Banana, Marzipan and Dried Cherry Cake, with Chocolate Glaze

 

Cherries and almonds pair wonderfully well together, so, when I was planning on baking a banana cake, flavored with my homemade marzipan, it was an easy decision to add dried cherries to it. Belgium cherry beer, that I also had at hand, was the perfect way to enhance the cherry flavor, and give the cake a lighter texture.
The marzipan was added in two ways: part of it was mixed directly into the batter, while another part was added after the basic batter was mixed, in order to keep it noticeable in the baked cake, along with the dried cherries.
All these tasty additions created a moist, highly flavorful and aromatic cake. Coating it with a quick chocolate glaze, gave it a tasty contrasting flavor and color, and made for a more festive presentation.
Serving the cake with no-churn homemade marzipan ice cream, and fresh cherries on the side, elevated the cake even further. This was a very tasty way to start the New Year! Try it and enjoy.

Notes:
* For best flavor, I’ve used my homemade marzipan (click HERE for recipe). If using store-bought marzipan, make sure to use best quality, as lesser ones tend to have unpleasant overpowering artificial aroma.
* Click HERE for recipe for no-churn marzipan vanilla ice cream.
* The cherry beer I’ve used here is ACHOUFFE cherry beer from Belgium, which contains 8% alcohol.

Makes: 12-16
Prep time: 20 minutes
Baking time: 50 minutes
Cooking time for the glaze: 5 minutes

Ingredients:
¾ cup dried cherries, roughly chopped
1 Tbs cornstarch
3 large ripe bananas
3 L eggs
1 cup sugar
½ cup cherry beer (see notes)
½ cup heavy cream, at room temperature
¾ cup almond marzipan, preferably homemade (see notes)
1 tsp vanilla
A few drops almond essence
2 cups flour
1 Tbs baking powder
¼ tsp salt
½ cup almond marzipan (additional), crumbled
For the chocolate glaze:
4 Tbs milk
4 Tbs sugar
4 Tbs cocoa powder
4 Tbs (2 oz, 60 grams) butter, at room temperature
For serving:
Sliced almonds
Homemade marzipan ice cream (see notes), or store bought
Fresh cherries

1. Preheat the oven to 350F (175C). Brush a Bundt cake pan with melted butter, and dust with flour. Turn the pan upside down, and tap on it, to get rid of excess flour. Keep in the fridge until using.
2. Mix the dried cherries with the cornstarch, and set aside.
3. In a large bowl, mash the bananas. Add the eggs and sugar, and whisk with a hand blender until smooth. Add the cherry beer and heavy cream, and whisk again.
4. Add ¾ cup crumbled marzipan, vanilla and almond essence, and whisk again to incorporate.
5. Add the flour, baking powder and salt, and mix to a smooth better. Switch to a spatula, add the dried cherries, and next the crumbled marzipan. Mix briefly, so that the marzipan will not break too much.
6. Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for about 50 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out almost dry.
7. Transfer to a rack and keep in the pan for 5 minutes, then turn it upside-down onto a serving plate. Let cool to room temperature.
8. The glaze: mix the milk, sugar and cocoa powder in a small pot. Cook over medium-low heat until the sugar dissolves. Add the butter and cook for 1-2 minutes, mixing constantly, until an even glaze is formed. Cool slightly, mix well and pour all over the cake. Let the glaze set a bit, and scatter the sliced almonds on top.
9. Serve as is, or with fresh cherries and marzipan ice cream on the side.