Simnel Cake – Easter Desserts

Ingredients:

• 25 g plain flour
• 1 level tsp baking powder
• 1 1/2 level tsp mixed spice
• 3 eggs 75g butter
• 175 g caster or soft brown sugar
• 225 g sultanas
• 175 g currants
• 50 g cut mixed peel
• 50 g glace cherries halved and washed
• 3 tbsp milk
• 350 g marzipan
• 125 g icing sugar
• 1 tbsp apricot jam
• Easter decorations e.g. sugar eggs, small chickens etc. – Optional

Method:

Grease and line a 200mm round deep cake tin.

Roll out a 100 gms marzipan to a circle the size of the tin.

Sieve together the flour spice and baking powder. Beat the eggs together.

Cream together the butter and sugar.

Beat in the eggs a little at a time with 1 tbsp of flour.

Fold in the remaining flour and stir in the fruit.

Add milk of necessary but do not have the mixture too soft.

Place half the mixture in the cake tin.

Level the top the place the marzipan circle over it.

Spread the remaining cake mixture on top and level it.

Bake. Cool in the tin.

Decorating the cake:

Remove the greaseproof paper. Brush the top of the cake with the warmed apricot jam.

Divide the marzipan into eleven even sized pieces. Roll into balls and place around the outside edge of the cake. Flatten tops and press on the cake firmly so that the balls are touching.

Make up a thick glace icing with the icing sugar and boiled water. Pour into the centre of the marzipan decoration.

Optionally, when the icing is dry decorate with the eggs chicks or flowers and tie a yellow ribbon around the cake.