A light fruitcake usually eaten during Easter.
Simnel Cake is popular in the U.K. It is traditionally decorated with a circle of eleven or twelve almond paste “eggs,” representing the twelve apostles. (The one missing is Judas.) This recipe was adapted from the one given to me by my British mother-in-law.
Ingredients
8 oz flour
1 tsp salt
1 Tbl baking powder
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp cinnamon
12 oz currants
4 oz sultanas
3 oz mixed peel
6 oz butter
6 oz super fine sugar
3 large eggs
Up to 3/4 cup of milk
Almond paste
Method
- Preheat oven to 300° F. Grease and line the cake tin.
- Sift flour, salt, baking powder, nutmeg and cinnamon.
- Add fruit and chopped peel.
- Toss lightly until evenly coated.
- Cream butter and sugar thoroughly.
- Beat in eggs one at a time.
- Stir the flour/fruit into creamed mixture, adding milk to give it a dropping consistency. (Mixture should take a few seconds to drop when held on a wooden spoon.)
- Put half the mixture into the tin. Smooth the top.
- Cover with half the almond paste.
- Pour in the remainder of cake mixture. Do NOT top with paste.
- Cook up to 90 minutes. Test at 1 hour 15.
- Cool on a rack.
- Paint cooled cake with warmed warm apricot jam.
- Cover with remaining almond paste.
This Simnel Cake recipe serves 16.
Approximately 514 calories per slice.