EARL GREY SIMNEL CAKE

4 Earl Grey teabags 100g Medjool dates, stoned and finely

diced 150g sultanas 150g currants 12 natural glacé cherries, quartered 100g dried apricots, finely chopped The zest and juice of an orange 5 free-range eggs 350g unsalted butter, soft 350g unrefined light muscovado sugar 350g plain flour 100g ground almonds 1 tsp baking powder 1 tsp mixed spice ½ tsp ground nutmeg before adding the next. Sift the dry ingredients into a bowl, including the ground almonds, and fold gently into the whisked butter. Fold in the orange juice, the drained fruit and about 5 tablespoons of the reserved steeping liquid. You should have a nice smooth batter with a soft dropping consistency. Spoon half of the mixture into the tin and level off with a spatula. Divide the marzipan into thirds, and roll out one third into a disc just smaller than the diameter of the cake. Re-wrap the rest to keep it moist. Lay over the cake mixture, and spoon in the remaining mixture on top. Level off and place the tin on a baking sheet. Bake the cake for an hour, then turn down the heat to 150ºC / Gas 2 and bake for a couple more hours, until a skewer comes out clean. You may need to cover the surface loosely with foil, if it darkens too much. Leave the cake to cool completely. When it’s cold, heat about half of the jam in a pan with a splash of lemon juice and pass through a sieve to obtain a clear glaze. Roll out one of the thirds of marzipan. Brush the top of the cake liberally with the glaze and lay the marzipan on top. Crimp the edge of the marzipan in a pleasant, attractive way – I use the ‘pinch and press’ method – and roll the remaining marzipan into 11 balls. Dip each one lightly in the glaze, and place evenly around the cake (I advise making light indentations with the handle of a wooden spoon first, to avoid mistakes with the actual balls). To brown the marzipan, turn the cake gently under a hot grill, or, better still, use a blowtorch to give the top a lovely brown colour. Serve generous slices with a pot of your favourite tea.