Method
1. Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4. Butter the base and sides of a deep 20cm/8in cake tin with a little softened butter, then line the base with a circle of baking parchment. 2. Put the almonds on a baking tray in one layer and toast in the oven for 7-8 minutes until golden. Do not leave them any longer or they will brown too much and taste bitter. Tip the almonds in a food processor and whizz until finely ground. 3. Put the butter and sugar in a large bowl and beat together with a wooden spoon until pale and fluffy. This will take about 5 minutes. You could also use an electric hand whisk if you have one, and beat together for 1 minute. 4. Add the eggs one at a time with a little of the flour, beating well between each addition. (Adding a little of the flour helps to stop the mixture curdling.) 5. Fold in the almonds and the remaining flour. Use a large metal spoon for this, taking care not to knock out too much air. 6. Gently stir in the halved glacé cherries until they are evenly distributed through the mixture. 7. Spoon the mixture into the tin and smooth the top with a palette knife or the back of a metal spoon. This helps give an even rise. 8. Cover with the flaked almonds then bake the cake in the centre of the oven for 1 hour 10 minutes. (Do not be tempted to open the oven door for the first hour or the cake may sink.) 9. To check if the cake is cooked, insert a fine skewer into the centre - it should come out clean, with no mixture sticking to it. Remove the cake from the tin and transfer to a cooking rack. Leave to cool completely before slicing.
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