Easter Cake?

Easter Recipes > Simnel Cake

How to make Simnel cake:

Originally Simnel cake was a case of hard pastry, colored gold with saffron and filled with all types of dried fruits. The pastry was made from a high quality wheat flour, called simila, hence the name Simnel. Now, of course, the cake has no pastry case but is covered in yellow marzipan.

Ingredients

1 cup unsalted butter

1 1/2 cups soft brown sugar

4 medium eggs, beaten

2 cups plain flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

3 teaspoons mixed spice

1 teaspoon grated nutmeg

2 tablespoons corn flour

1 cup sultanas

1/2 cup currants

1/2 cup raisins

1/2 cup glace cherries, chopped

2 tablespoons ground almonds

grated rind of 1 organic lemon

3 tablespoons brandy

1 1/2 lbs marzipan

a little apricot jelly

Method

- In large mixing bowl cream the butter and sugar until light in colour and fluffy in texture.

- To this add the eggs a little at a time, beating well each time some beaten egg is poured in.

- If the mixture looks as if it is curdling add a spoonful of flour and beat in well.

- Stir in the dried fruit and the lemon peel.

- Sift the flour with the spices, corn flour and baking powder.

- Fold the flour mixture into the creamed mixture.

- Add the brandy, a little at a time.

- Do not allow the mixture to become too wet even if this means leaving out a little of the brandy.

- Spoon half of the mixture into a well greased 8 inch tin.

- Roll out the marzipan onto a board dusted with icing sugar.

- Roll out a circle of 7 3/4 inch diameter and place onto the smoothed cake mix in the tin.

- Cover with the rest of the cake mixture and bake at 170 degrees centigrade for about 2 1/4 hours.

- The cake should be firm to the touch and a golden brown colour.

- Turn cake from tin and allow to cool on a wire cake rack.

- Roll out the remaining marzipan and cut out an 8 inch circle.

- Stick this marzipan onto the top of the cake with a little melted apricot jelly.

- Roll the remaining marzipan into 11 equal balls and use these to decorate the top of the cake.

- Tie a decorative, traditionally yellow ribbon around the cake.

I don't know what a traditional Easter cake is -- Probably different in each country --

There are six Easter cake recipes on this site –

The Praline Pound Cake sounds good --

http://www.twilightbridge.com/festivals/easter/cak... --

This is from another site and sounds yummy –

Pina Colada Easter Cake

1 box white cake mix (and mixture ingredients)

1 medium tub Cool Whip® whipped topping

1 can condensed milk

1 can cream of coconut (such as Coco Lopez®)

1 bag sweetened coconut

Optional:

Jelly beans and food coloring

Mix white cake according to box directions and then stir in 1/2 bag coconut. Bake according to directions. When done, with the end of a wooden spoon, punch holes all over the cake. In bowl, mix cream of coconut milk and condensed milk. Pour mixture over hot cake and let stand until mixture is soaked up.

Mix the rest of the coconut and cool whip. Top cake with mixture.

Happy Easter! ~-~

Here is my fave.

Take a round cake pan and a square cake pan bake a carrot or yellow cake as per the box.

Take coconut & mix in a ziploc bag green for grass set aside

Once cooled take chocalate frosting and frost square cake and put the round one on top flat side down and frost with choclate frosting and put coconut grass all over cakes.

Then take plastic eggs open with jelly beans spilling out and peeps and decorate like an easter egg hunt.

I get asked to bring my stuff for this cake every year at easter!

Also I have seen bunny shape cake pans at Party city.

g.m gets the 10 points. Simnel cake is the traditional Easter cake. With 11 marzipan balls to represent the trusted disciples of Jesus.

The best recipe for Simnel cake that I have found is on the BBC website www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/print/simnelcake_792.shtml

I have used this several times and found that everyone likes the results. It is really worth making your own marzipan as it tastes much better and less sickly than shopbought. If the marzipan is a little too dry when you make it add a few drops of rose water to make it easier to work.

Carrot cake, without a doubt! Here is the best recipe I have ever found:

Cake

2 cups sugar

2 cups flour

2 teaspoons cinnamon

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

7 ounces shredded carrots

1 cup chopped nuts

1 1/2 cups canola oil

3 eggs

1 cup crushed pineapple

2 teaspoons vanilla

Frosting

8 ounces cream cheese

1/2 cup butter

1 lb powdered sugar, sifted

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

# Preheat oven to 350°F.

# Grease and flour a 9 x 13 cake pan.

# Mix the first 8 ingredients together in a large bowl.

# Stir in the next 4.

# Pour into prepared pan and bake for 45-50 minutes or until cake tests done.

# Remove from oven when nice and golden on top, cool completely before frosting.

# To prepare frosting: Pulse the cream cheese and butter in the food processor until smooth.

# Spoon into a bowl and add powdered sugar and vanilla, stirring well until smooth.

# Frost cake and cover, put into refrigerator until ready to serve

Easter Bunny Cake:

1 hour 30 min prep

8-10 servings

1 Bunny Cake

1 (18 ounce) box white cake mix (white or yellow are best, or use your own imagination...)

1 (16 ounce) can white frosting (or use your favorite recipe, "ready to spread" will do but I'm not sure how much it will take)

1 (14 ounce) package coconut (either flaked or shredded will work)

1/2 yard ribbon (approx., for bow)

food coloring

jelly beans or gumdrops (for decorations, eyes, nose, etc.)

1. Prepare cake mix according to directions on box for 2 round 9" layers.

2. Tint 1/4 cup of the coconut pink (I'm guessing at the amount) for the center of ears and feet.

3. Tint 2 tablespoons of the frosting brown for decorating face and feet ( or you can buy one of those prepared decorating icing tubes).

4. When cake is cool, cut layers as shown in diagram (see other photo).

5. Take 4 of the 8 outer ring pieces and frost the tops. Place 1 of the remaining 4 on top of each and frost top and sides. These will make the feet of the bunny.

6. Place round-cut center piece next to the top edge of the square, keeping them both flat, to form body and head.

7. Assemble the 4 side pieces in twos, flat sides together (you can use a little frosting to hold them together) to form the ears and arrange at the top of the head.

8. Frost entire cake and attach the completed feet, 2 on each side of the body.

9. Sprinkle coconut over entire cake and decorate with jelly beans/gumdrops for eyes, nose, etc. as desired, using pink-tinted coconut for center of ears and feet.

10. Here's where you can really have fun and get creative! You can tie the ribbon in a bow and place on the cake as a bowtie, make buttons out of the candy, add a hat, etc.

11. ** Tip for using frosting to decorate without a pastry bag: Spoon the frosting into one corner of a small plastic sandwich baggie, twist tightly and snip off the tip of the corner. Voila!

12. Note: The finished cake is almost 2 feet long so be sure to have it on a large enough cookie sheet or platter!

13. Servings vary on how you decide to divide up the body (er, bunny) parts -- .

I have been looking for a Easter cake also and i have found that a lot of good ones these days are found in magazines. Try the Martha Stewart Living or anyone involved with food.......to get these you can buy them at places like Fred Myers Or even Barns And Nobles carries a lot of good ones!!!!

~GOOD LUCK!!!!

Here's a pretty Easter Bonnet Cake:

http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art1868.asp

why not try:

http://uk.dir.yahoo.com/Society_and_Culture/Food_a...

There are loadza gr8 soundin traditional easter cake recipies on there. 1z ur bound 2 like. Loadz of original ones too!!!!!!

-XxX-

Hope this helpz

n have a good easter =)