Easter
Simnel Cake (English fruit cake)
INGREDIENTS
6 oz butter
6 oz sugar
3 eggs beaten
6 oz currants
8 oz sultanas
2 oz glace cherries, rinsed, dried, cut in quarters
Grated rinds of 1 orange and 1 small lemon
2 oz chopped candied peel
8 oz flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon mixed spice
3 tablespoon milk
For topping and filling:
Marzipan
DIRECTIONS
Heat oven to 300 f.
Cream butter in a bowl, then add sugar and beat until mix is
light and fluffy.
In separate bowl, beat eggs.
Add to mix slowly, beating well so as not to curdle.
Gently fold in fruits, candied peel, grated rinds.
Sift flour with baking powder and mix spice.
Carefully fold it into mix alternately with milk.
Don't stir or beat, just fold lightly and carefully.
Now spoon half cake mix into wax papered cake tin.
Take one third of marzipan, placing rest in a bag in fridge,
and roll out in sheet.
Fit sheet of marzipan over mix in tin.
Spoon rest of mix over it.
Level out, then bake cake in center of oven for about 2 1/2 -3
hr, or center is firm and springy.
Leave cake in tin to cool for 15 min before turning it out on
to rack to cool.
When cool, brush top with warmed jam or currant jelly, or egg
white.
Roll out half the remaining marzipan and use cake tin to make
a round circle.
Fit on top of cake.
Make up 11 or 12 little balls of marzipan from the rest, which
represent the apostles, so the Number depends on whether you've
forgiven Judas.
Brush top of cake with beaten egg.
Fix apostles all around, then brush with egg
Place cake under a hot grill until tops of apostle's heads turn
a toasted golden color
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