As owner of Jane’s Patisserie, the legendary baker revealed the best way to make a Simnel cake, which is best prepared ahead of Easter weekend.
Jane promised the Simnel cake “is so easy to make”, even if it does require a bit of time to bake in the oven.
“Once baking, there’s very little left to do,” Jane assured, adding that she puts the oven on a low heat in her recipe to ensure the cake stays moist.
For her fruity cake, Jane uses a mixture of raisins, currants, sultanas, mixed peel and glacé cherries.
“I also added in the zest and juice of an orange to this recipe, as it’s such a classic addition,” said Jane, who noted that the orange can be swapped out for lemon if preferred.
Simnel recipe
Makes: 12 slices
Prep time: 30 minutes
Cook time: two hours
Cooling and decorating: two hours
Ingredients
75g raisins
75g sultanas
75g currants
50g mixed peel
100g glacé cherries (halved)
Zest of one orange
Juice of one orange
225g unsalted butter
225g light brown soft sugar
Three medium eggs (plus extra)
150g plain flour
150g ground almonds
One tsp baking powder
One tsp mixed spice
Half a tsp ground ginger
Half a tsp ground cinnamon
Two to three tbsp of apricot jam
500g marzipan
Method
Preheat the oven to 150C/130C fan and double line a deep eight-inch cake tin.
Cut out a circle of marzipan that matches the size of a cake tin (eight inches), using about one-third of the marzipan.
In a bowl, add the raisins, sultanas, currant, mixed peel, glace cherries, orange zest and orange juice, as well as 50ml of water.
Microwave for two minutes on high, or heat in a pan for 10 minutes. In a separate bowl, add the butter and sugar, and beat together.
Add the eggs, flour, ground almonds, baking powder, mixed spice, ginger, and cinnamon and mix into the butter and sugar bowl.
Add the soaked fruit and mix in. Add half of the cake mix to a pan, then add the circle of marzipan, and pour the rest of the cake mix on top.
Bake for two hours, until a skewer inserted comes out clean and cool fully. Brush the top of the cake with the apricot jam.
Add another circle of marzipan using another third of marzipan; roll the rest into 11 balls and add around the edge of the cake.
Brush the top with a little egg wash and grill in the oven for one to two minutes to golden.