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Simnel Cake

3/4 lb. (3 cups) flour 1/2 lb. (I cup) sugar 1/2 lb. (I cup) butter 4 eggs 1/2 lb. (2 cups) seedless raisins 1/4 lb. (1 cup) currants 1/4 lb. (1 cup) sultana raisins 14 lb. candied citron peel 14 lb. candied orange peel 14 lb. candied lemon peel I gill (1/2 cup) milk I teaspoonful mixed spices 3 tablespoonfuls orange flower water or brandy Almond paste Line a buttered cake tin with two folds of thick white paper. Cream the butter and sugar thoroughly together, add the yolks of eggs, and beat again, then add spices, milk, orange flower water or brandy, flour, the whites of eggs stiffly beaten, chopped peels and the fruit. Turn the mixture into the prepared cake tin, smooth it over the top, and bake in a steady oven until well risen and firm to the touch.

When cold place the almond paste on the top.

Sometimes a layer of almond paste is put in the middle of this cake. When this is desired, onehalf of the almond paste should be made before the cake is baked, and this should be made in a round the size of the cake tin, and laid in the middle of the mixture before baking.

To make the almond paste, mix one pound of ground almonds with one-half pound of granulated sugar, one-half pound of confectioners' sugar, the strained juice of half a lemon, one tablespoonful of vanilla extract, one tablespoonful of almond extract and enough egg to bind all together. Either yolks or whites of eggs may be used; the yolks will make the paste yellower and richer, the whites drier, and of a paler color.

Whole eggs may be used if it is more convenient.

The paste ought to be just moist enough to be bound together.

Simnel cake has a legendary history: Long Cakes IOI ago an old couple were making their cake for Mothering Sunday, when the children would return home for the Mid-Lent holiday. Why the old man meddled with the cake-making nobody tells, but so determined was he that it should be. boiled, and so determined was his wife that it should be baked, they came to a quarrel. Finally they decided to split the difference by boiling it half the time and baking it the other half. The old man's name was "Sim," the old lady's "Nelly"; and the cake is called "Simnel" in honor of both. Simnel cake today is always baked, proving that no man has any right to interfere in the affairs of the kitchen.