Simnel Cake

Photo: Emily Martin

Ingredients

It's important to use the 17 1/2-by-12 1/2 inch jellyroll pan. A standard

-by-15 1/2 inch jellyroll pan will be too small, unless you place some of

the batter in a separate small pan. The recipe can

9 -by-13 inch pans.

cup butter, at room temperature (3 sticks, see note)

4 cups granulated sugar

8 eggs

4 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

cup grated lemon zest (about 2 large lemons, use large holes o

cup grated orange zest (about 1 large navel orange, u

1 (10-ounce) box dried currants, golden or dark raisins

all three

(13/4 cups)

1 (8-ounce) can or one 7-ounce package almond paste, or one 12 1/2-ounce can

almond filling (see note)

Powdered sugar (optional)

Preparation

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Grease a 17 1/2-by-12 1/2 inch jellyroll pan.

Cream butter and sugar in large bowl until smooth. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating after each addition.

Sift flour with salt. Dust zest and currants with some of the flour mixture.

Beat or stir remaining flour mixture into batter, which will be stiff. Add zest and currants; mix in by hand. Dollop half of batter into prepared pan. With rubber spatula, spread together into even layer.

Remove all of almond paste or filling from can (easier if you open both ends of can) or package. Dice paste, or dollop filling in very small amounts, distributing evenly over batter. Diced paste will melt together during baking; dollops of almond filling should be carefully spread together. Spoon remaining batter all over top and spread evenly.

Bake 50 minutes to 1 hour. Watch closely; cake should be light golden brown.

It will rise to top of pan. Cool in pan on rack. Dust top lightly with powdered sugar, if desired. Cut into small pieces. Store tightly to preserve moistness.

This keeps well for 2 weeks. Freeze for longer storage.

Note: Use real butter or stick margarine. Do not substitute reduced-fat spreads; their higher water content often yields less-satisfactory results.

Note: Almond paste is stiff; almond filling is more spreadable and works well.