Easter Simnel cake

If you fancy something other than hot cross buns this Easter or like us you have family coming to visit and want to make something special, here is a recipe for a light fruit cake with chocolate and marzipan all topped off with mini eggs it really is just delicious as Sophie proves with a face plant to gobble it up.

Recipe
This recipe makes 1 big cake
175g light brown sugar
175g butter
4 large eggs
230g plain flour
50g ground almonds
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
pinch of salt
350g mixed fruit
100g glace cherries halved
150g 70% chocolate
2 tbs milk
450g natural marzipan
apricot jam
mini speckled eggs
edible glitter optional

• Heat oven to 180 /gas 4
• Grease a deep 20cm tin
• Beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy
• Gradually add beaten eggs
• Add almond, flour, baking powder and salt and mix
• Add fruit and cherries, roughly broken chocolate and milk and mix
• Spoon half mix into tin and add 1/3 of the marzipan rolled out top with the rest of the mix
• Bake for 30 mins at 180 then turn down to 170 and bake for 50 - 60 min or until you can insert a skewer and it is clean on removal
• Cool completely before covering the top in apricot jam and the rest of the 2/3 marzipan  
• Decorate with gold edible glitter and mini eggs