Simnel Cake

Total Time: 210

Prep Time: 30

Cook Time: 180

• FOR THE CAKE
• 225g plain flour
• ½ tsp each ground cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice or ginger
• 180 gram(s) unsalted butter, diced
• 50 gram(s) demerara sugar
• 3 medium eggs
• 1 generous tbsp treacle
• tsp sea salt
• 100ml milk
• 400 gram(s) currants
• 225 gram(s) sultanas
• finely grated zest of 1 lemon and 1 orange
• 200 gram(s) coarse-cut marmalade
• FOR THE MARZIPAN
• 200 gram(s) ground almond
• 200 gram(s) icing sugar
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• 1 tsp brandy or dark rum
• 1 medium organic egg, separated

Method

1. To make the marzipan, place all the ingredients except the egg white in the bowl of a food processor and whizz together, then add just enough of the egg white to form a pliable paste. Wrap the marzipan in clingfilm and chill, it can be a day in advance.
2. Heat the oven to 150°C (130°C fan oven) gas mark 2 and butter a 20cm cake tin 9cm deep with a removeable base. Line the base, then the sides, with baking paper, and butter again. Cut out a circle of paper the diameter of the tin for the top of the cake, and cut a hole in the centre the size of a two-pound coin.
3. Sift the flour and spices together. Place the butter and sugar in a food processor and cream together, then add the eggs one at a time, with a little flour in between, and then the treacle. Add the rest of the flour and the salt, and then the milk. Transfer the mixture to a large mixing bowl. Stir in the dried fruit and zest. Gently warm 150g marmalade and press it through a sieve. Reserve the sieved marmalade, and finely chop and stir the peel into the mixture.
4. Spoon half of the cake mixture into the tin, smoothing the surface. On a worksurface lightly dusted with icing sugar, roll out a little under half of the marzipan into a circle the diameter of the cake tin, using this as a guide to trim it. Lay the marzipan on top of the cake mixture in the tin, and reserve the trimmings with the remainder of the marzipan. Spread the sieved marmalade in a thin layer on top of the marzipan, then spoon over the remaining cake mixture. Loosely cover with the paper circle and bake for 2-3 hours. The cake should be firm to touch and a skewer inserted as far as the marzipan should come out clean.
5. Leave it to cool completely. You can now mature the cake for up to a couple of weeks if wished, wrapping it in a double thickness of baking paper and storing it somewhere cool.
6. Heat the grill and peel the lining paper off the cake. On a worksurface lightly dusted with icing sugar, thinly roll out the remaining marzipan into a circle about 1cm larger than the cake, and trim this using the tin as a guide. Gently warm and sieve the remaining marmalade, as before, and use it to paint the top of the cake and the top 1cm of the sides. Lay the marzipan circle on top, gently pressing it on, and use your finger to mark the edge.
7. Roll the trimmings into 12 small balls, dab a little jam onto the base of each one and arrange around the top of the cake. Place under the grill to toast the surface - this happens quite quickly - and you will need to turn the cake to colour the balls evenly.
8. Like most fruitcakes this will be very crumbly to begin with, becoming firmer after a few days. If made in advance, store in an airtight container. Recipe by Annie Bell

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