Recipes
Easter Simnel Cake
Meal types: Desserts
As a lighter type of Christmas cake, fruity Simnel Cake is a real treat for all the family, which gets everyone excited for Easter.
Ingredients
250g plain flour
3 tbsp Lactofree fresh dairy drink (whole)
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 + 1/8 cup caster sugar
3/4 cup sunflower oil
2 eggs (plus 1 egg, beaten, for the top of the cake)
300g mixed raisins, sultanas, currants
50g ground almonds
50g chopped candied peel
Zest of 1 lemon
2 tsp mixed spice
2 tbsp brandy (optional)
1 tbsp apricot jam
Lactofree Products
Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 170C/325F/Gas Mark 3. Grease a cake tin and line with greaseproof paper.
2. Roll out a third of your marzipan into a round the size of your cake tin.
3. Sieve flour, baking powder, salt and sugar into a bowl. Add the oil, eggs and Lactofree dairy drink. Beat well for a couple of minutes. Then add all other ingredients (apart from the jam), and mix well.
4. Put half the mixture into the cake tin and lightly press the round of marzipan on top, then cover with the rest of the mixture. Level off the top and bake for an hour, before reducing the temperature by 20 degrees and cooking for another hour or until golden brown, when a skewer inserted in the cake comes out clean.
5. Once the cake has cooled, roll out the half of the remaining marzipan to another round the size of the cake. Spread a thin layer of apricot jam on top of the cake and lightly press the marzipan round on top.
6. Roll the remaining marzipan into 11 small balls. Brush the top of the cake with the beaten egg and then stick the balls all around the outside of the cake.
7. Put the cake under the grill for a couple of minutes to glaze.