I shall try to remember to update the other post. [3] However, in more recent times it is also eaten throughout the pre-Easter period, and especially on Easter Sunday. Simnel cakes have a long history. Simnel cake is a light fruitcake with delicious dried fruits and topped with marzipan and apricot jam.It is a classic holiday cake popularly served during Easter in certain European countries. Nigella's Simnel Cake (from FEAST) is a fruit cake that has a marzipan filling and topping.Nowadays it is associated with Easter, though originally it was served on Mothering Sunday in the UK (this year on Sunday 26th March 2017). [citation needed], Different towns had their own recipes and shapes of the Simnel cake[citation needed]. Felicity Cloake’s simnel cake. This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Lay the marzipan in the tin and then spoon and scrape the remainder of the cake batter on top of that. 1: The Be-Ro Book. Simnel cake is a light fruit cake with two layers of almond paste or marzipan, one in the middle and one on top, that is toasted, and traditionally eaten at Easter but will last a … When cooked, it was wrapped in pastry, glazed with egg and baked until a good hard crust formed. The delicious spiced fruit cake has a layer of marzipan baked inside it as well as being decorated with toasted marzipan. A simnel cake is a key part of Easter baking.This fruit cake is simple to make but will take a little time in the oven. ( Log Out /  Using a mixer or your hand, form a dough. Simnel Cake, in these times, is associated with Easter but this was not always the case. They are raised cakes, the crust of which is made of fine flour and water, with sufficient saffron to give it a deep yellow colour, and the interior is filled with the materials of a very rich plum-cake, with plenty of candied lemon peel, and other good things. To trace the origin of Simnel cake, you need to go right back to mediaeval times where it began life as a yeast-leavened bread, which may or may not have been enriched. I’m sure that was a very welcome respite. The top layer is capped by a circle of "eggs" made of the same paste, and is lightly browned under a grill. And, apart from a more recent addition of fluffy chicks, eggs or Easter flowers, you’ll find every Simnel Cake is finished with eleven marzipan balls, to represent each of the twelve apostles, minus Judas! Learn how your comment data is processed. Share on pinterest. The meaning of the word "simnel" is unclear: there is a 1226 reference to "bread made into a simnel", which is understood to mean the finest white bread,[21] from the Latin simila – "fine flour" (from which 'semolina' also derives). Simnel cake. I’le to thee a Simnel bring, The traditional Easter cake, with saffron and citrus peel and topped with marzipan, is the very essence of spring. During Medieval times, it was used to celebrate Mothering Sunday. Filed under Britain, cake, Easter, Festivals, food, Recipes, Uncategorized, Tagged as baking, cake, Easter, festivals & celebrations, food, history, Mothering Sunday, recipe, religion, Teatime. I used to make one for my Mum every year, when I lived in England! It is distinguished by two layers of almond paste or marzipan, one in the middle and one on top.The top layer is capped by a circle of "eggs" made of the same paste, and is lightly browned under a grill. Simnel cake history. How to make simnel cake - recipe. ). Change ), You are commenting using your Facebook account. Change ). Now fold in the mixed fruit and cherries with a spatula or wooden spoon. When ready for sale the crust is as hard as if made of wood, ...... the accompanying engraving, representing large and small cakes as now on sale in Shrewsbury. 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