Rhubarb and cherry upside down cake

Upside down cake is one of my favourite kinds of cake.  This one is made with fresh rhubarb and glacé cherries that have been soaked in amaretto (although fresh cherries would work nicely).  Perfect for a wintery Sunday evening in front of the fire.

Ingredients

6 oz rhubarb

Grated zest of half an orange

4 oz (plus 2 tbsp) caster sugar

4 oz butter, at room temperature

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 eggs, lightly beaten

4 oz self-raising flour

1 tsp baking powder

2 oz ground almonds

3 tbsp glacé cherries soaked in amaretto

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 200°C.
2. Rinse the rhubarb and chop into 1 inch chunks. Place in a small roasting tin so that the chunks are snugly arranged. Grate the orange zest over the top and sprinkle with 2 tbsp sugar. Cover with foil and place in the oven for 15 minutes. Set aside to cool.
3. Grease and line an 8 inch square, solid-bottomed cake tin.
4. To make the cake batter, place the remaining sugar, butter and vanilla in a large mixing bowl and beat until pale and fluffy. 
5. Add half the eggs and a spoonful of flour and beat until combined.
6. Add the remaining egg and beat well.
7. Sift in the remaining flour, baking powder and ground almonds and beat until combined.
8. Spoon the rhubarb into the prepared cake tin, reserving any excess juice from the fruit. 
9. Add a little of the rhubarb juice to the cake mixture and beat.
10. Arrange the cherries in the cake tin.
11. Spoon the cake batter over the top and spread out with a spatula.
12. Bake for 30 minutes or until the cake is risen, golden and a cake tester comes out clean.
13. Place the tin on a wire rack and leave the cake to cool completely before inverting the cake onto a chopping board. Slice into squares.