Simnel Cake! – Jane’s Patisserie

A traditional easter bake, Simnel Cake. Stuffed with fruit and flavour, with marzipan on prime and inside… scrumptious! 

Relating to easter baking, I’m fairly the fan. I’ve so many bakes below my easter baking part now that I don’t actually know what to choose when I’ve a craving. There are too many scrumptious decisions and but, I wished a traditional bake added in there. After the downright success of my Christmas cake, I knew I wanted to do a simnel cake as effectively. 

Simnel Cake

At Christmas time I posted my Christmas Cake recipe and oh wow golly it went slightly bit mad! I couldn’t actually sustain with the Christmas cake hype to be trustworthy and by no means thought so many individuals would make it. The recipe has a whole lot of components, and takes it’s time to make, but it surely’s price it.

Simnel cake, for me anyway, is similar to Christmas cake within the flavours and concepts. I’ve already had many individuals ask if they will use my Christmas cake recipe for an easter fruit cake, so I believed I might put up a Simnel cake anyway! 

This recipe is a traditional bake, with the identical dense fruity texture, however with added marzipan. A layer within the center, a layer on prime, and in addition 11 balls of marzipan (meant to signify the apostles) and it’s really easy to make. 

The fruit

Relating to the dried fruit, I did keep on with an identical thought because the Christmas cake through the use of a mix of raisins, currant, sultanas, blended peel and glacé cherries. Sure, I do know it appears like quite a bit, however in the event you’re going to make a fruit cake you need it to be fruity. 

In fact, in the event you occur to haven’t any raisins in for instance, you possibly can change them with extra currants and sultanas. You simply need the load of the fruit to be about the identical in order that the ratios of the cake work. 

I additionally added within the zest and juice of an orange to this recipe, because it’s such a traditional addition, however I do know lots of people can’t devour orange. If that is so, otherwise you simply fancy it, you should utilize lemon as a substitute. 

The opposite components

After you’ve got prepped the entire fruit, the remainder of the components are really easy to prep. It’s principally like mixing a standard cake combination once more, and you then combine within the fruit. 

• Butter – the place this combination mixes barely totally different, and also you don’t soften the butter, both a baking unfold or block butter works effectively 
• Sugar – I take advantage of mild brown delicate sugar as I do in so many desserts, however most different sugars work effectively 
• Eggs – I take advantage of 3 medium eggs 
• Flour – this time, I used plain flour. Nonetheless, I then did add a elevating agent. You should utilize self elevating flour and no baking powder if wanted
• Almonds – a key a part of the bake. It’s scrumptious, and there may be already almonds within the marzipan 
• Elevating agent – as talked about above, I take advantage of slightly baking powder on this to forestall a very stodgy cake 
• Spices – a beautiful combination of blended spice, ginger and cinnamon for a scrumptious combine 

Marzipan 

So principally a simnel cake and marzipan come hand in hand, and you’ll’t actually have a traditional simnel cake with out it. I do know, marzipan isn’t to everybody’s style, but it surely actually is greatest. 

You possibly can simply use store purchased marzipan, and infrequently it’s present in 500g packets which is right. You have a tendency to separate it into three parts, roll two of those into 8″ circles to match the scale of the cake, after which use the remaining for the ornament. 

If you happen to actually don’t wish to use it, you possibly can go away it out and beautify in another way. 

Baking

The precise baking of the simnel cake is really easy, as you principally should pour half of the cake combination into the tin, add a layer of marzipan, add the second half of the cake combine… and bake. It’s tremendous straightforward as a result of it’s such a simple cake combine to place collectively, and as soon as baking, there’s little or no left to do. 

Fruit cake can fluctuate barely in baking occasions naturally, however I all the time bake mine for 2 hours at a decrease temp. The decrease temp of the oven makes certain that the cake stays moist, it doesn’t dry out the fruit, and creates the proper texture. 

The marzipan layer will make the cake look slightly odd within the center but it surely’s simply the marzipan, so no worries. You possibly can see cake is bake all through in any other case, and actually… it was DELICIOUS. 

Ornament 

The ornament is sort of particular person relying on who makes it. They are usually related within the sense that I take advantage of apricot jam to stay the marzipan to the cake, and observe the identical thought of the marzipan balls representing the apostles. 

I brush the apricot jam excessive, and press down the second marzipan circle of the recipe. You possibly can beautify it extra closely right here by crimping the perimeters of the marzipan, however I didn’t myself. I then brushed the highest with egg wash, as it will assist it brown, after which rolled the remainder of the marzipan into the 11 balls. 

Place the marzipan balls across the fringe of the cake, and stick down. Brush the highest of those with egg wash as effectively, and you then want the grill. I place my cake onto a baking attempt to make this simpler, flip my grill on, and simply watch it begin to brown. It might take some time to appear to be it’s doing something, however it can flip brown all of a sudden. After that, it’s able to devour! 

Ideas & Tips

• If you’d like a boozy cake, observe my Christmas cake recipe and add the marzipan to that one
• This cake will final for 14+ days simply, if not longer. However I do are inclined to eat it faster than that. 
• I take advantage of this cake tin for my bake 
• Yow will discover marzipan in some supermarkets, or on-line simply. 

• 75 g raisins
• 75 g sultanas
• 75 g currants
• 50 g blended peel
• 100 g glacé cherries (halved)
• Zest of 1 orange
• Juice of 1 orange
• 225 g unsalted butter
• 225 g mild brown delicate sugar
• 3 medium eggs (plus further)
• 150 g plain flour
• 150 g floor almonds
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp blended spice
• 1/2 tsp floor ginger
• 1/2 tsp floor cinnamon
• 2-3 tbsp apricot jam
• 500 g marzipan

• Preheat the oven to 150ºc/130ºc fan and double line a deep 8” cake tin 

• Minimize out a circle of marzipan that matches the scale of cake tin (8″), utilizing about 1/3 of the marzipan 

• Add the raisins, sultanas, currant, blended peel, glace cherries, orange zest and orange juice to a bowl and 50ml of water

• Microwave for two minutes on excessive, or warmth in a pan for 10 minutes

• Add the butter and sugar to a bowl and beat collectively 

• Add the eggs, flour, floor almonds, baking powder, blended spice, ginger, and cinnamon and blend

• Add the soaked fruit and blend in 

• Add half of the cake combine to a pan, add the circle of marzipan, and pour the remainder of the cake combine on prime

• Bake for two hours, till a skewer inserted comes out clear and funky absolutely 

• Brush the highest of the cake with the apricot jam

• Add one other circle of marzipan utilizing one other third of marzipan and roll the remaining into 11 balls and add across the fringe of the cake

• Brush the highest with slightly egg wash and grill within the oven for 1-2 minutes to golden  

ENJOY!

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J x

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