Paula Radcliffe is undoubtedly one of England’s most famous and successful female athletes of all time –and not just for that incident in the 2005 London marathon (I won’t go into it here, but it has a paragraph devoted to it on her Wikipedia biography).
She has won more marathons than I’ve probably eaten (vintage chocolate joke for you there, admittedly it would be wittier if they hadn’t changed their name to Snickers).
Paula is currently the world record holder for the marathon with a time of 2 hours, 15 minutes and 25 seconds. She has won the London marathon three times, the New York marathon twice and the Chicago marathon once. All this is even more amazing when you learn that she suffers with asthma.
When I was selecting who to write to for my Famous Faces feature, I tried very hard to ensure a good balance of celebrities, politicians, sports people, journalists, musicans etc but, have to admit, I didn’t expect an athlete to eat cake...let alone have a favourite! Paula’s choice of raspberry and almond cake is a choice very close to my own heart as it’s a combination I love too.
I decided to pick this bakewell cake recipe as it is packed with raspberries; so often bakewell tart recipes use jam rather than fruit but in cake form the fruit works better. The rich, soft almond cake contrasts so beautifully with the sharp, squidgy pockets of baked raspberries. The flaked almonds on top add some crunch but mostly this is soft, indulgent comfort baking at its best.
NB. I know I say in the recipe that the batter is very thick and don’t panic, but here’s some photographic proof!
Ingredients
210g unsalted butter, at room temperature
210g golden caster sugar
3 eggs
1 teaspoon almond extract
210g ground almonds
210g self raising flour
325g raspberries
3 tablespoons flaked almonds
To serve: dusting of icing sugar, thick cream
Method
Preheat the oven to 180°C/fan oven 160°C/350°F/gas mark 4.
Line a 20cm springform round tin with baking paper.
Beat together the butter and sugar until it is light, pale and fluffy; as you are using golden caster sugar it won’t turn as pale as ordinary caster sugar but you will notice the batter change as you beat. Take your time over this stage as this is where you get the air into the cake.
Gradually beat in the eggs, followed by the almond extract.
Fold in the ground almonds.
Fold in the flour.
Spoon a generous half of the mix into the prepared cake tin and level the surface. Your batter will be quite stiff but this is necessary to support all the raspberries which will collapse and ooze juice on baking.
Scatter over all but a scant handful of the raspberries then spoon the remaining cake batter on top. Take care, when levelling the surface, not to disturb the raspberries.
Gently press the remaining raspberries into the top of the batter.
Scatter over the flaked almonds.
Bake for approximately 50 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the cake comes out clean.
Place the cake, still in its tin, on a wire rack and leave to cool. I find almond cakes are very soft and vulnerable to break when warm so I advise de-tinning only when the cake is completely cool.
Store in an airtight container until ready to serve. Don’t panic if, overnight, it looks like your cake has sunk a little in the middle – the almonds release oil, and the baked raspberries get squidgy and this seems to concentrate in the centre. Your cake will be all the more delicious for it!
Serve with a dusting of icing sugar and some thick cream.
Bask in the glory of the wonderful thing you have created.
Eat.
27 comments:
A famous faces feature is such a good idea...do you have any other famous cake eaters lined up? Paula Radcliffe obviously has good taste...raspberry bakewell cake is one of my favourites! :-)
Simply saying that the pic looks great really doesn't do this cake justice...but what else can I say.?
It looks so gorgeously moist..mmmmmmm..
I love your famoux faces fancies. Am not surprised that this is Paula's favourite cake. It looks healthy and delicious! I love how all your cakes are so tall!
I love this feature! And indeed who'd have thought it- athletes eat cake!! I thought they had every morsel carefully calculated by a nuritional expert... And with Paula been so fit and sporty, does she get to have not just a slice, but the whole entire cake in one go? Jealous- me? Heck yes. But not jealous enough to get off the sofa and run a marathon...
Mmm. I love both raspberries and almonds, so that sounds like the perfect mix. Do you think it would work in little paper cases to take to work in packed lunch?
BTW, I have some photos on my blog which could be useful for your Counties of England project, if you would like to use any of them!
It looks gorgeous. I agree that the fresh fruit works so well in baked goods, the freshness contrasting so well with the rich cake. Just delicious!
I never got why they renamed them snickers. The cake looks delicious. Very reassuring that athletes eat cake!
Paula has great taste. That cake looks amazing!
Beautiful cake Caked Crusader! Paula Radcliff has great taste. I'm a massive bakewell fan as well.
she does have a great taste, this cake seems delicious and perfectly combined with raspoberry and almonds
ooh, squishy raspberry bursts and a little texture from the almonds -it looks lovely - what a wonderful way to get in the prescribed 5-a-day!
Raspberry and almond is a gorgeous combination. The cake looks delicious and wonderfully tall. I love your famous faces series. Keep them coming!
I enjoy your famous faces series too. What fun.
I must say - Paula Radcliffe has good taste .... and that cake looks a cracker.
Wow - that batter is thick !
Yummo! This looks absolutely delicious.
Is she telling the truth though CC? Or is this what she dreams she could eat. Lovely cake.
Ooooh, this looks so much nicer than a regular bakewell - lovin' it!
Wowww, looks amazing! Definitely on my next to bake list!
That cake looks amazing and right up my street - I love anything bakewell and love the addition of fresh raspberries in there.
Love this feature -can't wait to see who's next!
Oh yum - definitely going to try this one - knew there was a reason I need to have a packet of flaked almonds in the cupboard!
Oh, how divine this looks! Why is it called a "bakewell" cake? Is that a term that describes the shape?
Bravo again, CC!
Hi Lauralovescakes
Oh yes, many more to come!
Hi Lisa Marie
Bakewell is a famous tart/pudding here that uses almond and raspberry jam. This is called a bakewell as it uses those flavours. I have made a bakewell tart - you can find it here: http://thecakedcrusader.blogspot.com/2008/08/bakewell-tart.html
Happy baking!
Yummy! Paula has my vote and so does the cake.
This raspberry bakewell cake look delicious?amazing? georgeous? all of these I think, love this tart!!!
I love these posts! Always look forward to the next one and that cake looks bloomin' amazing!
Such a moist cake with glorious gooey raspberry filling... would you pass me a slice please? :)
Oh yes, give me some of that comfort bake - please! I used to mix jam into the batter of my cakes many years ago just to use up old jars of jam that were clogging up my mother's cupboards, but haven't tried it in many a long time. Have been thinking for a while I should give it a try. I suspect you are right though, that fresh fruit works better.
I made this cake to your recipe this weekend & it was fantastic.
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