Orange Simnel Cake

Orange Simnel Cake is my version of the traditional cake without any dried fruit and with a lovely orange flavour, made especially for my mum.

Orange Simnel Cake

Simnel Cake was traditionally taken by servant girls to their mothers on Mothering Sunday, which falls three weeks before Easter. It's usually a fruit cake with a layer of almond paste, or marzipan, in the middle and another on top. It's decorated with 11 balls of marzipan, one for each disciple - apart from Judas Iscariot, who was persona non grata at this point.

For Mothering Sunday or Easter

Simnel Cake has become more of a general Easter cake for people who like fruit cake, but I do sometimes make one for my mother on Mothering Sunday. Then I'll make a chocolate cake - like Easter Nest Cake - for Easter itself. Any excuse for more cake really!

Simnel Cake without fruit

My mother isn't so keen on dried fruit anymore, so I now make a version without any fruit in. Essentially this is a Madeira Cake with lots of orange flavour. This 17/18cm cake will give 8-10 slices, depending on how hungry (or greedy) you are.

I used orange zest, orange juice and orange extract in this cake but you could just use the extract (2-3 teaspoons) or extra zest. Using extra orange juice would alter the consistency unless the eggs aren't all large, although a little more isn't going to make much difference. If you omit the orange juice, add milk instead.

Marzipan is a vital ingredient

You could make the marzipan or buy it, in which case you need about 1kg. Any leftover can be kept in the fridge for a week or so until needed next.

You could made into shapes like petit fours - or Marzipan Stars - or you could just eat it. You could also use it for Simnel Cupcakes.

To get the right sized circles for inside and the top of the cake, put the ball of marzipan on a silicone baking mat so it won't stick, and pat with the flat of your hand until it's about the right size and shape. Then put a baking parchment circle of the right size on top and use a rolling pin to correct the shape. If you want to be exact, roll the marzipan a bit bigger than the parchment circle and use a knife to cut out the shape but, really, why bother?

How to brown the cake

Put the cake under the grill to brown the top (after a light eggwash). The marzipan balls browns nicely but if the cake top doesn't, you might need to resort to a blowtorch - the culinary kind of course. Although apparently, you can use them for small DIY tasks. (I keep that fact (and the blowtorch) well hidden to prevent it being hijacked for other purposes.)

Unfortunately, I got a little impatient when I did this and moved the blowtorch too close so there's a little bit of darker brown on top. Not burning exactly, but not the nice golden brown I wanted.

If you are buying a blowtorch, by the way, I would make sure it has a safety catch so that it can't be accidentally switched on. The flame wouldn't come on anyway, but you don't really want a cupboard full of butane gas.

The grill and/or blowtorch also softens up the marzipan, so leave it in a cool place for a while before serving - or just forget about browning it altogether!

Watch the baking powder

A quick note about baking powder, if you're interested. This sort of cake needs less baking powder than a Victoria Sandwich, so using the all-in-one method to make it without extra BP is fine.

How long will the cake keep?

An Orange Simnel Cake will keep well for a couple of weeks in an airtight container in a cool place. I often put cakes like this in the fridge and they really stay very fresh. One cold Easter I kept it in my conservatory, which was almost as cold as the fridge.

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