Almond muffins with glace cherries

This recipe comes form 'New Italian cuisine. Muffins' cookbook. Almond muffins with glace cherries taste like  heaven. The cake is fluffy, soft with crisp and sweet,  caramelised sugar on top. Those muffins have beautiful almond scent and  crunch, with small bits of glace cherries.

Ingredients for 6-8 muffins:

• 150g flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• pinch of salt
• 60g butter
• 100g caster sugar
• 1/2 tsp almond essence
• 1 egg
• 125 ml milk
• 100g glace cherries
• 40g roasted almond flakes
• 25 g sugar to sprinkle on the top 

Preheat the oven to 180C. Line muffin tin with paper cases.

Chop the cherries. Put the almond flakes on pan and roast them for a while. Set aside to cool down.

Sift the flour, baking powder and salt into a bowl and whisk them together.

Put the butter, sugar and almond essence into electric mixer bowl and whisk on a medium speed until white. Add the egg, wait until well combined. Reduce the speed to low and add milk and dry ingredients mixture alternately. 

Then gently, with spoon, fold in the almonds and cherries. 

Spoon the batter into muffin cases. Sprinkle each top with some sugar. Bake for 20-25 minutes until toothpick comes out clean. Cool down on wire rack and enjoy !