Cherry and Coconut Bundt Cake

Back in Feb this year, I was invited to attend a French Glace Cherries Masterclass. It was great fun and I discovered new recipes using French glace cherries. They contacted me recently to ask if I was interested in entering their competition by creating a recipe using French Glace Cherries as the star ingredient. It takes about 10 days to make French Glace Cherries where the fruit's natural water content is replaced by sugar. They use natural fruit and vegetable juices to give the cherries different colours. These cherries retain their flavour, shape and texture throughout the baking process. 

I started thinking about flavours that pair well with cherries. Almond and chocolate immediately sprung to mind but I wanted something a little different. I decided on a cherry and coconut combination even though I'm not a huge fan of coconut. I was going to add chocolate to the mix but decided less is more and I really wanted to highlight the cherries in this bake. After lots of thinking and experimenting, I came up with this cherry and coconut bundt cake with a cherry jam filling and a cherry glaze on top. 

The bundt cake looks stunning on its own and this particular shape called for a glaze. My glaze was quite thick  but I think it still achieved the desired effect. The cake was moist and you get a real hit of coconut. The cherries were evenly spaced throughout the cake which ensured that each slice had some cherries in it. I particularly liked the jam layer in between which was supposed to be in the middle but ended up near the top during the baking process. I gave J the cake to take to work and the feedback I received was 

• Very moist sponge
• Jam and cherries work well 
• Not too sweet which is nice, not overpowering 
• Nice to have a good cake that's not reliant on butter cream or icing 
• Tastes just as good the day after 

The lovely people at French Glace cherries have kindly agreed to offer one of my readers a selection of French Glace Cherry goodies which includes a branded timer, kitchen scale, an apron and samples of French Glacé Cherries. For your chance to win, just leave a comment saying what you will use the cherry samples for and a winner will be selected at random. Prize is only available to UK residents. I will contact you via the comment section on this blog and announce the winner after the closing date so please remember to check back on 3rd September to see if you are the lucky winner. Another winner will be selected if the first winner is not contactable after 72 hours. 

The closing date is 12 midnight GMT 2nd September 2014. 

I hope this cake will qualify for a few blog challenges this month.

Tea Time Treats hosted by Karen from Lavender and Lovage and co hosted by Jane from Hedgecombers. The theme this month is Picnic Food and Picnic Treats. This cake will be perfect for a picnic as it's easily transportable and can be eaten with your fingers. Plus it will impress everyone at the picnic :) 

Celebration Cakes & Bakes hosted by Mummy Makes Cakes as this is a stunning cake worthy of any celebration. 

 Recipe of the Week hosted by Emily from A Mummy Too.

Cook Blog Share hosted by Lucy from Super Golden Bakes

 lovely french glace cherries - red and purple variety 

 I tossed the cherries in the dessicated coconut 

 add a layer of batter 

 followed by a thick layer of jam - be careful not to touch the sides of the tin with the jam 

 cover with remaining cake batter 

 making the cherry glaze 

 fresh from the oven 

 you can see all the cherries dotted around 

 with the glaze 

 you can clearly see the jam layer 

An original recipe by bakingaddict

For the cake
250g butter
400g plain flour
330g caster sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
250mls coconut cream
100g dessicated coconut
4 eggs
192g french glace cherries
370g (1 jar) berry & cherry jam

For the glaze
100g glace cherries
1/2 - 3/4 cup of water
2 tablespoons of caster sugar (or to taste)

• Preheat the oven to 180C.
• Cream the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy.
• Add in the eggs, one at a time, mixing well between each addition. 
• Mix in the flour and baking powder.
• Add the coconut cream and dessicated coconut. 
• Cut the glace cherries in half, rinse in cold water and dry thoroughly. 
• Place the dessicated coconut in a small bowl and toss the cherries through the coconut.
• Add this to the cake mixture and stir by hand. 
• Pour 1/3 of the batter into the bundt tin.
• Place a thick layer of jam on top making sure not to touch the sides.
• Top with the remaining cake batter.
• Bake for approximately 50 -60 minutes (it's a large cake!) or until golden brown and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. 
• Allow to cool completely before decorating. 
• To make the glaze, place the cherries, water and sugar in a saucepan and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat and simmer gently until the sauce thickens and the cherries soften. You may need to add more water or more sugar depending on consistency and sweetness required. 
• Place the mixture in a blender and blitz until smooth.
• Sieve the mixture through a medium sized drainer to get a smoother glaze. 

Addendum 3/9/14
The lucky winner selected at random is Kate from the Gluten Free Alchemist - Congratulations!