Traditional British Mothering Sunday Simnel Cake

"A wonderul spiced & fruited cake which heralds the advent of Spring. I used to make one for my Mum every year, when I lived in England! Traditionally made to mark Mothering Sunday, this cake is also known as an Easter Cake; Simnel cake has a fascinating cultural heritage with roots that stretch back to the Romans and Athenians. In Britain, known as the Shrewsbury Simnel, it is simply made using white flour, fragrant spices and is generously studded with dried fruits and pungent peel. Like a Christmas cake, it is covered with pale sweet almond paste. The decoration is plain - eleven little balls of smooth paste which represent the apostles (omitting Judas). A specially baked simnel cake is a wonderful gift to take to your mother, for Mothering Sunday Tea Time. Decorate it with crystalised flowers and tie some yellow ribbon around the side."
 
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photo by kiwidutch photo by kiwidutch
photo by kiwidutch
Ready In:
2hrs
Ingredients:
16
Yields:
1 Simnel Cake
Serves:
6-8
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ingredients

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directions

  • CHECK LIST: a sifter, nest of bowls, food processor or electric beater, spatula, wooden spoon, 24 cm round cake tin, baking paper, brown paper and twine, rolling pin, thin metal skewer.
  • STAGE 1.
  • To make your own almond paste you will need a food processor fitted with a steel blade. Don't be tempted to use store-bought almond paste because it contains lots of sugar and few almonds, it will turn to liquid under the grill.
  • Place icing sugar and almonds in food processor bowl. Process, slowly dripping in egg yolk, orange juice and almond essence. The mixture should form a pliable paste.
  • Set aside a small portion for balls with which to decorate the cake.
  • Roll out the remaining paste into 2 circles which are the approximate size of the tin. Set aside.
  • STAGE 2.
  • Preheat oven to 160°C/320°F.
  • Use a sturdy non-stick cake tub or line the buttered base with baking paper. As the baking period is long (1-1 1/2 hours), prevent the cake drying out by wrapping a double thickness of brown paper around the pan and securing it with twine.
  • Sift flour, salt and spices together, then stir in fruit and peel.
  • Cream butter and sugar thoroughly until light and creamy then beat in eggs one at a time, until the mixture is fluffy. (Reserve a drop of egg yolk for brushing over top layer of almond paste.).
  • Stir flour and fruit into creamed mixture (you may need to add a little milk to give the mixture a dropping consistency).
  • STAGE 3.
  • Place half the mixture into a greased and lined cake tin.
  • Place one pre-rolled round of almond paste over the top.
  • Cover with remaining cake mixture. Before baking the cake, give the pan of mixture a sharp tap on to a firm surface. This settles the mixture and prevents holes from forming in the cake.
  • Bake in the centre of the oven for 1-1 1/4 hours or until a thin metal skewer inserted in the centre of the cake comes out without a trace of stickiness.
  • Level the cake by placing a weighted plate on top of the cooked cake while it is still hot.
  • Turn out cake on to a wire rack after leaving it to settle in the cake tin for between 10 and 15 minutes. Peel off paper and leave to cool completely.
  • STAGE 4.
  • Cover the top of the cake with a second round of almond paste. Roll 11 small balls of paste and place evenly around the top of the cake. Brush the top with a little beaten egg and very lightly brown under the grill until the almond paste turns light golden brown.
  • Remove and leave to cool.

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Reviews

  1. With French Tarts permission I made this without the mixed peel becuase sadly no one here likes it. This came together well...I was a little confused about the brown paper, and I had no twine so I used 2 thickenesses of baking paper AND buttered/floured the bottom and sides of the springform putting the paper inside the tin. I DID give the pan it's tap to get rid of air bubbles but almost had a disaster when I went to take everything off so that I could set this on a cake rack to cool.. the almond paste in the middle was still liquid and was leaking down the sides of the cake at a great rate, so I quickly shoved it as neatly as I could back into the springform and let it cool completely before loosening it again. At least my baking paper helped stem the flow before I lost it all. Some of my eleven little balls slipped off while I had this in the oven the second time... so I'd advise not to put them too near to the edge of the cake. This was a gift to the mechanics in the local garage who fixed our car two days ago, very promptly and with excellent service that we are normally not accustomed to receiving in The Netherlands and I will go back for the spring form bottom later in the week, so will update the star rating when I find out how it tasted. It looked great and once I was started it wasn't so terribly difficult to make. I used ground almonds: aides Culinaires Amandes poudre (A French brand called Maitre Prunille) and it was wonderful! I'm not even a big fan of almond and I loved it, PLUS the almond paste whizzed up so easily in the food processor and rolled like a dream. Bonus becuase no one likes frustration when rolling out. Thanks! I have to confess that I have given 5 stars to this cake without tasting it myself because the 4 mechanics in the garage ate the entire cake between them in one sitting (and it's a BIG cake!) ...so it *must* have been GOOD LOL. Thanks FT !
     
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<p><strong><span>The sunflowers in the field behind my house in SW France:</span></strong></p> <p><img title=Sunflowers src=http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r271/copperhorse58/DSCN8221.jpg alt=Sunflowers width=640 height=480 /><br /><strong><span><br /><br />I am British (English-Scottish), but I was born in South Africa and have lived all over the world, including Hong Kong, Germany, Cyprus, USA &amp; Singapore. I have also been very fortunate to have travelled extensively over the years.........I still have wanderlust! <br /><br />I used to be an English Literature &amp; Art History teacher &amp; lecturer; before that, I trained and worked as a Graphic Designer for many years. I now live in France with my husband &amp; my daughter who has just started university in September 2006. We also have one very chatty Burmese cat Willow, who allows us to live with her here! (I used to have three cats, I recently lost Monty, a beautiful seal point Siamese and before that, Rama, who was a debonair blue point Siamese cat - I would love to have another Siamese cat or cats in the future!)</span></strong></p> <p><em><strong><span>This is my Burmese Cat, Willow, sunning herself on the log pile in the kitchen garden:</span></strong></em></p> <p><strong><img title=My src=http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r271/copperhorse58/ABaconButtyandSundryFoodPhotos34.jpg alt=My width=640 height=480 /></strong></p> <p><strong><span>Here is my lovely Monty, a seal point Siamese, and Willow, sitting&nbsp;in the kitchen garden last year, and a few months before Monty died; he was 18yrs old:</span></strong></p> <p><img title=Monty src=http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r271/copperhorse58/AbsolutelySinfulStickyToffeePudding.jpg alt=Monty width=640 height=480 />My</p> <p><strong><span>This is my wonderful old boy, Rama, a blue-point Siamese, who died when he was 20yrs old - excuse the old and much sellotaped photo:</span></strong></p> <p><img title=Rama src=http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r271/copperhorse58/Rama1stOctober2004164.jpg alt=Rama width=517 height=639 /></p> <p><strong><span>My favourite pastimes are: reading, writing, painting &amp; drawing, photography, gardening, anything creative, walking, travelling, dining out and of course COOKING! I love all types of cuisine, but especially Traditional British - and NO it is NOT all bad!! I particularly love food associated with the changing seasons plus traditional feasts &amp; festivals, as well as Slow Cooking. I also enjoy French &amp; North African cuisine, come to think of it, there isn't much I don't like! <br /><br />My husband &amp; I run a Chambres D'Hotes, (Bed and Breakfast) called Auberge de la Fontaine here in beautiful South West France; we specialise in Gourmet Food &amp; Wine Breaks, French Antiques &amp; Restoration courses, French Language courses and French Cookery classes. Our home is completely furnished with Antique French furniture that we have rescued &amp; restored ourselves. Our charming village has one of the oldest Churches in the region &amp; it is famous for its connection with the St.Jacques de Compostella Pilgrimage route, as well as being within the Cognac &amp; Bordeaux wine growing area. <br /><br />We have a wonderful garden where we grow ALL of our own herbs and most of our fruit and vegetables. I specialise in rare, unusual and old-fashioned herbs, which I grow in our walled garden. As well as growing herbs, I also grow many different varieties of lavender, old-fashioned shrub roses and heirloom fruit and vegetables. <br /><br />We have lived overseas for many, many years now - but we both still love going home to Northern England, near Scarborough &amp; York, to visit our family &amp; friends. 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