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This Almond and Marzipan Cake is the perfect afternoon tea time treat – if you like marzipan that is! The cake isn’t overly intense in its marzipan flavour, but there are also chopped almonds in the cake, as well as flaked almonds on top. The Almond and Marzipan Cake is also lightly spiced with cinnamon and ground cloves which are lovely, warm spices that just give this cake that added je-ne-sais-quoi!
This Almond and Marzipan Cake is actually a very interesting cake, as it has a thin disk of marzipan baked into the middle of it. Finally, it has a deliciously sweet and “crips” butter and brown sugar icing drizzled over it at the end. Very easy to make and very easy to eat!
The below recipe is inspired by my all-time favourite baking book: Mary Berry’s Baking Bible. If you are looking for some more inspiration on baking books, check out my post on My Top 5 Bake Off-related Baking Books.
How is this Almond and Marzipan Cake made?
This Almond and Marzipan Cake is extremely easy to make! The cake batter is made using the simple all-in-one method: weigh all the ingredients in a bowl and mix until smooth! You can read more about the various cake making methods in my Baking Basics post here.
You then need to pour half of the cake batter into a deep 20cm tin, before laying a round disk of marzipan on top. The remaining cake batter is then poured over the marzipan, meaning that you end up with quite a high cake that has a layer of marzipan running through the middle. As the cake is a little deeper, it needs longer to bake and subsequently cool. But if you plan ahead and make it in the morning, it will be more than good to go by the afternoon!
Finally, the cake is covered in a sugary coating, made from butter, a little cream, and brown sugar, and decorated with toasted flaked almonds. The icing is spread over the cake while it is still hot, and it hardens as it cools resulting in a “crisp” sugar coating. I was pleasantly surprised by how good it tasted!
More Easy Afternoon Tea Cakes
Sometimes all you want is a quick, easy cake that is quick to make and can be ready to enjoy with a cup of tea in the afternoon! I have a few very easy cake recipes on my blog (mostly following a speedy all-in-one method), so make sure you check out some of the recipes below!
- Lemon Yoghurt Cake
- Very Best Chocolate Fudge Cake
- Madeira Cake
- Blackberry Crumble Cake
- Spiced Carrot Cake with Orange Cream Cheese Frosting
- Lemon Drizzle Cake
- The *BEST* Chocolate Brownies
- Mini Lemon and Blueberry Loaf Cakes
Spiced Almond and Marzipan Cake | Easy Tea Time Bake
Recipe
Ingredients:
FOR THE CAKE:
- 100g marzipan, plus a little icing sugar for dusting
- 175g butter, softened
- 175g caster sugar
- 3 large eggs
- 225g self-raising flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon
- ¼ tsp ground cloves
- 75g flaked almonds, toasted
FOR THE ICING & DECORATION:
- 50g butter
- 100g light soft brown sugar
- 2 tbsp double cream
- 25g flaked almonds, toasted
YOU WILL ALSO NEED:
Methods:
- Preheat the oven to 180°C/160°C fan and line the base and sides of a deep, round, spring-clip 20cm cake tin with baking paper.
- Put 100g of flaked almonds onto a baking tray and toast in the oven for 4-5 minutes until lightly golden. Then leave to cool slightly while you prepare the rest of the cake.
- Lightly dust your worksurface and rolling pin with icing sugar and roll out the marzipan into a 20cm disk, using the baking tin as a rough guide for size. Set aside until needed.
- In a large mixing bowl, beat together the butter, sugar, eggs, flour, baking powder and spices for 2-3 minutes until smooth and everything is well combined. Reserve 25g of the flaked almonds for decorating and fold the remaining 75g into the cake mix.
- Carefully spoon half of the cake mix into the prepared cake tin and level the surface. Gently place the layer of marzipan on top, then add the remaining cake mix on top and level the surface.
- Bake the cake in the preheated oven for about 60-75 minutes, or until well-risen, golden brown, and the springy to the touch. Leave the cake to cool in the tin for 10 minutes, then carefully remove it from the tin, remove the baking paper and set it onto a wire rack to cool completely.
- To make the icing, heat the butter, double cream and sugar in a saucepan over a low heat until melted. Stir well to make sure everything is well combined, then turn up the heat and bring to the boil.
- Lay a piece of kitchen towel or baking paper under the cooling rack with the cake to catch any drips, and carefully pour the icing over the cake. Use the back of a metal spoon to smooth the icing on the top and gently encourage it to drip down the sides of the cake.
- Scatter the cake with the reserved flaked almonds to decorate, then leave the icing to set for about 10 minutes before slicing and serving.
