Ingredients:

175 g unsalted butter (softened) (cake)

175 g unrefined light muscovado sugar (cake)

1 tsp almond extract (cake)

1 lemon zest (unwaxed) (cake)

2 eggs (large) (cake)

100 g soured cream (cake)

175 g self-raising white flour (cake)

½ tsp fine sea salt (cake)

150 g self-raising white flour

100 g unsalted butter (cold, cubed)

75 g unrefined light muscovado sugar

75 g amaretti biscuits (crushed)

40 g flaked almonds

250 g cherries soaked in kirsch

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C/160°C fan/gas mark 4. Grease a 23 cm round, loose-bottomed cake tin and line the base with baking paper.

2. For the cake, cream the butter, sugar, almond extract and lemon zest until lighter in texture and paler in colour. Add the eggs and soured cream and beat until smooth – don’t worry if it curdles – then add the flour and salt and fold together until you have a smooth batter. Scrape the batter into the cake tin and level off.

3. For the crumble, rub together the flour and butter until you have a breadcrumb consistency, then toss through the sugar, biscuits and almonds.

4. Scatter the cherries over the cake batter, as evenly as possible, and top with the crumble topping mixture.

5. Bake the cake in the oven for 35–40 minutes, or until a skewer inserted comes out clean (Apart from the red juice of the cherries). Leave to cool completely, then transfer from the tin to a cake stand or plate to serve.

Bon Appetit!