Ingredients
Almond Cake
6oz butter
8oz caster sugar
4 large eggs
4oz ground almonds
3oz plain flour, sifted
a few drops of almond essence
glace cherries, washed and dried to decorate

for the frosting:
2oz plain chocolate, broken up
1oz butter
1 egg yolk
2oz icing sugar
(see measure conversions for more information)

Method
- Cream the butter and caster sugar together until pale and fluffy.
- Beat 1 egg followed by 2 teaspoons of ground almonds into the creamed mixture.
- Repeat until all the eggs have been beaten in.
- Fold in the flour.
- Fold in the remaining ground almonds and almond essence.
- Pour the mixture into a greased, lined 8 inch tin.
- Bake for about 1 hour 15 minutes at 180 degrees C.
- Remove the cake from the oven.
- Remove the cake from the tin and cool on a wire rack.
- To make the frosting put the chocolate and butter in a heat proof basin over a pan of simmering water.
- Melt the chocolate and butter together.
- Remove from the heat and beat the mixture with a wooden spoon.
- Beat in the egg yolk and the icing sugar.
- Keep beating and the frosting will thicken and become very glossy.
- Spread the frosting on top of the cake.
- Decorate with cherries.