Gluten-free Simnel Cake

Easter, is not Easter without a gluten-free Simnel cake. A light, spiced fruit cake which is topped and filled with marzipan. Traditionally, there are 11 balls which represent the 11 disciples. The 12th ball is not included as Judas, who betrayed Jesus is not to be represented. For those who bake a gluten-free Simnel cake and do not want the religious aspect, you could top it off with artificial daffodils.

A Simnel cake is baked as one in a cake tin but it is filled with marzipan. You half fill the tin with cake batter, add a rolled out, circle of marzipan and top with rest of the batter. Unlike a Christmas fruit cake, there is no alcohol and the the Simnel cake is not a rich fruit cake.

FAQs

Can I make this dairy free/ vegan?

Yes, swap the butter and eggs for your preferred replacement.

Can I freeze the cake?

Yes, it should be used within one month.

Top tip

To finish off the Simnel cake, you can either grill or us a cooks torch to caramelise the marzipan but be careful not to burn it.

You can also buy a 500g pack of marzipan but I have included the recipe in case you want to make your own.

Equipment used

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Gluten-free Simnel Cake

Gluten-free Simnel cake

Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 2 hours
Servings 12

Ingredients
  

Marzipan

  • 250 g Caster sugar
  • 250 g Ground almonds
  • 2 Free range eggs
  • 1 tsp Almond essence

For the cake

  • 175 g Butter
  • 175 g Soft brown sugar Dark or light
  • 3 Free range eggs large
  • 2 tsp Mixed spice
  • 1 tsp Baking powder
  • 1/4 tsp Xanthan gum
  • 175 g Gluten-free plain flour
  • 350 g Mixed fruit with peel
  • 1 Zest of orange and juice
  • 2 tbsp Apricot jam
  • 1 Free range egg

Instructions
 

Make the marzipan

  • Place the sugar and almonds into a mixing bowl and stir. Beat the egg and stir into the sugar mix. Bring together and knead for a minute. It should form a marzipan type dough.

To make the cake

  • Heat the oven to 130c fan.
  • Add the mixed fruit with the juice and zest of one orange. Heat in a microwave for 2 minutes and allow to cool down.
  • Beat the sugar and butter together. Beat in the egg one at a time. Now beat in the flour, Xanthan gum, baking powder and mixed spice. Beat in the fruit.
  • Add half of the cake batter to a lined deep baking tin. Roll out a 3rd of the marzipan to the depth of a 10p coin. and place on top of the batter. Now cover with the rest of the batter. Bake for 2 hours.
  • Allow to cool fully. Microwave the jam and glaze the top of the cake. Roll out a round of marzipan to sit on top and place it. Roll 11 equal balls of marzipan and put round the edge equally. Beat the egg and glaze the marzipan. Grill until lightly browned or use a cooks torch. cool and serve.