Do I have to grill the cake?

No, most often we just have slices by themselves. Obviously laying slices on the barbecue to cook and set aside for dessert is the obvious choice if it is lit, but a seasoned cast iron griddle pan also adds that layer of smoky flavour that makes this more than just cake for dessert.

Can I use fruits other than cherries? Or is it just a recipe for Marzipan cake with cherries?

Of course! The night before I photographed this we had slices with home grown strawberries for dinner. Raspberries, blackberries and loganberries are all also delicious, as are stone fruits like ripe slices of peach, apricot, plum or nectarine. Switching seasons, you can add back in the cardamom flavour I removed by serving slices with a dollop of creamy natural yogurt and a generous spoonful of my forced rhubarb and cardamom compote .

Marzipan Cake with Cherries and Mint

Description

Slices of moist Marzipan Loaf Cake and lightly grilled before being served with lightly macerated cherries and a handful of fresh mint for a simple summer dessert that is easy to make ahead.

Ingredients

Scale

For the Marzipan Loaf Cake

150g marzipan (white or yellow)
125g unsalted butter, at room temperature
75g plain flour
50g caster sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp fine sea salt
3 large eggs

For the Macerated Cherries

600g cherries
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 tsp caster sugar
handful fresh mint

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Instructions

Pre-heat the oven to 150 degrees celsius, and grease and line a 1 lb loaf pan (the smaller of the two sizes!)
Tear the marzipan into small pieces and add it to the food processor along with the rest of the cake ingredients. Blitz until smooth, and scrape into the prepare tin.
Bake for 50 minutes until the top is golden and when you insert a cake tester into the middle of the cake it comes out clean.
While the cake cools, macerate the cherries. Half and pit them then stir them together with the lemon juice and sugar in a non-reactive bowl (glass or plastic, not metal!) Set aside for at least 20 minutes.
Cut the cake into 8 slices and grill until charred either on the barbecue, or on a hot griddle pan.
Serve with the cherries spooned over the slices and scattered with fresh mint.

Notes

The cake will keep wrapped in cling film for up to 3 days (but it usually does not last that long!) so feel free to scale down the amount of cherries needed if you’re not feeding a crowd.