
Recipe
Dessert
Simnel Cake recipe
By FDL
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Ingredients
For the cake
- Marzipan 250 gr
- Plain flour 225 gr
- Baking powder 1 teaspoon
- Mixed spice 1 1/2 teaspoon
- Butter 180 gr, softened
- Caster sugar 180 gr
- Eggs 3, large
- Currants 175 gr
- Sultanas 225 gr
- Glacé cherries 50 gr, chopped
- Candied peel 50 gr, chopped
- Ground almonds 50 gr
- Milk 3 tablespoons
- Lemon 1, finely zested
- Orange 1, finely zested
To decorate
- Marzipan 600 gr
- Icing sugar q.s.
- Apricot jam 4 tablespoons, warmed
Info box
- Preparation time
- Cooking time
- Recipe category Dessert
- Recipe yield 8
- Recipe cuisine English/Scottish
Preparation
To prepare the cake
- Preheat the oven to 150°C (130° fan) | 300F | gas.
- Grease and line an 18 cm | 7" round cake tin with greaseproof paper.
- Cut the marzipan into 1 cm | 0.5" cubes.
- Toss in a bowl with 2 tablespoons of flour.
- Sift the remaining flour into a large mixing bowl along with the baking powder and mixed spice.
- Add the butter, sugar, and eggs, beating thoroughly with an electric mixer until smooth, 3-4 minutes.
- Gently fold in the currants, sultanas, cherries, candied peel, ground almonds, milk, and citrus zest.
- Add the floured marzipan cubes and stir to incorporate thoroughly.
- Spoon the batter into the prepared cake tin.
- Cut out two 18 cm | 7" wide rounds of greaseproof paper, stack them on top of each other, and cut out a small 2.5 cm | 1" circle in the centre.
- Place the paper on top of the batter.
- Bake the cake for about 2.5-3 hours until risen and dry to the touch on top; a cake tester should come out clean from the centre.
- Remove the cake to a wire rack to cool. 9 Once cool, turn out from the tin.
- Horizontally cut in half with a serrated knife.
- Sit the bottom half on a cake stand.
To decorate
- Divide the marzipan into three even pieces.
- Roll out two pieces on a work surface dusted with icing sugar into 20 cm | 8" rounds that are about 1 cm | 0.5" thick.
- Brush the top of the cake on the stand with some of the warmed apricot jam.
- Drape one marzipan round on top, pressing down gently to adhere.
- Cut away any overhanging marzipan with a serrated knife.
- Brush the top of the marzipan with more apricot jam before positioning the other cake half on top, pressing down gently to adhere.
- Brush the top of the cake with more apricot jam before draping the second marzipan round on top, smoothing it flat with your hand.
- Scallop the edges of the marzipan between your fingers and thumbs.
- Divide the remaining marzipan into 11 even pieces, rolling them into balls between your palms.
- Attach the marzipan balls to the top of the cake with a little apricot jam or water.
- Brown their tops with a chef's blowtorch; alternatively, you can brown them on a grilling tray under a hot grill.
- If desired, tie yellow decorative ribbon around the middle of the cake.
- Garnish with Easter flowers before serving.
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