Easter Treats

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Happy Easter everyone!! ^_^
I have had a boring Sunday without any Easter festivities or special food. Missing home. This got me reading up on Easter.
Well, everyone knows Easter is celebrated both as a Christian holiday to commemorate Jesus Christ rising from his tomb and also as a Pagan holiday to celebrate the arrival of Spring and new life.
For some people Easter is a day for church going, religion, reflection and faith. For others it is a day for festivities and celebrating life. For yet others it is very simply about Easter Egg hunts, Chocolate Easter Bunnies, Marshmallow Chicks, Hot Cross Buns and all kinds of sweet treats.
A sweet treat designed for Easter is the Simnel Cake. Not many people who do not follow the religion or celebrate Easter at home know about this cake. Even I only remember seeing it once at a display case in Flury's when I was very little. I remember seeing it because the name struck me quite funny as I kept rolling it on my tongue.
The name 'Simnel' is probably derived from the Latin word 'Simila', meaning refined wheat flour, which is the base ingredient in this cake. It is basically a rich fruit cake baked for Easter.
For those who have never eaten a Simnel Cake, a fair warning: This is probably the SWEETEST cake you have or ever will eat. It will cause a guaranteed sugar rush and even a sweet freak like myself cannot manage to get more than two slices past my gullet.
Simnel Cakes call for the use of a lot of Marzipan (or 'Almond Paste' if you will). You can either buy this from a store or make it at home using powdered almonds, icing sugar and egg whites. Simnel Cakes are usually covered with a sheet of marzipan and topped with 11 toasted marzipan balls representing each of the eleven apostles present at the Last Supper.
This is my recipe for a Simnel Cake:


Ingredients:

Flour                              250 g
Sugar                             150 g
Butter                             200 g
Eggs                              3 nos.
Marzipan                        200 g
Raisins                           200 g
Almonds                         50 g
Cherries                          50 g
Candied Orange Peel         50 g
Cinnamon Powder            10 g
Baking Powder                 5 g
Salt                                 5 g

Method:
  • Cream butter and sugar together.
  • Whisk in eggs one at a time.
  • Chop marzipan into small cubes.
  • Mix together flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon powder, raisins, almonds, orange peel and marzipan.
  • Fold this into the wet ingredients.
  • Pour into a greased cake tin and bake for 20 minutes at 180*C.
  • After the cake has cooled down, sheet more marzipan and cover the whole cake.
  • Make marzipan balls and toast them lightly before placing them on top of the cake.
Bake and enjoy this cake only if you are not scared of sweetening your very being. :D

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