Читать книгу The British Baking Book - Regula Ysewijn - Страница 59

If you can’t find apricot kernels, use

an extra ¼cup (20 g) of almond meal

and add a few drops of natural almond

flavor or maraschino liqueur. If using

store-bought marzipan, get two 14-oz

(400-g) packs to be safe—you’ll need

extra for the marzipan balls.

63

For 6–8 people

For the homemade marzipan

1¾ cups (200 g) confectioners’ sugar

1 cup (200 g) superfine sugar

4¼ cups (360 g) almond meal

6 Tbsp (40 g) apricot kernels

(see page 19)

1 tsp rosewater or maraschino liqueur

2 eggs, beaten

For the cake

½ cup (115 g) butter, at room

temperature

heaping ½ cup (115 g) superfine sugar

3 eggs

scant 1 cup (110 g) plain white flour

²⁄

³

cup (55 g) almond meal

1 tsp baking powder

2¹⁄

³

cups (340 g) currants

¹⁄

³

cup (55 g) candied citrus peel,

chopped

½ Tbsp apricot jam, to garnish

butter, for greasing

flour, for dusting

1 egg yolk + 1 Tbsp milk, for egg wash

For a round 7- to 8-inch springform tin

It is best to make the marzipan a day in advance. Sift the confectioners’ sugar,

superfine sugar, and almond meal into a large bowl and mix well. Soak the apricot

kernels in boiling water for 5 minutes, then remove the skins. Using a mortar and

pestle, finely crush the apricot kernels and add the rosewater or maraschino liqueur.

Make a well in the dry ingredients and add the eggs and the apricot kernel mixture.

Use a spatula or wooden spoon to mix everything well, then use your hands to

knead the marzipan. If necessary, add a teaspoon of water at a time until it comes

together but doesn’t become sticky. Wrap the marzipan in plastic wrap and let it

rest at room temperature.

Preheat your oven to 325°F. Grease the tin with butter and cover the base and

sides with a double layer of parchment paper. Fold a piece of brown paper in half,

then wrap it around the outside of the tin and secure with kitchen string.

Divide the marzipan in half and roll each piece out to about ¼ inch thickness.

Use the cake tin to cut out two 8-inch circles. Roll 11 marzipan balls from the

leftover marzipan.

Put the butter and superfine sugar in a bowl and beat until creamy. Add the eggs,

one at a time, and make sure that each egg is completely incorporated before

adding the next one. Add a teaspoon of the flour with the last egg to prevent the

mixture from separating. Fold in the remaining flour, the almond meal, and the

baking powder, followed by the currants and the candied citrus peel.

Spoon half of the batter into the tin, then place one of the marzipan circles neatly

on top of the batter. Spoon the other half of the batter on top.

Reduce the oven to 250°F and bake the cake in the lower part of the oven for

2 hours. If a skewer inserted in the center of the cake does not come out clean,

bake for another 15 minutes.

Remove the cake from the oven and switch the oven function to broil. Allow the

cake to cool in the tin for 15 minutes, then remove it from the tin. Brush the top

of the cake with a thin layer of apricot jam and place the remaining marzipan circle

on top. Arrange the marzipan balls on the marzipan circle, using a little apricot

jam to secure them.

Lightly brush the marzipan balls with the egg wash. Briefly put the cake back in

the oven to give the balls a light golden color.

This simnel cake is based on a recipe from May Byron’s iconic 1914 book, Pot-luck; or, The British Home Cookery

Book. Byron points out that this is a simnel cake from the Gloucestershire region, because variations of simnels were

also baked in Bury, Devizes, and Shrewsbury. These simnels, however, were not finished with the balls of marzipan as

has become the custom today.