Easter Simnel Cake

I unearthed this recipe from my mum's battered, handwritten recipe book - so well used, the brown cover is mottled with the fingermarks of bakers past. To be honest, I've a few cherished recipes where the pages stick together as I'm always turning them with cake batter, or flour on my fingertips. The simnel cake began life in medieval times as a bread and the name Simnel is derived from the type of flour used to bake it Simila. This was a high grade flour. It evolved into a boiled pudding before becoming the cake we know now. In my view, the marzipan is the element that raises this cake into utter yuminess. Best enjoyed with a cup of filtered coffee in my view.

​Ingredients:
225g softened butter
225g SR flour
2 tsp mixed spice
400g mixed dried fruit
150g light brown sugar
50g golden syrup
4 medium eggs - beaten
500g marzipan
Dessert spoon apricot jam
Icing sugar for dusting

Method:
​1) pre-heat oven to 170c (150 fan) gas mark 3

2) Grease a 20cm round cake tin with butter and line with baking parchment

3) Stir flour, mixed spice and dried fruit together in a large bowl

4) In a separate bowl, beat the butter and sugar until pale and creamy. Gradually beat in the eggs. Add the flour mixture and stir to combine with a large spoon.

5) Put into the prepared tin and bake for 1.5 hours or until the cake is has risen and is springy to touch. Set aside to cool.

6) Dust a surface with some icing sugar and roll ou the marzipan. Size using the baking tin. Warm the jam in a  small dish in the microwave or over a small pan of water. When runny, spread over the cake. Stick the marzipan to this. Shape the edges as desired.

7) Roll any leftover marzipan into balls with your palms.. Use a blow torch to brown them off. Use the back of a teaspoon to create a groove around the edge of the marzipan on the cake so the balls won’t roll off.