Cherry-Marzipan Cake

Baked this cake using fresh yeast instead of the usual baking powder for tea on a cold and windy Saturday afternoon.  A mixture of marzipan, butter and sugar is "injected" into the dough and then, topped with cherries and almond slices before baking.  Tastes good when served both warm or cold!

Ingredients:
400 g plain flour
2 sachets of Bourbon vanilla sugar
80 g sugar
a pinch of salt
42 g fresh yeast
1 tsp sugar (extra)
200 ml warm milk
75 g soft butter (at room temperature)
2 medium eggs

200 g marzipan
175 g soft butter
50 g fine sugar
400 g cherries (from a 850 g glass), to be drained
70 g almond slices
50 g sugar

a rectangular baking tin (24 x 36 cm) or your oven's deep baking tray

Method:
In a mixing bowl, mix flour, Bourbon vanilla sugar, sugar and salt together.  Make a well in the centre and crumble yeast into it.  Sprinkle with 1 tsp sugar and a little flour from the sides.  Stir with a wooden spoon and cover with bowl with a cloth.  Leave aside for 10 minutes.

Then, add soft butter, eggs and rest of milk.  Knead by using the hook for about 5 minutes or until the dough is soft and elastic as shown below.  Cover bowl with cloth and leave aside for about 40 minutes.  One may place the covered bowl in an oven (no fan) at a temperature of 30° C.

In the meantime, add marzipan, soft butter and fine sugar into another mixing bowl. By using the whisk attachment, mix until smooth.  Then, transfer to an icing bag with a plain nozzle.

This is how the dough looks like after 40 minutes.

Transfer dough onto the baking tray which is lined with baking paper.  By using your well-floured hand, spread dough into all corners evenly.  Cover with cloth and leave aside for 10 minutes.

By using your fingers, make deep hollows all over the surface of dough as shown.

Pipe out the marzipan mixture into the hollows as shown below.

Arrange cherries on top.  Then, sprinkle almond slices and sugar as shown below.

Bake in a preheated (no fan) oven at a temperature of 200° C for about 25 minutes or until done.  

This cake tastes great both warm and cold!  If you wish, sprinkle sugar powder on top before serving!

Happy Baking!