Modern Simnel Cake

A light fruit cake with almond buttercream and marzipan topping. Perfect for Easter!

Course Dessert

Cuisine British

Keyword Cake, easter

Prep Time 45

Cook Time 45

Total Time 1 30

Servings

Calories 902kcal

Author thebakingexplorer

Ingredients

For the sponge

350 g Butter or baking spread unsalted, softened
325 g Light brown soft sugar
1 Lemon zest only
4 Eggs large
150 ml Milk any kind
350 g Plain flour
3 tsp Baking powder
2 tsp Mixed spice
250 g Dried mixed fruit raisins, sultanas, mixed peel
125 g Glace cherries chopped up into quarters

For the buttercream

200 g Butter unsalted, softened
400 g Icing sugar
1 ½ tsp Almond extract
2-3 tbsp Milk

For decoration

285 g Golden marzipan
1 tbsp Apricot jam or warmed golden syrup

Metric - US Customary

Instructions

Pre-heat your oven to 150C Fan/170C/350F/Gas Mark 4 and grease and line two 8" cake tins (that are at least 2" deep)
Make the sponge by mixing the butter and light brown soft sugar in a large bowl, ideally using an electric mixer
Add the eggs, lemon zest and milk, and mix until fully incorporated
Add the plain flour, baking powder and mixed spice, and mix in until you can't see any flour anymore
Toss the dried fruit and glace cherries in a little flour, then gently stir them into the batter
Divide the mixture between the cake tins, use scales for accuracy if you like
Bake for 45 minutes or until golden brown and a thin skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean. Leave them to fully cool either in the tins or remove from the tins and place on cooling racks
To make the buttercream mix the butter on it's own for a few minutes. Add the icing sugar, almond extract and milk, and mix until smooth. You can add more milk if the buttercream if too stiff. For best results use an electric mixer or a stand mixer with the paddle attachment
If the cakes have domed on top, level them off with a cake leveller or a knife
Put one of the sponges on your serving plate and pipe or spread buttercream all over the sponge, I used a Wilton 8B nozzle to pipe it on
Using your hands, roll up 12 marzipan balls weighing 15g each, then roll the rest of the marzipan out using a little icing sugar so it doesn't stick to your surface (or roll out onto baking paper). Use a small plate to cut out a disc shape that's about 1.5" smaller than the cake
Add the final sponge layer and brush the apricot jam over the top to help the marzipan stick. You can also use warmed golden syrup
Place the marzipan disc on top of the cake
Use a cook's blowtorch to scorch the marzipan in the centre and the top of each marzipan ball
Pipe more buttercream around the edge of the cake, then add the marzipan balls on top
Store leftovers in an airtight container in a cool place and eat within 3 days

Video

Notes

Make sure all your ingredients (particularly the butter and eggs) are at room temperature before you start baking.
I used a baking spread for the cake and unsalted butter for the buttercream.
Mixed spice is a British spice blend usually containing cinnamon, coriander seed, nutmeg, clove, pimento and ginger. If you can't get hold of it, you can use a Pumpkin Spice mix instead. Or try ½ tsp cinnamon, ¼ tsp ground ginger and ¼ tsp ground nutmeg.
You can get two different types of marzipan - natural and golden. I used golden marzipan for this recipe.
You can switch out the lemon zest for orange zest instead if you prefer, or omit the citrus zest entirely.
You can swap the mixed dried fruit for dried raisins or dried sultanas if you're not a mixed peel fan.
And you don't have to add the glace cherries if you're not a fan!
Although I provide cup measurements, I highly recommend weighing your ingredients out using digital kitchen scales. It is the most accurate way to measure ingredients and will ensure the best results. Digital scales are very low cost and can be purchased for around £12 ($16.50).
For teaspoon (tsp) and tablespoon (tbsp) measurements, please use measuring spoons and not the type of spoons you eat with. Again this will ensure accuracy and provide the best results.

Nutrition