I can't say that I haven't eaten anything sweet for the last 10 weeks, but less activity during winter lockdown, coupled with a bit of over-eating around the New Year has meant I've been struggling with my weight again. It's easier not to bake and buy the occasional treat than to have home-made cakes and other goodies tempting me all the time.
However, Easter is a time of celebration, and even though the cold weather meant I wouldn't be meeting my children, I still felt we all deserved a treat. I delivered cake and Easter Eggs to them both, and put most of what I kept for myself into the freezer, to be rationed out.
I shared this Mincemeat and Marzipan Teabread with my daughter; the flavour of the spiced fruit in the mincemeat, together with marzipan, is reminiscent of the traditional Simnel Cake. The flavour obviously depends on the mincemeat ingredients.
200g SR flour
100g cold butter, cut into small cubes
85g light muscovado sugar
110g marzipan, cut into small cubes
3 eggs*
300g mincemeat
6 crushed brown sugar cubes to sprinkle on top, or a couple of tablespoons of demerara sugar
*the eggs were mixed sizes - medium or smaller; 2 large eggs are usually enough, if the mincemeat isn't too dry
Method
Line a 2lb loaf tin with parchment, pre-heat oven to 180C (fan 160C).
In a large bowl, rub the butter into the flour, then stir in the muscovado sugar and marzipan cubes.
In a small bowl, lightly beat the eggs, then mix in the mincemeat to loosen it.
When the mincemeat is well distributed into the eggs, add this mixture to the flour mix and stir until evenly combined.
Transfer to the loaf tin and sprinkle generously with sugar.
Bake for 60-75 minutes**, or until a probe comes out clean. You may need to cover the top with foil towards the end of the baking time, if it's browning too much.
Cool in the tin for 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling.
** the cooking time depends on how sloppy the cake batter is - a stiff batter will cook faster than a very loose one
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