THE MONTHLY RECIPE - (April 2009)

Easy Easter Simnel Cake

 
Ingredients
 
1 large orange, zest and juice
175g mixed dried fruits
50g whole glace cherries,
125g marzipan
100g butter
100g golden castor sugar
175g self-raising flour
2 large eggs
1 tablespoon milk
 
For the Icing
 
75g icing sugar
½ zest of 1 orange
1-2 tablespoons orange juice

Method

1. Heat the oven to 140c/160cfan/gas 3. Place the mixed fruit and cherries into a bowl and add the zest and juice. Put aside.
 
2. Grease and line the base and sides of a 6-inch round cake tin with baking paper. Roll out the marzipan into a round the same size as the base of the tin.
 
3. Place the butter, sugar, flour, egg and milk in a bowl and beat with a wooden spoon (for 3mins) or electric mixer (1min) until smooth and glossy. Fold in the mixed fruits and zest and juices.
 
4. Spoon half the mixture into the loaf tin then cover with the round of marzipan, top with the rest of the cake mixture and level the top. Place in the oven and cook for 1hr-1hr.15mins, test with a skewer, but be careful not to over cook as the marzipan will leave a deposit on the skewer. Allow to cool in the tin, remove from tin, and remove lining paper when cold. This cake can be made up to two weeks in advance.
 
5. Decorate the cake a day before eating by mixing the zest, juice and icing sugar until a smooth runny consistency and carefully coat the top of the cake and allow surplus to drizzle down the sides.
 
If you have any spare marzipan roll it out to form 11 balls the size of a small walnut and place them around the outside edge of the top of the cake before the icing sets.
 
A 1lb loaf tin can be used instead of the round tin.