Fruity simnel squares

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• Feather

  28 March 2012

  Feather rated and commented on this recipe

  

  Made this gorgeous interpretation of a simnel cake for the family. Absolutely delicious! It is quite time-consuming with all the soaking, mixing, baking, topping, baking again and icing stages (kitchen smells wonderful!) but it is amazingly irresistible and I will make it again, possibly experimenting with a slightly larger tin to make a greater number of shallower tray bakes which might go down better with the weight watchers!! Yum!

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• claireriches

  28 March 2012

  claireriches commented on this recipe

  My son has just made this at school for his GCSE Food Tech. He had to make something from an Easter recipe. Although the ingredients were quite expensive the finished cake was well worth it. Absolutely delicious even the nut and marzipan hating members of the family loved it.

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• anne_f_

  06 April 2012

  anne_f_ commented on this recipe

  This is delicious, but needs a bigger tin than the recipe says!

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• fodder

  06 April 2012

  fodder commented on this recipe

  I am a little confused about the method for the topping. If you add any type of liquid, in this case golden syrup, to a crumble mix it will clump together. I have made it using just 1 tbls of syrup as it seemed to be a lot of sweetness. Still clumped but looks good. Not eaten yet. That's for tomorrow!

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• Mia A

  06 April 2012

  Mia A rated and commented on this recipe

  

  A fab recipe, I overcame the golden syrup causing the top to go clumpy by putting the dry mix on top and then squeezing the golden syrup over the top. Worked a treat.

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• Stormy

  07 April 2012

  Stormy rated and commented on this recipe

  

  A great new take on Simnel Cake. Made it withiout the icing which was fine and cut the squares smaller. A small piece of Wensleydale cheese goes very well with the cake. Excellent for people who like marzipan. Will make again.

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• Ruth

  07 April 2012

  Ruth rated and commented on this recipe

  

  Great recipe - made twice. 2nd time used a larger shallower tin which worked well. Also used `Doves` gluten free flour. The topping works fine if you gently work with a fork. Decorated top with marzipan balls & mini eggs, browned marzipan with a blow torch & drizzled icing over. Yum!

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• JaneMR

  09 April 2012

  JaneMR rated and commented on this recipe

  

  This was absolutely stunning! Used a knife to "cut" the golden syrup through the topping mixture. Even without the topping it would be delicious and I may do that on a regular basis. Nothing else to add except that some-one keeps raiding the cake tin!

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• Rowena

  09 April 2012

  Rowena rated and commented on this recipe

  

  Really great recipe. I made this to take round to my mothers for easter monday and she loved it! I had trouble trying to stop the crumble topping clumping together but it still tasted great. Very happy with this recipe, although time-consuming, its worth it!

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• SyrilSquirrel

  09 April 2012

  SyrilSquirrel rated and commented on this recipe

  

  Delicious and pretty easy! Failed dismally to stop crumble clumping together but is still looked and tasted great. Will definitely be making again next Easter.

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• Frantic Flapjack

  11 April 2012

  Frantic Flapjack rated and commented on this recipe

  

  A great idea to cut into squares but I found the finished cake far too sweet and cloying. You really don't need the topping and the icing. If I make again I would just make the basic cake.

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• Kirstie

  15 May 2012

  Kirstie rated and commented on this recipe

  

  Very tasty (I'm not even a big fan of marzipan) and not too sweet. I made it in a slightly bigger tin and cut it into more servings, which worked well, they didn't need to be any bigger.

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• JaneMR

  07 October 2012

  JaneMR commented on this recipe

  As a lover of marzipan I thought I had died and gone to Heaven. This is truly a WONDERFUL cake. Don't wait for Easter. I have to make it regularly now or I get complaints.

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• JaneMR

  07 October 2012

  JaneMR commented on this recipe

  Oops, sorry, I forgot I had already commented!

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• Ruth

  27 March 2013

  Ruth commented on this recipe

  Golden syrup AND marzipan AND icing on a rich sweet fruit cake? I've got reservations about this. I might make the basic cake, which looks lovely, but not at all sure about the topping.

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• Ellie Bee

  30 March 2013

  Ellie Bee rated and commented on this recipe

  

  Just made this and it was very yummy and easy to do. I made it in a 28X18cm tin and that was fine. I also added some grand marnier to the mixture (1 tsp) as I forgot to soak the raisins and I thought it would give it something extra. I reduced the sugar to 175g in the cake but kept the amounts the same for the topping, although I didn't add the golden syrup. I didn't have any dried apricots so I just added more raisins and that worked well too. Definitely worth a go but it's very rich. Definitely for special occasions!

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• cornishcook

  01 April 2013

  cornishcook rated and commented on this recipe

  

  I made this for Easter and used a 28cm x 28cm roasting tin which was the perfect size. It was enjoyed by all the family but I personally thought the addition of the marzipan to the cake mix made it a bit sweet. I would definitely try the suggestion about adding the golden syrup after spreading the topping on the cake as it was difficult stop it from clumping, or omit it altogether, if I made it again. A special occasion cake as it is quite expensive to make and a bit time consuming.

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• Janet

  10 April 2013

  Janet rated and commented on this recipe

  

  My friend said this is the most delicious cake she has ever tasted. Definitely only for marzipan fans. It is fabulous and I will make it again. I will probably choose it as my Christmas cake. I left out the syrup and it was still very sweet.

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• sarahkdouglas

  14 April 2013

  sarahkdouglas rated and commented on this recipe

  

  Not sure about this one. As others have said, it's extremely sweet, and that was without the icing and golden syrup. The crumble topping was also not what I was hoping - the marzipan got very chewy and almost burnt, and when it was cooked the topping just fell off. Not sure it can really qualify as simnel cake, and I don't think I'll be making this again.

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• caroline

  26 April 2013

  caroline rated and commented on this recipe

  

  This is fantastic! I baked this just after Easter, so omitted the marzipan balls and icing. The cake is very rich and filling, and easily divides into a lot more than 15 portions, so next time I'll make a half quantity.

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Ingredients

• 250g mixed dried fruits
• 100g dried apricots , chopped
• 85g glacé cherries , chopped
• zest 2 oranges , juice 1 orange (use the second in the topping)
• 200g butter , softened, plus extra for the tin
• 200g light muscovado sugar
• 4 large eggs
• 200g self-raising flour
• 50g ground almonds
• 2 tsp mixed spice
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• ½ tsp freshly grated nutmeg
• 500g marzipan , 200g/7oz cut into 2cm chunks, the rest for the topping

FOR THE TOPPING

• 50g butter
• 50g light muscovado sugar
• 100g plain flour
• 100g flaked almonds
• 3 tbsp golden syrup
• 85g icing sugar , sieved
• 2-3 tsp orange juice

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Difficulty and servings

CUTS INTO 15 squares

Preparation and cooking times

Prep 40 mins

Cook 1 hr

Ingredients

• 250g mixed dried fruits
• 100g dried apricots , chopped
• 85g glacé cherries , chopped
• zest 2 oranges , juice 1 orange (use the second in the topping)
• 200g butter , softened, plus extra for the tin
• 200g light muscovado sugar
• 4 large eggs
• 200g self-raising flour
• 50g ground almonds
• 2 tsp mixed spice
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• ½ tsp freshly grated nutmeg
• 500g marzipan , 200g/7oz cut into 2cm chunks, the rest for the topping

FOR THE TOPPING

• 50g butter
• 50g light muscovado sugar
• 100g plain flour
• 100g flaked almonds
• 3 tbsp golden syrup
• 85g icing sugar , sieved
• 2-3 tsp orange juice

PER SERVING

576 kcalories, protein 9g, carbohydrate 79g, fat 25 g, saturated fat 10g, fibre 3g, sugar 65g, salt 0.5 g

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