The tradition of making and baking a Simnel cake is a part of British food history we first learned of while watching the Great British Baking Show Masterclass. Though the cake probably dates back to pre-Tudor times, in more recent history the making and giving of Simnel cakes has been associated with Mother’s Day (and Easter), when, for one day, the strict fasting rules during Lent are relaxed.

Historians are not sure of the naming of the cake, but it may trace back to the Latin word for fine flour, simila. But in this century-old cake-giving tradition, young women who were live-in apprentices or domestic servants were allowed to go home for a spring weekend check-up on their parents to make sure the family was well and to bring any needed money for them.

They often took a decorated fruit cake, as a special gift for their mums too. Joseph Lee, in Mother’s Day story for BBC news, explained, ” This was a time of year when food stocks were low, and the high-calorie simnel cake was useful nutrition.”

Unlike the heavy fruit cakes we know at Christmas time, this fruit cake is rich and lighter in texture. The cake is further complemented with a layer of marzipan (almond paste) baked as a center layer of the cake, and then another layer is used to top it off.

This recipe takes 2-3 days, so you will need to get started today. That way you have just enough time to bake this as a perfect Mother’s Day brunch or tea-time treat using this sourdough recipe adapted from Daniel Etherington at Bread, Cakes and Ale and Mary Berry’s simnel cake recipe at BBC Food.

Now don’t get me wrong, I love a new challenge, but this was the hardest sourdough cake I have ever baked. In fact, I broiled the marzipan too long and it blackened, so I had to peel that all off and cover the cake with chocolate ganache.

Simnel Cake for Mother’s Day

Serving Size:
12–16 slices
Time:
48 hours
Difficulty:
Very Difficult

Cake Ingredients

  • 1½ cups/ 360g sourdough starter
  • 2 heaping cups/ 270g flour (all-purpose or white winter wheat)
  • ¼ cup/100g dried milk powder
  • ¼ tsp/2g salt
  • ⅔ cup/80g light brown sugar
  • ½ cup/125g butter, softened, plus extra for greasing
  • 3 large eggs
  • ⅔ cup/100g sultanas
  • ⅓ cup/ 50g candied citrus peel
  • ⅓ cup/50g  glacé (Maraschino) cherries, quartered
  • ⅓ cup/50g dried apricots, chopped into small pieces
  • 2 tsp mixed spice powder (cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cloves, allspice, and mace)
  • ½ cup/50g slivered almonds

Topping/Filling Ingredients

Directions

  1. Feed and build your starter without discarding any of it until you have 1¾ cups/ 400g active starter on hand.
  2. Using an active starter, mix it with all the flour and dry milk to form a shaggy mass. Allow this to rest for 30 minutes autolyse.
  3. Then add the salt, butter, sugar and dried fruits, mixing and folding until well incorporated
  4. Do three more sets of stretch and folds, beginning every 30 minutes for 2 hours.
  5. Allow the dough to bulk rise for 8–12 hours in the fridge overnight to improve digestibility.
  6. After the long ferment, preheat the oven to 320°F/160°C
  7. Grease a 20cm/8in round, deep-sided, loose-bottomed tin with butter and line the base with baking paper. (I used a springform)
  8. Split the cake ingredients, spoon half the mixture into the prepared tin and level the surface.
  9. Roll one-third of the marzipan to the size of the tin’s base and lay it over the layer of cake dough in the pan. This will act as a middle filling between layers.
  10. Spoon the remaining cake mixture on top of the marzipan and level the surface. Bake for 1¾-2 hours or until golden-brown on top and firm in the middle. If the cake is beginning to brown but not cooked through cover it with tin foil. Leave the cake to cool for 10 minutes before removing it from the tin.
  11. Heat the apricot jam in a pan, then brush the top of the cooled cake with a little warm jam. Roll out half of the remaining marzipan to fit the top of the cake. Place the marzipan on the cake and use your thumb to crimp around the edges.
  12. Make 11 balls from the remaining marzipan and place these around the edge of the cake fixing them to the marzipan with a little beaten egg.
  13. Brush the marzipan cover with the egg and glaze under a hot grill for about 2 to five minutes (turning the cake round to ensure even browning). You can do this using a cook’s blowtorch if you prefer.