Lisa Faulkner's simnel cake recipe

• 1 kg (2.2lbs) raisins
• 175 g (6.2oz) glace cherries, halved
• 50 g (1.8oz) ground almonds
• 125 g (4.4oz) currants
• 300 g (10.6oz) plain flour
• 1 tsp grated nutmeg
• 0.5 tsp mixed spice
• 0.25 tsp ground cinnamon
• 300 g (10.6oz) soft margarine
• 300 g (10.6oz) caster sugar
• 6 eggs
• 2 tbsp brandy
• 1 cup melted apricot jam, for glazing
• 500 g (17.6oz) ground almonds
• 250 g (8.8oz) caster sugar
• 250 g (8.8oz) icing sugar, plus extra for dusting
• 2 eggs
• 0.5 tsp almond essence
• 0.5 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp lemon juice

1. Preheat the oven to 140C/120C fan/gas 1.
2. Line a 23 cm round cake tin with greaseproof paper (top and sides).
3. Put the raisins, cherries, ground almonds and currants in a large mixing bowl.
4. Add the flour, nutmeg, mixed spice, ground cinnamon, margarine and sugar and beat everything together with a hand-held electric mixer or by hand with a wooden spoon.
5. Add the eggs, beating in one at a time.
6. Add a teaspoon (or 2!)
7. of brandy and mix well.
8. Leave to rest while you make the marzipan.
9. For the marzipan: beat all of the ingredients together in a bowl until it comes together in a smooth dough.
10. Wrap in cling film and store in an airtight container until you are ready to assemble your cake.
11. To assemble the simnel cake, roll out the marzipan on a surface lightly dusted with icing sugar to about 1 cm thick.
12. Cut out 2 circles the same size as the cake tin.
13. Then, with the leftover marzipan, shape 11 little balls about 3 cm in diameter and then 1 slightly bigger ball.
14. Pour half of the cake mixture into the prepared tin and smooth the surface.
15. Top with one of the marzipan discs.
16. Then pour in the rest of the cake mixture.
17. Bake in the preheated oven for about 3 hours.
18. Leave it to cool in the tin, then turn it out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
19. Brush the top of the cake with apricot jam and cover with the other marzipan disc.
20. Dip the balls in a little of the jam and place them around the cake, finishing with the big one in the middle.
21. Preheat the grill, then put the cake under to just brown the top - keep an eye on it as it will brown quickly (about 1 minute).
22. Alternatively, use a cook's blowtorch.

raisins, ground almonds, currants, flour, nutmeg, mixed spice, ground cinnamon, margarine, caster sugar, eggs, brandy, apricot, caster sugar, icing sugar, eggs, vanilla, lemon juice

Taken from www.lovefood.com/guide/recipes/15143/simnel-cake (may not work)