Preheat oven to 180°C/350°F (160°C/320°F if using a fan/convection oven - this is very important). Grease a 23cm/9" cake tin and line the base with parchment paper.
Place the ground almonds, polenta, plain flour, caster sugar, baking powder and salt into a large mixing bowl. Whisk thoroughly to combine.
200 g ground almonds or almond flour, 75 g polenta (fine cornmeal), 60 g plain (all-purpose) flour, 250 g caster sugar, ¾ teaspoon baking powder, ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs with the melted butter, vanilla extract and lemon zest until smooth and well combined.
4 large eggs, 200 g unsalted butter, melted and cooled, 2 teaspoons vanilla extract, Zest of 1 lemon
Pour the wet ingredients to the bowl with the dry ingredients and stir with a wooden spoon until combined.
Cut the pitted cherries in half. Fold ⅔ of the halved, pitted cherries into the cake batter and pour the mixture into the prepared tin, ensuring that the cherries are as evenly distributed as possible. Scatter the remaining cherries over the top, followed by the flaked almonds. Bake for 50-60 minutes until a cake tester inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean.
225 g fresh pitted cherries, 25 g flaked almonds
Leave the cake to cool in tin on a cooling rack for 30 minutes before removing. You can choose to cool completely on the cooling rack or serve warm!