Bing Cherry and Almond Cake

In my first season on The Great British Bake Off, one of the contestants in a Christmas Special was Val Stones, a great character and altogether lovely woman. She introduced me to dried Bing cherries from Oregon. Bing cherries are particularly sweet and full-flavoured but are too juicy to be used fresh – they’d make the sponge soggy – so I buy the dried ones online. (