Recipe: Easter Simnel Cake

Happy Easter! This is one of my favorite times of year. Depending on how early Easter falls you tend to get nice weather. It sits nicely in the beginning / middle of my favorite season, Spring – when daffodils are in bloom and nature is starting to come back to life after a long British Winter. It’s a time of year when the sun begins to feel warm on your face again, the grasses are lush and green and the trees are covered in pink clouds of blossom. I love Spring.

As a child I had a Catholic upbringing, so Easter was an important time of year. I remember feeling like it was a second Christmas. We would wake up on Easter morning feeling so excited, knowing the Easter Bunny (AKA my parents) had hidden chocolate eggs in the garden, and me and my brothers would run outside, rain or shine to see who could find the most.

After mass at church on Easter Sunday, all the kids would be given Cadbury Creme Eggs and then there would usually be a family party to go to where us kids would yet again be showered in chocolate goodies. This is where the Simnel cake comes in! My auntie would often bake a Simnel cake for Easter and until this year I had never made one myself, but I thought I would give it a try!

This recipe is dairy and egg free, so it’s suitable for those on a Vegan diet. I’ve recently moved towards a plant based wholefoods diet since January this year, so I wanted to make a ‘healthier’ version of this cake without the eggs and dairy. I use inverted commas because it still contains all the sugar! I used this recipe on the Guardian website as a guide, but changed a few things since I’m not too fussed about it being gluten free like the recipe I found. Simnel cake is basically a light fruitcake with a layer of marzipan in the middle and then topped with a further layer of marzipan for decoration. For Catholics and Christians, the eleven balls of marzipan represent the eleven apostles of Jesus minus Judas, but even if you’re not religious this is a really yummy treat at Easter and if you prefer, the eleven balls could represent eggs or you could even mould them into cute bunnies or chicks. You could even add a few sugar flowers for a pretty finish. This time I decided to keep it traditional.

You Will Need

18cm-diameter cake tin
Rolling pin
Baking paper

Ingredients

50g glace cherries
150g raisins
50g sultanas
2 tsp mixed spice
500g white marzipan (make sure it’s egg free. I used Waitrose own brand)
50g dairy-free margarine (I used Flora Dairy Free)
50g brown sugar
3 tbsp marmalade (plus a little extra for decorating with marzipan)
1 banana
100g gram flour (I used organic wholemeal spelt flour from Tesco for added nutritional value)
50g ground almonds
2 tsp baking powder
100ml apple juice

Method

Pre-heat the oven to 140C. Line your 18cm-diameter cake tin with baking paper. I find it’s easiest to cut a circle for the base of the tin (draw a circle onto the baking paper using the cake tin as a stencil) and then a longer strip to cover the sides. Use a bit of dairy free margarine to help the baking paper stick to the sides of the cake tin.
Chop the glace cherries into halves and place into a bowl with the raisins and sultanas. Add the mixed spice and stir until all the fruits are evenly coated.
Roll out the marzipan to 2-3mm thick. Cut two circles using the cake tin as a guide. roll the extra marzipan into a ‘sausage’ and divide into 11 equal balls. (I divided mine into 12 because it’s easier and then put the spare one in the middle when decorating the cake)
In a mixing bowl (separate bowl to the fruit) cream the margarine, sugar and marmalade until smooth. Mash in the banana, and stir in the flour, ground almonds and baking powder.
Pour in the spiced fruit and apple juice and stir until well combined.
Scoop half of your mixture into your lined cake tin, followed by one of the marzipan circles. Add the rest of your mixture and smooth out to cover the marzipan. Bake in the oven for one hour and 40-50mins.
When the cake is ready, allow it to cool fully before removing the cake from the tin. Check it’s cooked by sticking a knife into the centre of the cake – it should come out clean. Once cooled, spread some marmalade over the top of the cake and place the final marzipan circle on top. Use a little extra marmalade to stick your marzipan balls around the edge of the top of the cake. Once you’re happy with the presentation, place the cake under the grill for about 5mins to brown the marzipan.
Enjoy your delicious Easter creation!

If you try this for yourself, comment below and let me know what you think.

Thanks for reading, have a beautiful day!