Easter cake doesn't have to be...simnful...do you see what I did there?

Fun-free Simnel cake.


Here is a recipe for fruit cake that involves no flour and no refined sugar.  It isn't, however, calorie free, so you still have to exercise a little restraint...





Ingredients
1 cup of halved glace cherries
1 cup of raisins
1 cup of currants
1 cup sultanas
1/2 cup mixed peel
1/2 cup of brandy

You can add whatever you like to the mixture as well, in the way of other dried fruit and chopped nuts etc.

Soak fruit in brandy overnight in a covered bowl.

Ingredients
250g ground almonds
1 eggs
squirt of agave nectar or honey

Mix these ingredients together to make the almond paste. Put aside.

Ingredients
1 tin chickpeas, drained
1 tin black beans (or kidney beans at a push) drained
1 cup milk powder
1/2 tsp bicarbonate soda
60 g cocoa powder
1 cup ground almonds
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp mixed spice
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1 tbsp olive oil
3 eggs


Method
Add beans and chickpeas to food processor and whizz until smooth.  Add eggs.  whiz.  add dry ingredients and olive oil.  whiz until just combined.

Tip into a bowl and add brandy-soaked fruit.

Pour half the mixture into a lined tin.

Roll out half the almond paste (you need to use some ground almonds to prevent the paste from sticking to your surface and rolling pin) to the size of the tin and place on top of the mixture in the pan.

Pour the rest of the cake mixture on top.

Bake in a preheated oven at around 150 degrees for around 1/2 an hour, until a skewer comes ut clean and the top bounces back.


Wait for the cake to cool for 5 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack.

Roll out the rest of the almond paste, reserving a little for the 11 balls on the top.  Brush top of cake with jam and place the almond past circle on top.  Stick 11 almond past balls around the top and grill until golden.

Krish x