Bettys' Apostle Simnel Fruit Cake

It was right before Easter of the last year when I had known about Simnel cake for the first time. At that time, I was looking for ideas for an Easter dessert. Not something like a cupcake with bunny ears or tails sticking out, but a very traditional one. I don't remember how but at the end I reached Simnel cake. I like fruit cake (the cake part of Simnel cake is supposed to have a lighter texture than heavy dense Christmas cake) and love marzipan. The decoration of eleven balls on the top to represent the eleven apostles of Christ, minus Judas is meaningful and unique.

I studied several recipes. Making Simnel cake seemed technically feasible, but making a lot of marzipan from scratch sounded practical. In the US, buying a high-quality commercial marzipan was a bit tricky. Plus, I have never met Simnel cake in person. I wasn't sure how it should taste. With a lot of thoughts, I gave up after all. 

So, when I saw Simnel cake at Bettys in the early March of this year, I almost screamed for joy. Pleasure to meet you, Simnel cake! In fact, After then, I started seeing Simnel cakes being sold at many places including M&S and Waitrose. According to wiki, "Simnel cake is a light fruitcake eaten during the pre-Easter period in the United Kingdom, Ireland and some other countries." No wonder why Simnel cakes are everywhere. I am in a right place to experiment the specific cake. 

Getting our first Simnel cake from Bettys, our trusted bakery was also a right choice. Bettys' "Apostle Simnel Fruit Cake" was packed with rum-soaked currants, sultanas and citrus peels. The top marzipan layers and traditional eleven balls were nicely toasted. There was also a marzipan layer in the center of the cake. The cake was wonderful. I can't wait to next Easter to have another one.

Would I make one by myself? Most likely NO at least while I am in the UK.