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Simnel cake
Easter fruit cake with a marzipan layer and eleven balls
Simnel cake is England's Easter fruit cake, once baked by girls in service to take home on Mothering Sunday and now the centrepiece of Easter tea. A light fruit cake has a layer of marzipan baked through the middle and more on top, decorated with eleven marzipan balls for the apostles, leaving out Judas. Chef's tip: wrap a band of baking paper round the outside of the tin; it stops the edges drying out during the long, slow bake.
- Total time
- 190 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 14
Ingredients
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Method
0/6 doneStep 1: Heat the oven to 300°F (275°F fan). Grease and double-line an 20 cm deep cake tin. Roll a third of the 1 ⅛ lb marzipan into a 20 cm round.
10 minStep 2: Beat the 6 oz butter and 6 oz light muscovado sugar until fluffy, then beat in the 3 eggs one at a time. Fold in the 8 oz plain flour and 2 tsp mixed spice, then the 16 oz mixed dried fruit, 3 ½ oz glacé cherries, 1 lemon zest and 2 tbsp milk.
8 minStep 3: Spoon half the mixture into the tin, lay the marzipan round on top and cover with the rest. Level the top.
3 minStep 4: Bake for 2¼–2½ hours, until firm and a skewer pushed into the top cake layer (not the marzipan) comes out clean. A common mistake is testing through the marzipan, which always looks sticky.
145 minStep 5: Cool in the tin. Brush the top with 2 tbsp apricot jam. Roll half the remaining marzipan into a 20 cm round and press on top; roll the rest into 11 balls and stick them round the edge with a little jam.
15 minStep 6: Brush with 1 egg yolk and grill briefly, watching all the time, until the marzipan is lightly toasted.
3 min
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 480 kcal
- Protein
- 8 g
- Carbs
- 70 g
- Fat
- 19 g
- Fibre
- 3 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does simnel cake take?
- About 190 minutes in total: 40 minutes to prepare and 150 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 14 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegetarian?
- Yes. It has no meat or fish.
- Can I make it ahead?
- Yes. It keeps well, so you can cook it earlier in the day or the day before and reheat it.
- What can I use instead of butter?
- The same weight of ghee or coconut oil (for frying and most baking).
- What can I use instead of light muscovado sugar?
- Caster sugar, same amount.
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