Simnel Cake

Easter is a BIG deal in my house, and I mean big. My mum has no problem saying to anyone that to her “Easter is more important than Christmas.” If you hadn’t already guessed, my family are Christians, C of E to be precise, so there are a lot of traditions that I automatically associate with this time of year - including Easter Eggs of course!

Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday, and Good Friday all involve church-related traditions and in my house you know it’s holy week as my mum is blazing Jesus Christ Superstar from the CD player 24/7!

(For those of you that don’t know it was an Andrew Lloyd Webber musical about Jesus and the run up to his death. It really is very catchy...)

But as with ALL good traditions Easter also involves FOOD! We always have hot-cross buns on Good Friday (no earlier) and lamb on Easter Day. We also always make rice crispie egg nests to take as “energy” on our annual ‘Easter Walk’. We used to do a pilgrimage to St Albans Cathedral but foot and mouth put a stop to that when I was still quite young. Instead now, my family and I (all...16+ of us) go for a walk in the countryside in pursuit of a pub for lunch!)

But, one of the food related traditions that stands out most for me is the illusive ‘Simnel Cake.’ Every year my Mum, Nan and aunties would complain about a lack of Simnel Cake’s in the supermarket and at how expensive they were when they could find them. As they were so ‘rare’ I hadn’t even eaten a piece of Simnel Cake until last year, and they are delicious! They are also steeped in tradition of their own!

Christmas Cake

Christmas would not be complete without a Christmas Cake. Fact.

Everyone's Granny has their own recipe, yet more often than not people buy a shop bought cake. Even those members of my family who decorate their own cakes buy the fruitcake from a Supermarket first. Considering my Mum and Dad were famous for their Christmas Cakes before they had children, I couldn't understand why everyone avoided making their own. If my parents could make one every year without fail...why couldn't everyone else?

So, armed with a near-illegible copy of my parents old recipe, this year I decided to make my own cake.

I was pleasantly surprised with just how easy it is. Though...the proof is in the pudding as they say, and when you've never made a cake before, don't know what its consistency, colour, texture etc should be it's a scary thought offering it up to guests!

Fortunately for me it seems my first attempt was a success! (Though it was some what larger than anticipated and is now nicknamed the monster Christmas Cake.)

So, if I can do it, so can you! I urge all of you to make your own Christmas Cake this year! I have started my own tradition, so why not start your own too!!!

Here is my recipe, I am sure it will not fail you.

WARNING: This is highly boozy! (Though Delia assures me you can replace the brandy for orange juice for a more family friendly cake).