Easter Simnel Traybake
Recipes

Easter Simnel Traybake

A tasty traybake take on the classic Easter cake, packed with dried fruit and zesty peel and topped with toasted...

Ingredients

For the cake

  • 200g mixed currants and dried cranberries 
  • 100g dried apricots, chopped 
  • 85g glacé cherries, chopped 
  • 50g mixed dried peel 
  • 2 oranges juice of one, zest of both 
  • 200g butter, softened 
  • 200g light muscovado sugar 
  • 4 large eggs 
  • 200g self-raising flour 
  • 50g ground almonds 
  • 3 tsp mixed spice 
  • ½ tsp freshly grated nutmeg 
  • 100g marzipan, cut into 2cm chunks 

For the topping

  • A small amount icing sugar, for dusting 
  • 450g marzipan 
  • 1 tbsp apricot jam 

Method

  1. Soak the dried fruit in the orange juice for at least two hours.
  2. Preheat the oven to 160°C/Gas 3. Grease the traybake tin and line with baking parchment.
  3. In a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar with an electric whisk until pale and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well before adding the next.
  4. Sift the flour into the bowl and mix in the ground almonds and spices. Add the marzipan chunks, zest and dried fruit with any remaining orange juice and stir to combine.
  5. Tip the cake mix into the tin, level, and bake for 45 minutes – the cake may still be a little gooey at this point. Remove from the oven and increase the heat to 200°C/Gas 6.
  6. To make the topping, dust your work surface with icing sugar and roll out 350g of marzipan into a rectangle the same size as the cake. Roll the remaining marzipan into balls to decorate the top.
  7. Place the apricot jam in a bowl with 1 tablespoon of water and heat gently in the microwave. Brush half over the cake, place the rolled out marzipan on top, then brush over the rest of the jam.
  8. Put the cake back in the oven and bake for another 10 minutes. Remove, place the marzipan balls on top and use a chef’s blowtorch to brown them off. Use the tin’s cutting guides to cut into pieces and serve.