I make - Marzipan Simnel Loaf Cake

It's probably the work stress and the cold weather. The need for fattening up is beckoning to me. 😄

Simnel cake is traditionally for Easter but I prefer this light fruit cake to other denser version for Christmas. This time I finally used Marzipan in my Simnel cake. Homemade marzipan is so easy. I should have tried this years ago!

Marzipan Simnel Loaf Cake

For homemade marzipan:
1.5 cup/150 g ground almond
1.5 cup/180 g powder sugar (or 3/4 cup of powder sugar for almond paste)
2 tsp almond extract
1 tsp lemon juice (optional)
1 egg white or 1 tbsp ground flax + 2 tbsp water
Honey or Amaretto to bring the mixture together

Almond paste has equal part of almond and sugar (by weight) whereas marzipan has more sugar than almond. Otherwise, the ingredients are the same.

Combine everything apart from Honey/Amaretto in a large bowl. Mix well to make a paste. If the mixture is too dry, add one tablespoon of honey/amaretto at a time. As long as you can pinch the mixture together and the mixture stays put, it's ready. Put the marzipan into a large plastic bag and knead it a few times. Shape it into a log or a slab. Refrigerate for later use.

This recipe makes more marzipan than the cake requires. Save the rest in the freezer or make a smaller batch of marzipan.

For Simnel cake:

150 g/1 cup dried fruits of your choice, soaked in your favorite liqueur (rum, amaretto or kirsch for instance) for at least 12 hours
150 g butter, room temperature
100 g brown sugar
Zest from one orange or lemon
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp mixed spice (essential!)
2 eggs
250 g gluten-free flour (your favorite blend)
50 g ground almond (or gluten-free flour)
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
100~125ml milk
1~1.5 cup marzipan 1-cm chunks (homemade or store bought)
Almond flakes or your preferred nuts to scatter on the top (optional)

Start the night before to soak the dried fruits. Thoroughly soaking the dried fruits not only imparts more flavor but also keep the cake moist after it's baked. It's worth soaking the dried fruits at least for 12 hours or a few days.

Preheat the oven at 180C. Grease and line a loaf tin.

Beat butter, brown sugar, orange zest, vanilla and mixed spice together until the butter is fluffy. Add in the first egg, beat well before adding the second one.

Put the flour, ground almond, baking powder and salt in the butter bowl. Beat for a minute to combine. Drain the soaked dried fruits and stir into the flour-butter mixture. Mix in 100 ml milk to the batter. You want a thick batter which drops off the spoon with a shake. Adjust the thickness with the remaining milk. You may not need the whole amount of milk. 

Spoon half of the batter into the prepared tin, scatter over half of the marzipan chunks, then the remaining cake batter, finish with more marzipan chunks and scatter the almond flakes (or your nuts of choice) on the top.

Bake at 180C for 40-45 minutes. I do a toothpick test at 30- and 40-minute time points and judge from there.