Cherry Traybake

I was inspired to make this Cherry Traybake by a baking subscriptio box called Bake Box - that is sadly now discontinued. It's a lovely almond traybake cake studded with glace cherries, it's decorated with icing and cherries cut out from coloured marzipan using a special cutter. It's a great bake for a bake sale or a picnic!

For the full recipe with measurements, head to the recipe card at the end of this post.

How to make Cherry Traybake

To make the sponge, mix together softened butter and golden caster sugar. Then whisk in eggs and milk. Fold in self raising flour, baking powder and ground almonds. Toss some glacé cherries in a little flour, then add them to the mixture.

Pour the batter into a lined traybake tin and smooth it out. Bake until risen and golden, and a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean.

To make the cherry decoration, split the marzipan in half and knead green and red food colouring into each half. Roll them out into strips on your work surface dusted with icing sugar, then connect them by rolling the edges together. Use a cherry shaped fondant plunger to cut out the cherry decorations. Lay them on some baking paper to set.

When the sponge is cool, brush it all over with jam. Then roll out the white fondant and cover the sponge with it, trim the edges, then cut the traybake into squares - 4 by 6. Brush water or edible glue onto the back of the cherry decorations and stick them down onto each square.

How long does the Cherry Traybake last for and can you freeze it?

The cake will last for 3-4 days in an airtight container in a cool place. You can freeze the cake, wrap the cake well in cling film or put it in an airtight container. Freeze for up to 3 months.

Can you make this cake with plain/all purpose flour?

Self raising flour, which is very commonly used in the UK where I am based, already contains a raising agent and a little salt too. Therefore if you want to swap it for plain or all purpose flour, you will need to add some additional baking powder and also a little salt if you like. Some people like to add salt to cake recipes and some don't, so I'll leave that up to you as it won't affect the bake. The general advice is to add 2 teaspoons baking powder (a measuring teaspoon, not the kind you stir your coffee with) per every 200g plain or all purpose flour. So for this recipe you'd need to add an additional 2 ¾ teaspoons baking powder. Please note, I have not tested this recipe using plain or all purpose flour.

Can this cake be made gluten free?

Yes! For gluten free you can replace the self raising flour with a gluten free self raising flour blend. If you only have a gluten free plain flour blend, you will need to add additional baking powder. The general advice is to add 2 tsp baking powder per 200g flour, so for this recipe you'd need to add 2 ¾ additional teaspoons baking powder. You may also like to add ½ tsp Xanthan Gum for better texture. Please do check the labels for everything you use to make the cake if you are serving it to someone with an allergy or intolerance.

Can this cake be made dairy free?

For a dairy free version, use a dairy free baking spread for the cake. Please do check the labels for everything you use to make the cake if you are serving it to someone with an allergy or intolerance.

Troubleshooting

If you have any questions about this recipe, or if something went wrong and you need help, please use the comment form below and I will get back to you. You can also get in touch with me on my Twitter, Instagram or Facebook. I'd love to hear from you!

Recommended equipment & ingredients*

• Traybake tin
• Mixing bowls
• Cooling rack
• Kitchen scales
• Electric hand mixer
• Red food colouring
• Green food colouring
• White fondant
• Silicone rolling pin
• Silicone mat

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Cherry Traybake

Traybake style cake with glace cherries and fondant icing, topped with marzipan cherries

Print Pin Rate

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: British

Keyword: Cake

Prep Time: 1 hour hour 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes minutes

Total Time: 1 hour hour 45 minutes minutes

Servings: 24

Author: thebakingexplorer

Ingredients

For the cake

• 225 g Baking spread or butter softened, unsalted
• 225 g Golden caster sugar or regular caster sugar
• 3 Eggs large
• 3 tbsp Milk
• 275 g Self raising flour
• ¾ tsp Baking powder
• 65 g Ground almonds
• 200 g Glace cherries

For the decoration

• 250 g Marzipan
• 1 kg White fondant
• 2 tbsp Jam
• Red food colouring
• Green food colouring

Metric - US Customary

Instructions

• Pre-heat your oven to 160C Fan/180C/350F/Gas Mark 4, grease and line a 12" x 9" traybake tin
• To make the sponge, mix together the butter and golden caster sugar, ideally using an electric mixer. Then whisk in the eggs and milk. Fold in the self raising flour, baking powder and ground almonds
• Toss the glace cherries in some flour to coat them then add them to the mixture
• Pour the batter into the tin and smooth it out
• Bake for 30 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean. Leave to cool fully
• Split the marzipan in half and knead green food colouring into one half and red food colouring into the other half. Dust the work surface with icing sugar and roll them out into strips, connect them by slightly overlapping the edges and using a rolling pin to roll over them and seal the edges together
• Use a cherry fondant plunger to cut out the cherry decorations. Lay them on some baking paper to set
• When the sponge is cool, brush it all over with the jam
• Roll out the white fondant, either onto a silicone mat or onto a icing sugar dusted work surface
• Cover the sponge with the white icing, trim the edges, then cut the traybake into squares - 4 by 6. Brush water onto the back of the cherry decorations and stick them down onto each square
• Store leftovers in an airtight container for 3-4 days

Made this recipe?Share on Instagram with me @TheBakingExplorer or tag #thebakingexplorer!

Nutrition

Calories: 249kcal | Carbohydrates: 31g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 13g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Trans Fat: 0.3g | Cholesterol: 41mg | Sodium: 87mg | Potassium: 54mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 18g | Vitamin A: 269IU | Vitamin C: 0.1mg | Calcium: 29mg | Iron: 1mg

If you like this, check out more of my Cake recipes!