Recipe No. 13/2019

Pieter Haasbroek from the Strand in Cape Town sent us this delicious fruit recipe which can be made any time of the year. As we are approaching , we adapted it slightly to make a Simnel cake. The Simnel cake has been around for centuries and over time has become associated with Easter time. The cake has two layers of , one layer is a disc of marzipan placed in the middle of the cake and then once baked and cooled, topped with marzipan. Traditionally, a Simnel cake is decorated with 11 marzipan balls depicting the 12 apostles minus Judas or more recently, 12 balls depicting the 12 apostles minus Judas and including Jesus.

NB: Suitable for both TM5 and TM31 Active Time: 1 hour 40 min Total Time: 2 hours Recipe Makes: 1 x 1.2 kg cake

Cost of cake excl marzipan: Thermomix Price R 84.44/1.2 kg cake Cost of store bought cake: R 162.48/1.2 kg cake Savings using the Thermomix is R 78.04

Ingredients

450 g mixed fruit cake mix 125g 220 g soft brown sugar 250 g water 300 g cake wheat 1 tsp mixed spice 1 tsp baking powder 1 tsp bicarbonate soda Pinch of salt 2 eggs 1 400 g water for steaming 100 g brandy or sherry, optional 1 kg marzipan - optional

Method

Plain fruit cake

1. Grease and line a ring tin, we used the largest of the Thermomix ring pans designed to fit in the Varoma. Place fruit, butter, sugar and water into TM bowl. Cook 20 min/95°C/reverse/spoon speed. Set aside and cool completely. 2. Add flour, mixed spice, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, and eggs to cooled fruit mix.Mix 4 sec/reverse/speed 4. Spoon batter into prepared cake tin. Quick rinse TM bowl. 3. Weigh 1 400 g water into TM bowl. Position Varoma dish. Insert the cake and position Varoma lid. (Omit the Varoma tray). It is not necessary to cover the cake with anything. 4. Steam 75 min/Varoma/speed 1. Test to see it is cooked through. Once cooked, pour brandy over and leave to cool for 20 minutes. Remove cake from tin and leave to cool completely. Enjoy or cover with marzipan and decorate with 12 marzipan balls for Easter.

Simnel cake

1. Grease and line a 22 cm round cake tin. 2. Place fruit, butter, sugar and water into TM bowl. Cook 20 min/95°C/reverse/spoon speed. Set aside and cool completely. While cooking prepare marzipan by rolling out paste to approx 4 mm thick. Using the tin as a template, cut out 2 discs of marzipan. Use off cuts to roll into 12 marzipan balls to decorate. Cover to prevent marzipan from drying out. 3. Continuer with cake mix. Add flour, mixed spice, baking powder, salt and eggs to cooled fruit mix. Mix 4 sec/reverse/speed 4. Spoon half the batter (approx 730 g) into prepared cake tin. Carefully place one of the marzipan discs onto the cake batter and then fill with the remaining cake mix. Quick rinse TM bowl. 4. Weigh water into TM bowl. Position Varoma dish. Insert the cake and position Varoma lid. (Omit the Varoma tray). Not necessary to cover the cake with anything. 5. Steam 75 min/Varoma/speed 1. Test to see it cooked through. Once cooked, pour brandy over and leave to cool for 20 minutes. Remove cake from tin and leave to cool completely. 6. Once cool, cover with remaining marzipan disc, decorate with balls and place under a grill for about 2 minutes until lightly browned. Take care because it burns easily. Other option is to lightly brown the marzipan with a blow torch.

Cook's Tips

Roll marzipan between 2 layers of plastic wrap. For a larger cake, steam two separately. Once cooled, place a disc of marzipan on one cake, warm with a blowtorch and then place the second cake onto the top. Decorate as above. In step 2, add 50 g macadamia nuts. Wrap well and keep in a sealed container in a cool place. Place slices of cake in a bowl, pour over 10 ml of brandy over each and serve with Thermomix custard for a lovely winter dessert.