Trying to find recipes which use marzipan ever since I hugely overestimated how much marzipan I needed to cover a wedding cake and have 500g to use up!
Name of Recipe: simnel cakelets from the
Guardian Number of People: 12 (or 6 if starving or teenagers)
Ingredients:
250 grams mixed dried fruit
Finely grated zest and juice of 1 large unwaxed orange
250 grams plain flour
2.5 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp tartaric acid
1 tsp ground mixed spice
˝ tsp freshly grated nutmeg
175 grams caster sugar
175 grams unsalted butter
3 eggs
75 ml milk
To fill and decorate:
300g marzipan (or 150g if decorating the cakes with chocolate eggs)
250g glacé icing (see below)
Chocolate eggs (optional)
Preparation:
1. Put the dried fruit into a bowl with the orange zest and juice. Leave in a warm place for an hour or so to allow the fruit to plump up.
2. When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 180C/gas mark 4. Grind sugar to caster sugar if necessary, then add the flour, mixed spice and nutmeg mix speed 5 for few secs.
3. Add the butter, eggs and milk to the flour and spice mixture, mix about 30 seconds speed 6 (until everything looks mixed together). Fold in the fruit (by hand or it chops too much and any residual orange juice.
4. Half fill the muffin cases with the mixture. Take 150g of the marzipan and divide it into 12 pieces. Flatten each piece into a disc and place on top of the mixture in the muffin cases. Spoon the remaining mixture over the top of the marzipan.
5. Bake in the oven for about 25 minutes until the cakes are nicely golden and spring back into shape when lightly pressed. Leave in the tray for about 10 minutes before moving to a wire rack to cool.
6. Meanwhile, roll out the remaining marzipan, if using, and cut it into Easter shapes with the biscuit cutters. Have the glacé icing ready.
7. When the cakes are completely cold, top with the glacé icing. Place either a marzipan shape or 2–3 chocolate eggs on top of each one to decorate.
8. These cakes can be stored in a single layer in an airtight tin for up to a week
Photos:
what was left after the deluge
Tips/Hints:
200g icing sugar and about 2 tbs of liquid is enough icing for 12 cakelets. I used espresso coffee and served them with zabaglione ice cream.
I should mention that the baking powder and tartaric acid turn the flour into self-raising flour. Omit them if you have SR flour.
