Easter Hymnal to Easter Simnel!

Happy Easter! I have enjoyed a family gathering including an exciting Egg Hunt, an Easter Afternoon Tea with friends and, less enjoyably, a 10k run through local woods. The carrot on the end of the stick became a Chocolate Easter Egg both in my imagination and, thankfully, in reality.

I have baked Easter egg-shaped biscuits, rocky road nests and, for the first time, Simnel Cake.

Simnel cake has been eaten since Medieval Days when people would make a pilgrimage to the mother church of their parishes on Mothering Sunday (4th Sunday in Lent). It was later made by young girls in service for Mothering Sunday and taken home to their mothers as a gift. Nowadays it is synonymous with Easter.

The cake originally contained ingredients which could not be eaten during Lent. It is basically a fruit cake with a layer of marzipan in the middle which is baked and oozes almond flavour throughout. The cake is then topped with a layer of marzipan and decorated with marzipan balls to depict the disciples. I have done mine with 11 apostles, leaving out Judas, 'though some cakes include him (making 12) and some include Jesus (making 13). The marzipan topping is then (bizarrely) lightly toasted.