In most modern versions marzipan or almond paste is used as a filling for the cake, with a layer laid in the middle of the mix before the cake is cooked, and it is also used as decoration on the top. Mix all of the ingredients except for the egg in a bowl. Simnel cake is a light fruit cake with two layers of almond paste or marzipan, one in the middle and one on top [1], that is toasted, and eaten during the Easter period in the United Kingdom, Ireland and some other countries. History Simnel Cake. Simnel cake is a light fruitcake formerly eaten during the pre-Easter period in the United Kingdom, Ireland and some other countries but has become a traditional cake for Easter Sunday. I did use ready made almond paste and used 3 X 7oz tubes as we all love it. It would be boiled like a pudding. It is only when you get to the tail end of the 19th century that it starts to look like something we would recognise as a cake, though surprisingly it is not until the 20th century that the familiar marzipan layers and decorative disciples appear. In a large bowl, beat together the softened butter, caster sugar, eggs, flour, cinnamon and zests. Our answer. Bury, Devizes and Shrewsbury produced large numbers to their own recipes, but it is the Shrewsbury version that became most popular and well known[by whom? Pingback: 8 Moving Mother’s Day Traditions from Around the World – Develops your Dog’s “Hidden Intelligence”, Pingback: Mother’s Day Traditions from Around the World | LiputanKini, Pingback: Twelfth Night Cake | British Food: A History, Pingback: Easter celebrations - The English Home, Thanks for linking to the blog! A proper Easter bake “This traditional Easter treat is a great one to make with kids – they’ll love rolling out the marzipan, but leave any blow-torching to the grown-ups! Divide the remaining marzipan and trimmings into 11 equally-sized balls and arrange them in a circle. A Simnel cake is a type of fruit cake that contains plenty of marzipan and is eaten at Easter, although it used to be specifically associated with Mothering Sunday. Change ). Brush the top of the cake with some apricot jam (if it is very thick, you may want to warm some with a little water in a pan) and lay the marzipan on top, then brush the marzipan with the beaten egg. 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). The delicious spiced fruit cake has a layer of marzipan baked inside it as well as being decorated with toasted marzipan. Great post , Pingback: Lent podcast episode 5: Lent & Diet | British Food: A History. This traditional Easter fruit cake is topped with home-made almond paste – with 11 balls to represent the faithful disciples, so make sure you count correctly! I’le to thee a Simnel bring, Change ), You are commenting using your Facebook account. 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. Spoon half of this mixture into the bottom of the cake tin and level it off so it's as flat as possible. One wishes to boil it, one to bake it and, after beating each other with various household implements, they compromise on one which uses both cooking techniques. "This strange cake was what is called in Bury, England, where name, cake and custom originated, a "Simnel cake," and an interesting history pertains to it. A wonderul spiced & fruited cake which heralds the advent of Spring. This may not sound like a special bread, but what made it special is that it made from the highest quality flour possible; Simnel derives from the Latin simila – the whitest and finest of flours. We don't quite know how it tasted but it's often described as being boiled as well as baked. Simnel cake. Change ), You are commenting using your Twitter account. And if you’re interested in the history, the tradition of eating Simnel cake at Easter … Bread regulations of the time suggest they were boiled and then baked, a technique which led to an invention myth, in circulation from at least 1745 until the 1930s, whereby a mythical couple, Simon and Nelly, fall out over making a Simnel. 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