Easter simnel cake

Bake a mouth-watering showstopper for Easter lunch with these classic cake ideas

Easter simnel cake

This traditional simnel cake can be topped with 11 balls of marzipan – said to represent 11 of Jesus’s disciples, leaving off Judas – or spring flowers. Serves 12 Prep 30 mins plus cooling Cook 2 hrs

250g mixed dried fruit (a mixture of sultanas, currants, raisins and candied mixed peel)

1 orange, zested and juiced

500g marzipan

250g butter, softened, plus extra

for the tin

200g light brown soft sugar

4 eggs, plus 1 egg beaten to glaze 175g plain flour

100g ground almonds

1 tsp baking powder

1 lemon, zested

2 tsp mixed spice

1 tsp vanilla extract

100g glacé cherries, halved apricot jam, warmed, to brush

1 Put the mixed dried fruit in a heatproof bowl with the orange juice and zest and

2 tbsp water. Cover and microwave for 2 mins, then leave to cool completely. Alternatively, heat gently in a pan, stirring occasionally until the liquid has been absorbed. Leave to cool

2 Heat the oven to 150C/130C fan/gas 2.

Roll out a third of the marzipan, and use the base of a deep 20cm cake tin as a template to cut out a circle. Wrap any offcuts and the rest of the remaining marzipan, and set aside. Butter the cake tin and line with a double layer of baking parchment. Beat the butter

and sugar together until creamy. Add the 4 eggs, the flour, almonds, baking powder, lemon zest, mixed spice and vanilla, and mix until well combined. Stir in the soaked dried fruit and fold in the cherries.

3 Scrape half the cake mixture into the tin. Top with the disc of marzipan, then the remaining cake mixture, and level the top with a spatula. Bake for 2 hrs. Check it’s cooked by inserting a skewer to the middle of the cake – if any wet mixture clings to the skewer, return to the oven for another 10 mins, then check again. Leave to cool in the tin for 15 mins, then turn out onto a wire rack and leave to cool completely.

4 Brush the top of the cake with some apricot jam. Roll out half of the remaining marzipan and use the base of the cake as a template to cut out another circle. Place it on top of the cake and crimp the edges, if you like. Heat the grill to high. Roll the rest of marzipan into 11 equal balls, if you like. Brush the marzipan circle on the cake with some of the beaten egg, and arrange the marzipan balls in a circle on top around the edge. Brush these with some egg, too. Grill for 1-2 mins until just starting to caramelise – be very careful as the marzipan will burn easily. Leave to cool. Will keep in a sealed container for up to a week.

PER SERVING 619 kcals, fat 29g, saturates 12g,

carbs 30g, sugars 60g, fibre 2g, protein 44g, salt 0.7g

Tip Keep a close eye on the marzipan topping when you grill it – it only needs to be just turning brown. It can easily catch and burn if you’re not careful.