Name: Simnel Cake
Yield: Serves 10
Cuisine: Irish
Ingredients: 130 g (4½ oz) sultanas; 65 ml (2½ fl oz) Stock Syrup; 1½ tbsp brandy; finely grated zest of 1 lemon; 210 g (7½ oz) soft brown sugar; 225 g (8 oz) plain flour, sifted; 85 g (3 oz) glacé cherries; 85 g (3 oz) mixed citrus peel; 2 tsp cocoa powder; 1½ tsp ground mixed spice; ½ tsp salt; ½ tsp baking powder; 225 g (8 oz) raisins; 600 g (1 lb 5 oz) ready-made marzipan; 1½ tsp coffee essence; 40 g (1½ oz) ground almonds; 40 g (1½ oz) whole almonds; sugar paste, to decorate; icing sugar, for rolling out; 210 g (7½ oz) butter, softened; 360 g (12½ oz) currants; 4 eggs

Preparation info

Serves
10

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

World's Best Cakes

By Roger Pizey

Published 2013

About

The Simnel Cake is baked as an Easter tradition to signify the end of Lent and fasting in the UK and Ireland. Rich with fruit, spices and marzipan (on the top and in the middle), it is filled with all the ingredients that have been given up for Lent. All of Jesus’s apostles are represented by the marzipan balls on the top except Judas, so only use 11 balls not 12.