Bake of the Week: Simnel Cake with a Twist

BAKE Of The Week is all about Easter.

Come on, you can’t get enough of chocolate, cake and hot cross buns!

This Simnel Cake from Crabbie’s is a twist on a traditional Easter favourite.

It’s made with fresh raspberries and raspberry flavour and it’s totally moreish.

You’ll need

250g butter

250g brown sugar

5 eggs

100ml Crabbie’s Scottish Raspberry

250g self-raising flour

2 tsp mixed spice

200g sultanas

100g currants

100g dried cherries

Zest of two oranges

700g marzipan

100g raspberries

For the candied nuts:

150g whole almonds

150g sugar

Method

Pre-heat oven 150C/130C fan/gas mark 3/325F.

Cream the butter and sugar together then beat in the eggs, one by one. Add the Crabbie’s.

Sieve the flour and mixed spice into the bowl and fold in. Add dried fruit and zest. Place half of the mix into a 10” cake tin.

Roll out about 200g of marzipan to 10” and place on top of the mix. Put the other half of the mix into the tin, cover in tin foil and put in the oven to bake for around 3 hours – check it after 2½ hours.

Transfer to a cooling rack and cool for 1 hour. Meanwhile, roll out another 10” marzipan ring and place on top.

Make 11 balls of marzipan by rolling in the palms of your hands. Place round the edges of the cake evenly and put under the grill until the marzipan turns golden brown.

For the candied nuts, put the sugar in a heavy-based saucepan with a splash of water and bring to a rolling boil. Add the nuts, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon until the sugar has cooled and the nuts are coated.

Place a candied nut on top of each ball and position raspberries in between each marzipan ball.