Pre-heat your oven to 160C Fan/180C/350F/Gas Mark 4, and grease and line three 8" cake tins (that are at least 2" deep)
Make the sponge by mixing the butter and caster sugar in a large bowl with a spoon until fluffy, or mix using an electric hand mixer
Add the eggs and vanilla extract, and whisk until fully incorporated
Add the self raising flour, ground almonds and baking powder, and whisk in until you can't see any flour anymore
Divide the mixture between the tins, use scales for accuracy
Bake them for 30-35 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean. Leave them to fully cool either in the tins or on cooling racks
To make the buttercream, mix together the butter and icing sugar, you can use either an electric hand mixer or do this by hand with a silicone spoon
When it starts to come together add the almond extract, and mix until smooth
If the cakes have domed on top, level them off with a cake leveller
Stack the sponges up on your plate or cake stand, piping buttercream between each layer around the edges and filling the centre with cherry jam
When you get to the last layer pipe larger rosettes around the edge
Mix the icing sugar and water together until you get a thick paste (you may not need all of the water so add it slowly)
Pour or pipe the icing into the centre of the cake then drizzle it between the buttercream rosettes and let it drip down the sides of the cake
Sprinkle flaked almonds in the centre over the icing, and add the glace cherries on top of the buttercream rosettes
Serve immediately, store leftovers in an airtight container in a cool place and eat within 3 days