Almond And Cherry Cake With Cream Cheese Frosting - cooking recipe

Ingredients

1 1/4 cups sugar
12 tbsp butter or margarine
1 pinch salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
4 None eggs
1 1/4 cup all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup chopped almonds without skin
1 1/2 cups preserved cherries, drained (keep the liquid)
1 1/2 tbsp cornstarch
1 None vanilla pod, with the seeds scraped out
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/3 cup almonds with skin
4 oz cream cheese
1-2 tbsp heavy cream

Preparation

Preheat the oven to 325\u00b0F. Mix 1 cup of the sugar with the butter, salt and vanilla seeds. Stir in the eggs one at a time. Mix the flour and baking powder and fold them into the butter mixture, stir in the sour cream. Stir in the chopped almonds and pour the dough into a greased and floured 9 inch diameter springform cake pan. Smooth it over and bake it for 65-70 mins. Take it out of the oven, loosen the pan and let it cool for 10 mins. Remove it from the pan and let it cool completely.
Mix the cherry juice with 3/4 cup of water. Mix the cornstarch with a little water until smooth. Bring the juice to a boil in a saucepan and add the vanilla seeds, vanilla pod and 1/4 cup of the powdered sugar. Simmer for 3 mins, add the cornstarch, remove it from the heat and leave it to thicken, stirring constantly. Remove the vanilla pod, add the cherries and set aside to cool.
Bring 3 tbsp of water, 1/4 cup of the sugar and the vanilla extract to a boil in a nonstick pan. Add the almonds and cook them at a high temperature, stirring, until the sugar is dry. Turn down the heat to a medium temperature and stir until the sugar melts again. Spread the almonds on parchment paper and immediately separate them with 2 forks. Leave them to cool.
Beat the cream cheese and cream with an whisk for 2-3 mins, until creamy. Add the remaining powdered sugar and beat until completely blended.
Cut the cake in half horizontally. Spread the cherry compote on the lower half of the cake and put the other half on top. Cover the top with cream cheese frosting and top with the caramel almonds.