Rum & Pear Simnel Cake

From Baking Made Easy.

Serves 12-14

INGREDIENTS

currants, sultanas and raisins 350g

dried cranberries 80g

medjool dates, deseeded and roughly chopped 80g

soft died apricots 80g, roughly chopped

mixed peel 80g

brandy or a good Jamaican rum (or regular tea if you are on the wagon) 500ml

butter 250g

soft light brown sugar 250g

eggs 5, lightly beaten

plain flour 250g (plus 70g for tossing the fruit in)

baking powder 15g

mixed spice 2 tsp

nutmeg 1 tsp

ground ginger 1 tbsp

treacle 1 tbsp

ground hazelnuts 100g

lemon zest of 1

orange zest of 1

fresh ginger 2 x 2cm pieces, grated

pears 2, peeled, deseeded and cubed

To decorate:

ready-made marzipan , the best you can afford 300g

apricot jam 4 tbsp

egg 1, lightly beaten

METHOD

Preheat oven to 180C/gas mark 4. Line (bottom and sides) a 2.5cm x 20cm deep round baking tin, with a double thickness of greaseproof paper. Put a double thickness of newspaper around the outside of the tin, too. (The cake needs a long cooking time, so the double greaseproof will protect the outside from cooking too quickly.)

Put the currants, sultanas and raisins, cranberries, dates, apricots and mixed peel in a bowl and cover with the brandy/rum or tea, and leave to steep overnight. If you don't have time, just leave them for an hour or two.

The next day, cream together the butter and sugar until they are well combined, add half of the eggs and half the flour and stir to just combine, then add the rest of the eggs, flour, baking powder, mixed spice, nutmeg and ground ginger and mix to just combine. Finally drain the fruit, reserving the brandy/rum/tea and toss the fruit in the 70g of flour. This will stop it from sinking to the bottom of the cake during baking. Add the fruit along with the treacle, hazelnuts, lemon and orange zests and fresh ginger and stir until the mixture looks uniform, and then fold in the pears.

Dollop into the cake tin and make a well in the centre of the cake batter. This will ensure that the cake does not rise with a peak at the centre and cooks with a level top.

Preheat oven to 180C/gas mark 4 and bake for 2-2½ hours or until a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean and the sides have shrunk slightly from the sides of the tin. Once it is cooked, remove it from the oven and prick holes over the top of the cake and pour some of the brandy/rum liquid over the top so it runs into the holes and "feeds" the cake with booziness.

Then allow the cake to cool. Once it is cool, remove it from the tin and set it on a serving plate. Roll out the marzipan to about 5mm thick on some icing sugar, then put the cake tin on top of the marzipan and, using a knife, mark round the tin. Remove the tin from the marzipan and remove the offcuts, so you have a perfect circle. Brush the top of the cake with the apricot jam. If the jam is quite thick, heat it in a pan with a little water to loosen it up. Then place the marzipan circle on top of the cake and press it down gently. I like to flute the edges to make it look more presentable.

Take some of the marzipan offcuts, roll them into 12 balls about the size of 1p coins and arrange them around the outside of the marzipan, sticking them on with the apricot jam.

Preheat the grill to high and brush the marzipan with the lightly beaten egg. Then place the cake under the grill until the marzipan begins to brown. You can use a blowtorch to brown the marzipan if you have one.