History

Simnel cakes are now an Easter treat, but did you know that they were originally baked for Mothering Sunday, the fourth Sunday of Lent.

Girls who worked in ’service’, (working as a live-in servant for a wealthy family), were usually allowed home to visit their mothers on this day.

A simnel cake was often baked by these girls to present to their mothers as a token of their love. These were then eaten on Easter Day, (Easter Sunday).

Significance

Traditionally a simnel cake is a fruit cake with a layer of almond paste in the middle and a layer on top.

It has eleven almond paste balls around the outside of the top which signify the apostles. Judas Iscariot has been forever banished from the simnel cake for his treachery.

An additional ball of almond paste used to be added at the centre of the cake top to signify Jesus, but nowadays it is usual to decorate the centre with Easter motifs or crystallised spring flowers.

Ingredients

For the cake

• 8oz (225g) – Softened butter

• 8oz (225g) – Light brown (Muscovado) sugar

• 4 – Eggs

• 8oz (225g) – Self raising flour

• 2oz (55g) – Chopped mixed peel

• 4oz (110g) – Currants

• 4oz (110g) – Glacé cherries, chopped into quarters.

• 8oz (220g) – Sultanas

• 2 – tsps Mixed spice

• Zest of 2 unwaxed lemons. When zesting, grate off the yellow skin only, don’t grate into the white pith as this will leave a bitter taste.

For the almond paste filling and topping

• 14oz (400g) – sifted icing sugar

• 8oz (250g) – ground almonds

• 1 large egg yolk, beaten lightly

• 3-4 tbsps – lemon juice

• 1 tsp – almond essence

• Apricot jam, for use as an adhesive

Method

For the almond paste.

Shop-bought marzipan doesn’t work for this recipe, it just liquefies under the grill.

To make your own almond paste you are going to need a food processor with the steel blade fitted.

1. Place the icing sugar and almonds into the bowl of the food processor.
2. Switch the processor on and slowly drip in the egg yolk, lemon juice and almond essence.
3. Mix until the ingredients have turned to a pliable paste. 
4. Divide into three portions, one to make the centre, one to make the top and one to make the balls.

For the cake.

Firstly, pre-heat the oven to 300°F (150°C / Gas Mk 2.)

Butter and line the base and side of an 8 inch deep round cake tin with buttered greaseproof paper. Personally, I use the marvel of the age, Non-Stick Baking Paper, which cuts out the need to grease the tin or the paper.

1. Put all of the cake ingredients into the mixing bowl and stir well until they have completely blended.
2. Put half of this mixture in the cake tin and level off the surface.
3. Dust the rolling surface where you are going to roll out your almond paste with icing sugar (to prevent the almond paste sticking to it) and take one-third of your almond paste and roll it out into a circle, the size of the tin.
4. Place the almond paste on top of the cake mixture in the tin.
5. Gently spoon the rest of your cake mixture over the top of the almond paste and smooth the surface.
6. Put the cake into the oven and bake for about 21/2 hours until it is well risen and firm to the touch and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
7. Check your cake after an hour and if the top is browning too quickly, cover it with aluminium foil.
8. Allow the cake to cool in the tin for ten minutes and then turn it out onto a wire rack to completely cool.

Now for the fun bit.

1. When the cake has cooled, take the second of your three portions of almond paste and roll out a circle to fit the top of the cake.
2. Brush the top of the cake with a little warmed apricot jam and place the circle of almond paste on top of it.
3. Press the almond paste firmly on the top and crimp the edges.
4. With your remaining third of the almond paste, cut it up into eleven even sized pieces, dust your hands with icing sugar and roll each piece up individually between your hands until they are smooth and round.
5. Lightly, brush a strip of the apricot jam around the top edge of the cake and place the almond paste balls equidistant around the top, pressing gently to ensure that they stay in place.
6. Place the cake under the grill to toast the almond paste but beware, keep your eyes on the cake all the time at this stage because the almond paste will burn, very, very easily. You have been warned!

Decorate.

After you have toasted the almond paste, it is ready for decorating. You can use your own creativity at this point.

You could try decorating it with little chocolate Easter eggs or fluffy bunny rabbits or chicks or you could even try crystallised flowers.

Make your own crystallised flowers.

Important: Make sure that any flowers you use are edible. Pansies, primroses, violas or violets would be perfect.

The crystallised flowers are for decoration only and should not be eaten. Edible flowers are used to ensure that nobody gets poisoned in the event of accidental ingestion.

1. Lightly beat the white of an egg.
2. Place the clean dry flowers on a flat surface. A baking tray or breadboard covered with greaseproof paper would be ideal.
3. Brush the petals or buds and the stalks with the egg white.
4. Immediately gently dredge the flower with caster sugar and carefully shake off the excess, before the egg white dries.
5. Leave the flowers in a warm place until they have dried. When fully dry they become hard and brittle.
6. All that’s left to do is to arrange the flowers on top of the cake and voilà, you have now created a perfect, traditional simnel cake.

Enjoy!