Chocolate, orange & almond simnel cake

Chocolate, orange & almond simnel cake

A rich, indulgent Easter treat with orange frosting and homemade chocolate marzipan, great for those who don't like traditional fruit cake

Difficulty and servings

Moderately easy

Cuts into 12 slices

Preparation and cooking times

Preparation time

Prep 40 mins

Cook time

Cook 50 mins

Freezable

Undecorated cake can be frozen

Method

  1. Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Grease and line the base and sides of two deep 23cm cake tins. Boil the kettle. Put the butter and chocolate in a small pan and gently heat, stirring, until completely melted. Mix together the flour, sugar, cocoa and bicarbonate of soda with a pinch of salt in your largest mixing bowl. Whisk the eggs, buttermilk, orange zest and juice together in a jug. Scrape the melted chocolate mixture and egg mixture into the dry ingredients, add 150ml boiling water and whizz briefly with an electric whisk until the cake batter is lump-free. Divide between the tins and bake for 45 mins - swapping the tins round after 30 mins if on different shelves. To test they're done, push in a skewer and check that it comes out clean. Cool the cakes in their tins.
  2. Meanwhile, make the marzipan. Mix the sugars, ground almonds and cocoa in a bowl. Make a well in the middle, tip in the egg and egg yolk and mix together with a cutlery knife before kneading with your hands to a smooth ball. Wrap in cling film and set aside. Will keep in the fridge for 1 week if making ahead.
  3. Make the frosting: beat the mascarpone and butter together until smooth. Sift in the icing sugar, add the zest and juice, then beat again until combined.
  4. To assemble, split each cake in half horizontally. Dot a little frosting on your serving plate and sit one of the cake halves on top. You'll use about half the frosting to sandwich the cakes together - spread the plated-up cake with some frosting, then repeat to sandwich the remaining cakes on top. Brush the top of the cake with a tiny bit more frosting.
  5. Roll out the marzipan, on a dusting of cocoa if you need, to a rough 27cm circle. Using your cake tin like a cookie cutter, stamp out a marzipan circle, then carefully lift this onto the top of your cake. Roll the remaining marzipan into 11 small balls and stick them on top, using a little more frosting or water like glue. Spread the remaining frosting round the outside of the cake, then dust the top with a little more cocoa and icing sugar.
Try

Don't have two tins?

This cake recipe is easily halved, so you can make and bake it in two batches. Don't make the whole batch of batter, then bake the cakes one at a time, or the second cake won't rise very well as the batter will have been sitting around for too long.

Ready-made chocolate marzipan

You can buy ready-made chocolate marzipan from Squires (squires-shop.com) that doesn't contain any raw egg, great if you're baking for kids or expectant mums.

PER SERVING

1148 kcalories, protein 12.0g, carbohydrate 123.0g, fat 71.0 g, saturated fat 38.0g, fibre 3.0g, sugar 93.0g, salt 0.99 g

Recipe from Good Food magazine, April 2010.

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Latest comments and suggestions

Results 1-20

  • Binder photo stephnoyce

    23 March 2010

    stephnoyce rated this recipe

    4 stars

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  • Binder photo food!♥

    31 March 2010

    food!♥ commented on this recipe

    are the comments working?

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  • Binder photo VB Recipes

    31 March 2010

    VB Recipes commented on this recipe

    This was a big hit in our house, although the frosting didn't seem to like itself... maybe using the mascarpone at fridge temperature caused it to separate, so it didn't look quite so pretty, but everyone enjoyed it - got lots of compliments!

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  • Binder photo Celia

    04 April 2010

    Celia commented on this recipe

    Tried the frosting twice: first time mascarpone and butter at fridge temperature and curdled even before orange added; second time with two sets of ingredients from different sources at room temperature and still curdled. The frosting could not be applied because the separation was too great. Help - very disappointing and expensive.

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  • Binder photo ANITA

    04 April 2010

    ANITA commented on this recipe

    have also tried frosting today, it too curdled. very disappointed as had guests. what a waste of ingredients,any suggestions, particularly as i cook for a living.

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  • Binder photo emily

    04 April 2010

    emily commented on this recipe

    I have a lot to complain about this recipe. First off I don't know how they got their cake so flat using only 2 tins and their layers so thick, I think they made more than 2 cakes. And the frosting, first off mine split, and I think it calls for wayyyy to much orange juice in it and now way should you just pour it in all at once. It should be done a little at a time with sugar and beaten after each addition. It also needs to say that the mascarpone should be at room temperature. I'm sure it will taste good, but considering how much time it takes, and I needed 4 tubs of mascarpone which cost me $16 on a waste. I made a cream cheese orange frosting instead. I don't think I will ever be making this again.

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  • Binder photo froggirl

    05 April 2010

    froggirl rated and commented on this recipe

    2 stars

    The sponge was lovely, but I also found that the icing split, even before the orange juice was added. I had to add a lot more icing sugar to try and 'save' it. This worked to an extent, but ended up being sweeter and less creamy than it should have been to compliment the sponge. I would avoid using the recipe for this icing as it costs ALOT and does not work.

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  • Binder photo Abs Fab Mum

    06 April 2010

    Abs Fab Mum rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Excellent cake, massive hit with everyone who definitely preferred it to last year's easter cake (also from Good Food). Not sure about getting 12 portions out of it - I had 15 to lunch and still have half the cake left over! Perhpas I shouldn't have told them 1,150 calories per slice! Had no problems making the cake, although I added more icing sugar (not sure how much 150g?) to make the frosting go further before adding orange zest and juice. It didn't curdle although I kept it in the fridge once decorated as when it got warmer the frosting became looser and I didn't want it slipping off the cake! I didn't make the chocolate marzipan as I had already bought golden marzipan so I just mixed some cocoa powder into it (it went a light coffee colour) and then rolled the balls in cocoa powder to finish them off to make them darker. Would definitely make again.

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  • Binder photo mdaszko

    07 April 2010

    mdaszko commented on this recipe

    I made this cake for Easter Sunday and was really looking forward to it. I bake a lot of cakes and wanted to try something new, however it turned out to be the worst cake I've ever made (despite following the instructions and ingredients exactly)! The cake itself tasted too doughy and the marzipan was grainy. The frosting curdled instantly, and could not be rescued no matter how much icing sugar I added. I think the quantities of icing sugar and orange juice really need to be checked. I ended up throwing the entire cake in the bin. Very disappointed.

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  • Binder photo mdaszko

    07 April 2010

    mdaszko rated this recipe

    1 stars

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  • Binder photo Yvonnie

    08 April 2010

    Yvonnie rated and commented on this recipe

    4 stars

    It worked well with mine, even a bit complicated. But very delicious. But I have too much frosting and marzipan left, don't know what do to with them...

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  • Binder photo Helen

    11 April 2010

    Helen commented on this recipe

    I have NEVER been so disappointed with a cake from this magazine/website. Aside from the cost of the cake, which is very high, the frosting split and ruined it, after all the work taken to make the cake and marzipan. I make cakes every week and have cooked some really difficult ones, so my error it wasnt! Reading the other comments i am glad it was not just me that had this problem, but i am so annoyed at our Easter cake being a waste of time and money....i think Good Food should reply and tell its readers how the frosting should be made. (given the amount of complaints!)

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  • Binder photo Helen

    11 April 2010

    Helen rated this recipe

    1 stars

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  • Binder photo MarieAntoinette

    12 April 2010

    MarieAntoinette commented on this recipe

    I made this cake and it worked well. I could not find buttermilk so I used an equal quantity of single cream. I later searched online for buttermilk equivalents and think I should have used plain yoghurt (especially in light of the calories in this recipe!) The problem with this cake - if it works - is because of the frosting it does not keep. The cake is so rich so unless you know a lot of people willing to eat such a fattening cake, I would go with something less ambitious.

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  • Binder photo Bokbites

    15 April 2010

    Bokbites rated and commented on this recipe

    2 stars

    delicious cake! However, I think the recipe perhaps needs retesting? The cake batter was too runny, so I left out the additional boiling water. After this the cake itself came out perfectly and just perfect to split in half each. The icing was a big disaster though. It is far too runny to use. After adding an additional 250g of icing it was a bit thicker, but still too sloppy and the cake layers ended up sliding about and the icing would not stay on the sides of the cake. I might use a revised version of the sponge again, but will certainly use regular butter icing next time.

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  • Binder photo mich_mkp

    02 June 2010

    mich_mkp rated and commented on this recipe

    3 stars

    I made this cake over Easter. My frosting also split, but I rescued it by zapping it in the microwave for a few seconds, then beating some more. Left it to cool for a bit, and it worked just fine. Only slight problem was there wasn't enough to coat the sides, but I think that might have been because I used too much in the middle. Am intending on using the sponge recipe again with ordinary buttercream for my friends' wedding cakes - this time with plain chocolate and maybe a little raspberry liqueur (and jam to sandwich/ice), and with only two layers made slightly thicker so as not to have such a huge cake! Gorgeous.

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  • Binder photo Michail K

    20 February 2011

    Michail K rated and commented on this recipe

    2 stars

    I made this cake for a friend's birthday as a surprise. It is true, the filling did separate even before adding the orange juice. I had to add some flour to gather the liquids! In the end it both looked and tasted great! An Italian friend said that the way she makes the tiramisu cream resembles this one; she melts the butter and then mixes it with the mascarpone. So it might work better if butter is melted rather than just softened at room temperature.

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  • Binder photo eva

    17 April 2011

    eva rated this recipe

    5 stars

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  • Binder photo Paul

    23 April 2011

    Paul rated and commented on this recipe

    1 stars

    Frosting was a disaster, it curdled and there was no saving it. Considering all the problems that people have had, maybe Good Food should remove this recipe and retest it before alot more disgruntled readers make it and waste so much money.

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  • Binder photo Ju Pu

    24 April 2011

    Ju Pu rated and commented on this recipe

    4 stars

    I made this cake, as others the frosting split and the cake could not tbe taken to the easter party as I planned. I bought more mascarpone and had another go. This time it worked ( i only gently beat the ingredients together)and finished off the cake. It is rather delicous cake unfortunately there were only 4 people round the next day! Lots of cake still to eat.

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Difficulty and servings

Moderately easy

Cuts into 12 slices

Preparation and cooking times

Preparation time

Prep 40 mins

Cook time

Cook 50 mins

Freezable

Undecorated cake can be frozen

Ingredients

  • 250g slightly salted butter , plus extra for greasing
  • 100g orange-flavoured plain chocolate or 100g plain chocolate plus 2 tsp orange extract
  • 400g plain flour
  • 500g golden caster sugar
  • 25g cocoa , plus extra for dusting
  • 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
  • 2 eggs
  • 284ml tub buttermilk
  • zest and juice 1 orange

FOR THE MARZIPAN

  • 85g golden caster sugar
  • 100g icing sugar , plus extra to decorate
  • 200g ground almonds
  • 50g cocoa powder , plus extra for dusting
  • 1 egg , plus 1 yolk, beaten

FOR THE FROSTING

  • 2 x 250g/9oz tubs mascarpone
  • 250g butter , softened
  • 250g icing sugar
  • zest 2 oranges plus 100ml juice
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PER SERVING

1148 kcalories, protein 12.0g, carbohydrate 123.0g, fat 71.0 g, saturated fat 38.0g, fibre 3.0g, sugar 93.0g, salt 0.99 g

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