Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray an 8 inch cake pan (or 8 inch springform form pan) well with cooking spray. If using a cake pan, line with parchment paper on the bottom and sides.

Grind 1¼ cups of almonds in a food processor until finely ground (or use 1 cup almond flour). Place in a bowl with the cherries. Place the flour in a separate mixing bowl. Take out 1 tablespoon of the flour and add to the almonds and cherries. Stir to combine. To the remaining flour, add the baking powder and salt; whisk to combine.

Cream the butter and sugar together with an electric mixer for 3 minutes or until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well and scraping down the sides of the bowl after each addition. Add the flour mixture to the butter and fold together. Stir in the cherry/almond mixture. Finely grate the lemon peel into the batter and add the juice of the lemon; stir to combine. Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Sprinkle the remaining ¼ cup of sliced almonds and the tablespoon of turbinado sugar on top and bake for 1 – 1 ¼ hours or until the cake is golden brown, starting to pull away from the sides of the pan and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let cool in the pan for 15 minutes, then remove to a wire rack to finish cooling.

Serve topped with whipped cream if desired.