Simnel Cake

Ingredients:

2 cups of soya milk

2 tsp apple cider vinegar

400g of plain flour

400g of mixed dried fruit

1 tsp of mixed spice

finely grated zest of two lemons

pinch of nutmeg for cake and a sprinkling to decorated

1 tablespoon of black treacle

1 tsp of baking powder

1 tsp of bicarbonate of soda

half tsp of salt

140ml rapeseed oil

330g unrefined sugar

2 tsp of brandy

500g of marzipan to roll out to put in the middle and on the top of the cake using apricot jam and then to make little balls to stick on to the top of the marzipan using apricot jam.

Method:

1. turn oven onto 160C fan.

2. grease 2 x 8” cake tins.

3. mix cider vinegar in the soya milk and leave to stand.

4. put flour into bowl, add mixed spice, nutmeg, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, salt, zest of two lemons and sugar. Mix thoroughly.

5. add mixed dried fruit and mix thoroughly again.

6. when the soya milk mixture has curdled, add the black treacle, rapeseed oil and brandy and stir.

7. add the wet ingredients to the dry and stir thoroughly.

8. divide the mixture evenly between the two tins and bake for about half an hour, until a sharp thin knife comes out clean.

9. when cold, divide the marzipan into two. Roll out each half into a circle.

10. put warmed apricot jam onto one half of the cake and top with marzipan. Put the other half of the cake on top. Then put warmed apricot jam onto the top of the cake.

11. place the other marzipan circle on top of the cake.

12. with the remainder of the marzipan roll into small balls, I had enough to make 16 little balls.

13. “glue” the balls on to the top of the cake, making a nice pattern.

14. sprinkle with ground nutmeg.