This Side of the Pond

Easter is a little later than usual this year, but it’s coming up fast. I’d like to offer a suggestion for your annual celebrations before you finish sorting the grocery list, which I think we can all agree is much more forward-thinking of me than usual.

Simnel cake is a recipe that never goes out of style. And when I say it’s timeless, I really do mean it: we have records dating back to Edward the Confessor in the 11th century that speak of “simnels”.

I confess (see what I did there?) to not being a huge fan of fruit cakes in general, but simnel cake is a special case. Designed to represent t...