean.
Slip the cake out of the tin and cool, then slice and munch.
