Cherry-Berry Almond Fruit Cake

• serves 16

• Preparation time:

• Cooking time: 1 hr 30

Ingredients

CAKE
2 cups blanched almonds, divided
11⁄2 cups sugar, divided
2 cups plain flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1⁄2 teaspoon baking soda
1⁄2 teaspoon salt
1 cup buttermilk
2 eggs
3 egg whites
1⁄3 cup canola oil
1⁄4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 teaspoon almond extract
1 cup frozen unsweetened blueberries
1 cup frozen unsweetened raspberries
1 cup frozen unsweetened cherries
GLAZE
11⁄2 cups pure icing sugar
3–4 tablespoons buttermilk

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C. Coat a 12-cup Bundt pan with cooking spray, then dust with flour.
2. To prepare the cake: Toast the almonds in a large deep frypan over medium heat, stirring often, for about 3 minutes or until lightly golden. Tip into a bowl and set 1⁄2 cup aside.
3. Combine 11⁄2 cups of the almonds and 1⁄2 cup of the sugar in a food processor fitted with a metal blade. Process until the almonds are finely ground. Combine the ground almonds, flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and remaining 1 cup sugar in a large bowl. Add the buttermilk, eggs, egg whites, oil, lemon juice and almond extract. Whisk until well combined. Fold in the blueberries, raspberries and cherries. Pour the batter into the prepared pan.
4. Bake in the centre of the oven for 65 to 70 minutes or until a wooden skewer inserted into the cake comes out clean. Place pan on a rack and let cool for 15 minutes. Remove the cake from the pan, transfer to the rack, and let cool completely.
5. To prepare the glaze: Combine the icing sugar and buttermilk in a bowl and stir
until dissolved. Spoon over the cake. Coarsely chop the reserved 1⁄2 cup almonds and sprinkle over the top of the cake
onto the glaze. Let set at least 15 minutes before serving.

Notes

NUTRITION PER SERVING
1,531 kilojoules
8 g protein
45 g carbohydrates
16 g fat
1 g saturated fat
25 mg cholesterol
260 mg sodium
3 g fibre