howard mcsweeney1- Location: Dover
- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 62,352
how many of us have heard of the above?
apparently it was a big easter treat in tudor times and now making comeback.
it is a fruit cake(no offence vic) with a marzipan layer and topped with 11 balls which represent the apostles.
you may query that there were 12 apostles, but for some reason they missed out on judas.
I have heard of Simnel cake so just did a spot of web carousing to find the following.
"The origin of the Simnel cake is recorded in a Shropshire legend. The story is told of Simon and Nell who both wanted to make a cake to give to their mother. Unfortunately they could not agree how to cook the cake. Simon wanted to boil it and Nell wanted to bake it. In the end they decided to do both and produced a rather solid indigestible cake. They probably argued about the name as well and settled on Sim-Nel, and so we have the Simnel cake!
There are several different kinds of Simnel cake. The Devizes Simnel is made in the shape of a star but the Bury Simnel is a flat spiced cake. The best known of all is the Shrewsbury Simnel with a central layer of marzipan in a rich fruit cake.
Ingredients
1 cup margarine, softened
1 cup light brown sugar
4 eggs
1 3/4 cups self-rising flour
1 1/3 cups golden raisins
1 cup dried currants
2/3 cup candied cherries - rinsed, dried and quartered
1/4 cup candied mixed fruit peel, chopped
2 tablespoons grated lemon zest
2 teaspoons mixed spice
1 pound almond paste
2 tablespoons apricot jam
1 egg, beaten
Directions
1.Preheat oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C). Grease and flour an 8 inch springform pan. Line the bottom and sides of pan with greased parchment paper.
2.In a large bowl, cream together the margarine and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time. Beat in the flour. Stir in the golden raisins, currants, candied cherries, mixed fruit, lemon zest and mixed spice. Pour 1/2 of batter into prepared pan.
3.Divide almond paste into 3 equal portions. Roll out 1/3 of the almond paste to an 8 inch circle. Place the circle of almond paste on the cake batter in pan. Cover with remaining cake batter.
4.Bake in the preheated oven for 2 1/2 hours, or until evenly brown and firm to the touch. If the cake is browning too quickly, cover with foil after an hour of baking. Let cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack and cool completely. Set oven to broil.
5.When the cake has cooled, brush the top with warmed apricot jam. Roll out 1/3 of the almond paste into an 8 inch circle and place on top of cake. Divide the remaining 1/3 of almond paste into 11 pieces and roll into balls. These represent the 11 Apostles (excluding Judas.) Brush the almond paste on top of cake with beaten egg. Arrange the 11 balls around the outside edge on the top of cake. Brush the balls lightly with egg.
6.Place cake under the broiler for 8 to 10 minutes, or until almond paste is golden brown.
Nutritional Information
Amount Per Serving Calories: 583 | Total Fat: 27.9g | Cholesterol: 88mg"
Love fruit, love cake, love fruit cake, undecided on fruits.
Guest 650- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 542
I always used to make a simnel cake when the children were smaller.
Sometimes I'd forget it under the grill, and the apostles ended up as sludgy puddles oozing down the sides of the cake
Guest 690- Registered: 10 Oct 2009
- Posts: 4,150
I tried a slice of Mr Kiplings simnel cake this afternoon, a bit like Christmas cake, but the icing was a bit too sweet for me. Went down nice with the tea.
Tell them that I came, and no one answered.
