Simnel cake is a rich moist fruit cake with a sweet coating of creamy marzipan and the 11 balls of marzipan on top signifying the deciples is a traditional Easter treat. Even though it actually originated as a cake for Mothering Sunday.
Easter baking
Just like Christmas, Easter is another time that people will roll up their sleeves and hit the kitchen even if they never usually bother with baking at any other time of year.
This classic and very traditional Easter Simnel cake is one that you really ought to try at home. And if a Simnel cake is too big a step for you then check out my super easy Simnel Cake Cookies instead.
Simnel cake is basically a fruit cake with quite a lot of marzipan involved. But making a fruit cake is easy. It just takes a tad longer in the oven than your usual sort of sponge cakes etc.
There is something so special and meaningful about the gift of food, after all it is in fact the gift of life itself, where would we be without the food we eat. This Sunday so many of us will be handing over chocolate eggs as gifts for Easter, but why not give a special cake instead – Simnel Cake.
Simnel cake
The Simnel cake is an age old tradition for Mothers Day and dates right back to medieval times when on mid-lent Sunday parishioners went to the Mother Church of the parish (or cathedral in larger areas) and made their offerings. Families would gather and servants were awarded a rare day off to take flowers and gifts of Simnel cake to their mothers at home. Nowadays the cake makes a welcome appearance as an Easter treat as well and shops and bakeries are full of them just now.
The name Simnel is thought to come through the Old French from the Latin simila which referred to a fine flour from which the original cakes were made.
The cake is even mentioned in this verse by Robert Herrick from 1648:
I’ll to thee a Simnell bring
‘Gainst thou go’st a mothering,
So that, when she blesseth thee,
Half that blessing thou’lt give to me
There is no single recipe for Simnel cake and each region of England had its own version which – of course – it considered to be the finest.
Here is a really simple and easy recipe for Simnel Cake that you can whip up in no time with minimal fuss and it tastes amazing.
Ingredients for classic Simnel cake
- 175g/6oz light brown Muscavado sugar
- 175g/6oz unsalted butter (softened)
- 175g/6oz self raising flour
- 3 large eggs
- 25g/1oz ground almonds
- 2tbsp whole milk
- 110g/4oz sultanas
- 110g/4oz dried apricots
- 110g/4oz stem ginger
- 110g/4oz glacé cherries
- 1tsp mixed ground spice
- Marzipan for centre and topping, I used approx 1 ½ packets (454g packets)
- 3tbsp apricot jam
- 1 egg beaten
How to make this Easter Simnel cake
- Preheat the oven to 160c/320f/Gas 3
- Line a 20cm/8” cake tin with baking parchment and grease well with butter. I use a tin with removable base which makes popping the cake out so much easier.
- Measure all the ingredients and sieve the flour and sugar into a large mixing bowl and add the mixed spice. Stir well to combine.
- Make sure your butter is soft enough to work with but don’t melt it completely. Cut into chunks and add this to the mix and mix it well in so there are no lumps left. Keep working it in until the mixture is even throughout.
- Add the eggs and the milk and beat this thoroughly.
- Chop the apricots and cherries into little pieces. Drain the correct amount of stem ginger and chop to same size pieces. Warning; This is really sticky work so make sure you have a cloth to wipe your hands before you touch anything else.
- Add the chopped fruits, sultanas and the chopped ginger to your mixing bowl and beat until everything is combined.
- Spoon half of the mixture into your prepared baking tin and level off the top. Give the tin a tap on the table top to release air and get it to settle.
- Roll out the marzipan to about 1/2cm thick and using your baking tin as a guide, cut out a circle that is just slightly smaller than the tin itself, so that you can fit the circle of marzipan inside the tin and on top of the cake mix that you’ve already put in there.
- Spoon on the remaining cake mixture and level off the top.
- Place in the oven on middle shelf for 1 ½ – 2 hours. Check the cake after an hour and cover top with foil or parchment if browning too much.
- You’ll know the cake is cooked through when it is a lovely golden brown and it should spring back when lightly pressed with a finger, and a skewer will come out clean when inserted into the cake.
- Set aside to cool for ten minutes before removing from the tin and leaving to cool completely on a wire rack.
- Roll out all of the marzipan and cut out another circle the same size as the first one. This will be the topping for your cake.
- Warm the apricot jam either in the microwave for just a second or two, or in a small saucepan. Use this as the glue to bond the marzipan topping to the cake.
- Once the topping in is place go around the edges crimping a little with thumb and forefinger to give an almost frilly edging. Then, taking the back of a knife carefully score a criss cross pattern on the marzipan all over the top of the cake.
- Roll out eleven little marzipan balls ready to place on the cake.
- Beat the egg and using a pastry brush give a fine wash over the surface of the marzipan and to stick the little balls into place around the edges of the cake.
- You can either pop the cake under the grill for four or five minutes to lightly toast the marzipan topping or you can whip out that little kitchen blow torch and use that instead.
For a final touch tie a simple yellow ribbon around the cake. You can add a little posy of flowers on top as well if you like, but traditionally the cake was given very simply with no further adornment or decoration.
Happy Easter!
How long will Simnel cake keep?
Your Easter Simnel cake will keep for up to a month in an airtight container. You can freeze the fruitcake itself for up to 3 months.
Looking for more Easter recipes to try? Then check these out before you go;
DIY version of Heston’s famous chocolate Scotch egg
How to make marbled eggs for Easter
Koulourakia – Greek Easter biscuits
Finally, if you do try this recipe don’t forget to leave a comment/star rating below as I just love to hear from readers. Want more Larder Love? Then follow me on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest and Twitter and sign up for my newsletter too of course.
Traditional Easter Simnel Cake
Ingredients
- 175 g light brown Muscavado sugar
- 175 g unsalted butter softened
- 175 g self raising flour
- 3 large eggs
- 25 g ground almonds
- 2 tbsp whole milk
- 110 g sultanas
- 110 g dried apricots
- 110 g stem ginger
- 110 g glacé cherries
- 1 tsp mixed ground spice
- 650 g Marzipan for centre and topping, I used approx 1 ½ packets (454g packets)
- 3 tbsp apricot jam
- 1 egg beaten
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 160c/320f/Gas 3
- Line a 20cm/8” cake tin with baking parchment and grease well with butter. I use a tin with removable base which makes popping the cake out so much easier.
- Measure all the ingredients and sieve the flour and sugar into a large mixing bowl and add the mixed spice. Stir well to combine.
- Make sure your butter is soft enough to work with but don’t melt it completely. Cut into chunks and add this to the mix and mix it well in so there are no lumps left. Keep working it in until the mixture is even throughout.
- Add the eggs and the milk and beat this thoroughly.
- Chop the apricots and cherries into little pieces. Drain the correct amount of stem ginger and chop to same size pieces. Warning; This is really sticky work so make sure you have a cloth to wipe your hands before you touch anything else.
- Add the chopped fruits, sultanas and the chopped ginger to your mixing bowl and beat until everything is combined.
- Spoon half of the mixture into your prepared baking tin and level off the top. Give the tin a tap on the table top to release air and get it to settle.
- Roll out the marzipan to about 1/2cm thick and using your baking tin as a guide, cut out a circle that is just slightly smaller than the tin itself, so that you can fit the circle of marzipan inside the tin and on top of the cake mix that you’ve already put in there.
- Spoon on the remaining cake mixture and level off the top.
- Place in the oven on middle shelf for 1 ½ – 2 hours. Check the cake after an hour and cover top with foil or parchment if browning too much.
- You’ll know the cake is cooked through when it is a lovely golden brown and it should spring back when lightly pressed with a finger, and a skewer will come out clean when inserted into the cake.
- Set aside to cool for ten minutes before removing from the tin and leaving to cool completely on a wire rack.
- Roll out all of the marzipan and cut out another circle the same size as the first one. This will be the topping for your cake.
- Warm the apricot jam either in the microwave for just a second or two, or in a small saucepan. Use this as the glue to bond the marzipan topping to the cake.
- Once the topping in is place go around the edges crimping a little with thumb and forefinger to give an almost frilly edging. Then, taking the back of a knife carefully score a criss cross pattern on the marzipan all over the top of the cake.
- Roll out eleven little marzipan balls ready to place on the cake.
- Beat the egg and using a pastry brush give a fine wash over the surface of the marzipan and to stick the little balls into place around the edges of the cake.
- You can either pop the cake under the grill for four or five minutes to lightly toast the marzipan topping or you can whip out that little kitchen blow torch and use that instead.
Ooh Karon, your Simnel Cake looks so delicious. I was planning to make Hot Cross Buns but I’m won over by the thought of fruit cake topped with marzipan and I think I might have to make one tomorrow, Ann x
Hi Ann
So thrilled to have inspired you. Go on get that marzipan out and start creating!
K x
Hi Karen! I love your site! It has all kinds of yummy things that most people in the U.S. wouldn’t think of putting together (which I LOVE!) Anyway, I was wondering if Muscovado sugar equates to plain ole brown sugar in the U.S. and if “Stem Ginger” is just raw ginger? I would love to make this cake Authentic, but am not sure if I can find these ingredients here…
Hi Julie
Thanks for the nice comments on my blog. You can use plain brown sugar instead of the muscovado sugar, and stem ginger is the stuff you buy in jars that has syrup with it. Hope this helps. K x