This naturally gluten-free cherry and almond cake is perfect with a cuppa

Finding reliable gluten-free recipes that everyone at the table will enjoy can sometimes feel like a challenge, but that’s exactly what Adelaide Hills recipe developer Robyn Jones hopes to change through her website, Pepper and Thyme.

Created after her son was diagnosed with coeliac disease, Pepper and Thyme is a dedicated gluten-free recipe website filled with family-friendly dishes designed to prove that eating without gluten doesn’t mean compromising on flavour. Jones, who has spent the past eight years developing recipes for her own websites and businesses around the world, wanted to create a safe online space where every recipe is completely gluten-free while helping her son continue to enjoy cooking and eating.

Named after the family’s dog, Pepper, the website is also intended to become her son’s own online recipe collection as it grows, while helping others navigating a gluten-free lifestyle discover recipes they can cook with confidence.

One of the first cakes featured on the site is this cherry and almond cake, a recipe Jones’ family has enjoyed for years. Naturally gluten-free thanks to almond meal, it’s light, moist and packed with sweet fresh cherries, making it just as popular with those who eat gluten as those who don’t. Whether served alongside a cup of tea or coffee or dressed up with a dusting of icing sugar for dessert, it’s a simple bake that makes the most of cherry season.

Cherry and Almond Cake

Serves: 18 slices

Ingredients

100 g caster sugar
90 g butter softened
1 lemon zested
270 g almond meal (ground almonds)
1½ teaspoon gluten-free baking powder
3 eggs size large
1 teaspoon almond extract
200 g fresh cherries* pitted and halved
2½ tablespoons flaked almonds
Gluten-free icing sugar to serve, optional
200g is the weight of the cherries before being pitted.

Method

Preheat the oven to 180˚C/160˚C fan/356˚F/320˚F convection.
Line a 20 cm/8 inch round baking tin with baking paper.
Prepare the fresh cherries: cut around the cherry with a paring knife and twist, pulling off the fruit from the stone (pit).
Mix the sugar, butter and lemon zest together until light and fluffy.
In another bowl mix the almond meal with the baking powder.
Beat the eggs and add the almond extract.
Add the flour mixture to the sugar and butter and stir, then add the eggs and mix until well combined. It will seem very thick.
Gently stir in the cherries – try not to stir too much or the colour can bleed into the cake.
Spoon into the prepared tin and spread lightly with the back of the spoon to get an even top, then sprinkle over the almonds in an even layer.
Place into the oven and bake for 40 minutes, until a skewer inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean.
If some batter sticks to it then place back into the oven for another 5–10 minutes.
Leave in the tin for 10 minutes before carefully removing it from the tin to a wire rack to cool completely.
To serve, dust with icing sugar, an optional step but does make the cake look pretty!

Store any leftover cake in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days.