Simnel, or ‘simila’ cake, named after the flour originally used in its production, has been made since the medieval times throughout Britain. Traditionally, this cake was made for Mothering Sunday – the day when parishioners would return to their home to clean their church then enjoy a time of feasting. During the seventeenth century, Mothering Sunday became Mother’s Sunday when it was selected by the ruling powers in Britain as a national holiday and serving girls were sent home for the day to cook for their families and fellowship with their mothers. Over time, Simnel Cake was saved till Easter and decorated with eleven balls, each representing one of Jesus’ true apostles.
For a 1½ kg cake, the ingredients are as follows:
150g butter
120g soft brown sugar
3 eggs, beaten
240 g plain white flour
360g mixed dried fruit
½ teaspoon mixed spice
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
350g almond paste (equally, you can use ready-made marzipan)
To prepare, beat the butter and sugar together. Gradually add the beaten eggs and stir well. Mix the dry ingredients together and carefully fold them into the mixture. Add a small amount of milk to blend, if necessary. Cut 200g of the almond paste into small cubes and fold them into the mixture. Grease a 25cm round, loose bottomed cake tin and spoon the mixture into it. Pre-heat the oven to 170ºC and bake the cake for approximately 2½ hours or until it is well-risen and firm. When the cake is completely cooled, you can decorate it! Roll out the remaining almond paste into a round circle that fits the top of the cake. Cut off the extra almond paste and divide them into eleven balls of equal size. Place these around the top edge of the cake and then quickly grill the cake until it is slightly browned (about 2 minutes).
Orthodox Easter Bread
Cultures with a significant percentage of Orthodox Christians have several varieties of Easter bread, all of which are slightly sweet and are usually decorated with religious symbols. In most Eastern European, these loaves of bread are placed in a basket along with painted eggs, cheese and other foods which have been given up for lent. These baskets are then taken to the local church and blessed by the parish priest on Easter Saturday. The recipe given is for Ukrainian Easter bread – one of my favourite versions.
To make one loaf, the ingredients are as follows:
½ teaspoon and ½ cup sugar
½ cup lukewarm water
1 package dry yeast (you can get this in most supermarkets)
1½ cups milk
2½ cups and 5 cups all-purpose flour
3 beaten large eggs
1/3 cup melted butter
1½ teaspoons salt
To make, heat the milk until just before it boils and set it aside to cool to lukewarm. Dissolve ½ teaspoon sugar in water and sprinkle yeast over it. Mix and let stand 10 minutes. Combine the yeast mixture with the scalded milk and 2½ cups flour. Beat until smooth. Cover and let rise until light and bubbly. Add eggs, ½ cup sugar, melted butter, salt and 5 cups flour to make a dough that is not too stiff and not too slack. Knead the dough until it no longer sticks to the hand and is smooth and satiny (about 7 minutes in a mixer, longer by hand). Place in a greased bowl, turn to grease both sides, cover with greased plastic wrap and let rise until doubled. Punch down and let rise again. Reserve 1/3 of the dough for decorating. Shape the rest into a round loaf and place it in a 10- to 12-inch greased round pan. Now shape the reserved dough into decorations of your choice – a cross is the traditional shape in Ukraine. Cover the pan with greased plastic wrap and let it rise until it has almost doubled. Heat the oven to 200ºC. Brush the bread with 1 large egg beaten with 2 tablespoons water. Bake 15 minutes. Reduce the temperature to 180 ºC and bake for a further 40 minutes. If necessary, cover the top of the bread with aluminium foil to prevent the top from burning. Remove from oven and turn out onto wire rack to cool completely.
Finnish Pasha
Pasha, a soft and delicious cake popular in Finland, shares its name a form of the word ‘Easter’ in many Slavic languages. This traditional Scandinavian dessert was introduced to Finland at the same time as Orthodox Christianity, having originated in ancient Karelia, between the White Sea and the Gulf of Finland, which was then part of Russia. Each region has a slightly different recipe with local variations yet the majority are baked in a special wooden mould with carvings of Orthodox Easter symbols which are imprinted on the soft dessert. The recipe given here is popular across Southern Finland.
To make one cake, the ingredients are as follows:
300ml heavy (whipping) cream
200g butter (unsalted)
200ml sugar
2 egg yolks
200ml cream
1 tsp vanilla sugar
2 tsp grated lemon peel
3 tsp ground almonds (leave a few for the decoration)
3 tsp chopped raisins (leave a few for the decoration)
1 packet of mixed peel (leave a few for the decoration)
To prepare, beat the sugar and soft butter together until light and fluffy and whip the cream until it stiffens. Add the cream, egg yolks, vanilla sugar, lemon peel, almonds, raisins, mixed peel and whipped cream to the sugar-butter mixture. Pour the mixture into a pasha mould (or a clean 5 to 6 inch flower pot with holes in the bottom) lined with a dampened tea-towel or cheese cloth. Press the mass (still inside the cloth!) tightly into a pasha mould. Place in a large pan (to catch the drippings) and set in the fridge overnight until the mixture is firm. Before serving, unwrap the mixture from the cheese cloth and serve on a large plate. Decorate it with the almonds, raisons and mixed peels.
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