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Mini Simnel cakes recipe
Mini Simnel cakes recipe from eGJ |
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IngredientsFor the almond paste:150g (5oz) ground almonds 100g (3 1/2 oz) golden caster sugar 100g (3 1/2 oz) golden icing sugar (sifted) 2 tbsp egg, beaten Grated zest of 1/4 lemon 1-2 tsp lemon juice Few drops vanilla extract Few drops almond essence For the cakes: 175g (6oz) butter (softened) 175g (6oz) light muscovado sugar 3 medium eggs, beaten 225g (8oz) plain flour (sifted) Pinch of salt 1 level tsp ground cinnamon 1 level tsp grated nutmeg 1 level tsp mixed spice 125g (4oz) natural glace cherries (washed, dried and cut into quarters) 50g (2oz) whole natural peel (chopped) 250g (9oz) currants 125g (4oz) sultanas Finely grated rind and juice of 1 lemon 1 egg white |
Handy HintThey brown VERY quickly so watch them closely. John Lewis rings are good too if you haven't enough small tins. |
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Method1. Grease and line four 7.5cm (3in) wide and deep rings (or 325g sweet corn/baked bean tins).2. To make paste: put almonds and sugars in a bowl. Make a well in centre, add remaining paste ingredients and mix. Dust a surface with icing sugar and knead paste until smooth. Wrap. Chill for 1-2hrs. 3. Preheat oven to 170C (150C fan oven) / Gas mark 3 4. To make cakes: beat butter and sugar in a bowl until pale and fluffy. Add eggs a little at a time, beating well each time. Add 2 tbsp flour if it curdles. 5. Add remaining flour, salt, spices, dried fruit, lemon rind and juice and fold together. 6. Divide half the cake mixture among the prepared tins. Take a third of the almond paste and dust a surface with icing sugar. Roll to 3mm (1/8 in) thickness and cut out four rounds with a 7.5cm (3 in) cutter. Put the almond paste circles on top of the cake mixture. 7. Add the remaining cake mixture, level surface and bake for 20 mins, then turn the oven down to 150C (130C fan oven) /Gas mark 2 and continue to cook for 1 hour. 8. Remove cakes from the oven, leave to cool in their tins for 1 hour, then turn out on to a wire rack and cool completely. 9. Peel off the paper. Slice the top off each cake to make a flat surface. Halve the remaining almond paste, roll out to 3mm (1/8 in) thickness and cut out four rounds with the cutter as before. 10. Divide the remaining almond paste into four, then divide each portion into 11 pieces. Roll each of these pieces into a ball. Brush the paste circles and balls with the remaining egg white. 11. Preheat the grill. Lightly beat the egg white to brush over the top of the cakes. Put the circles on top and fix the balls around the top edge of the cakes with a little egg white and put the four cakes on a heatproof tray under a hot grill for 1-2min (or use a kitchen blow torch) until golden brown. | |||||||||||||||||||
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