Amarena cherry cake and coconut amaretti biscuits

Stone fruit and almonds are great culinary friends — they work beautifully in this amarena cherry cake made with almond meal.

Go on, have a big slice: amarena cherry cake. Picture: Guy Bailey

Crack open the pit of any stone fruit and you’ll find a shrivelled, soft seed resembling a nut – a bitter almond. That’s why stone fruit and almonds are such good culinary friends. When cherries are not in season, keeping a jar of amarena cherries (the black ones in syrup) is a lovely reminder of warmer days ahead.

Amarena cherry cake

180g almond meal

60g desiccated coconut

½ teaspoon salt flakes

250g caster sugar

4 whole eggs

200g butter, melted and cooled

1 teaspoon amaretto (optional)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

¼ teaspoon almond essence

Good handful of flaked almonds

240g jar amarena cherries drained, plus extra to serve (see tips)

Icing sugar for dusting (optional)

Preheat oven to 180C. Grease and line a 20cm round springform cake pan with baking paper. Use a fork or whisk to fluff the dry ingredients until well combined. In a large bowl, use a whisk to beat together eggs, then add vanilla, amaretto (if using) and almond essence. Pour in cooled melted butter and use the whisk to ensure everything is incorporated. Sprinkle dry ingredients into wet and whisk until the batter is runny (don’t worry, it will come together in the end). Pour batter into a prepared cake tin and bake for 20 minutes.

Bring the cake out, scatter flaked almonds and cherries over the top, then return to the oven and bake for an additional 20-25 minutes (cake should spring back with a light poke). Allow to cool in the tin, resting on a wire rack. Dust with icing sugar (if using). Serves 8-10

Coconut amaretti biscuits

Coconut amaretti biscuits

4 egg whites (see tips)

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

¼ teaspoon almond essence

1 cup caster sugar

2 cups almond meal

2 cups desiccated coconut

1/3 cup blanched almonds

Preheat oven to 180C (160C fan). Prepare 2 large baking sheets with baking paper. Place egg whites, vanilla and almond essence into a bowl and whisk until frothy, then start sprinkling in sugar a spoonful at a time, continuing to whisk until egg whites form soft peaks. Dump in the almond meal, desiccated coconut and a pinch of salt; stir well, then pop into the fridge to chill for 15 minutes. When ready to bake, dampen hands and roll tablespoons of mixture into balls, then press a blanched almond into each biscuit. Arrange 18 biscuits evenly spaced across each tray/sheet. Pop into the preheated oven and bake for 20-25 minutes until lightly golden. When cool enough to handle, remove from trays onto a rack and leave to cool completely. Store in an airtight container – outside the fridge if you prefer a firmer cookie, in the fridge if you like them soft. Makes 36

Top tips

You can top this cake with any preserved fruit you’ve got in the pantry – from (pitted) morello cherries to jammy figs.

Left-over egg yolks can be used for making pasta, mayonnaise or hollandaise sauce, custard, or to make a curd.

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