Simnel cake is the British Easter cake traditionally decorated with eleven marzipan balls.
It is a rich fruitcake made with dried fruit, spices, and layers or a topping of almond paste, also called marzipan. The eleven balls traditionally represent the faithful apostles after Judas Iscariot’s betrayal, so the number is usually eleven rather than twelve.
Simnel cake is also associated with Mothering Sunday, the fourth Sunday of Lent, and with girls returning home from domestic service. By the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, it had become strongly linked with Easter baking in Britain and Ireland.
Recipes and decoration differ by region and period. The cake is not simply a Christmas fruitcake: its marzipan topping and distinctive symbolic decoration are central to its identity. Some versions are browned under a grill or in an oven to color the marzipan.