Cherry frangipane cake

This was one of those recipes which I made up by accident. I needed a pudding/cake to take to a friends & it was borne out of what was hiding in my cupboards!
It's basically a rich almond sponge with syrup drizzled over & served with an accompanying compote. It's really nice either warm or cold.

For the syrup/compote
200g cherries
50g granulated sugar
50ml water

For the cake
230g butter
230g granulated sugar
3 medium eggs (should weigh around 220-230g)
170g ground almonds
60g self raising flour
1/2 Tspoon baking powder
1/2 T spoon almond oil or essence

Method
Firstly line a 20-25cm spring ring with baking paper
for the syrup & compote
Place the cherries & the sugar into a suitable pan & simmer for 10 minutes until the cherries are soft, pour off 150ml of the syrup & reserve for pouring over the finished cake.
Take the remaining syrup & fruit & pour through a sieve back into the pan. Press the fruit through the seive & then discard the stones. Bring back to a simmer for another 10 minutes & sweeten to your taste, I like mine quite tart, as long as it doesn't turn my face inside out! Thats the compote to serve with the cake.

Now you have the syrup to drizzle over & the compote to serve with the cake

For the cake
In a suitable sized bowl cream the butter & sugar together until light & pale.
Beat in the eggs one at a time.
Stir in the almonds, flour, baking powder & almond oil.
Mix until smooth.
Spoon into the pre lined tin & roughly smooth the top, no need to be too fussy tho'.
Bake at 170-80 C gas 5-6 for aproximatly 20 minutes or until the sponge springs back when pressed. If you're unsure, insert a needle into the middle of the cake, if the needle comes out clean it's done, if not, give it another 5 minutes & check again.
Leave the sponge to cool for 5 minutes, then jab all over the top with a needle & pour over the syrup.
Serve straight away or let it cool completely,either way serve a slice with the compote & maybe some good vanilla ice cream, clotted cream or just as it is if you're being healthy.

Enjoy!