Simnel is a light fruit cake with 2 layers of almond paste or marzipan, one in the middle & one on top, toasted, & eaten during the Easter period in the U.K. Ireland & other countries. Known since at least the medieval times, originally made for the middle Sunday of Lent. Conventionally eleven, or occasionally twelve, marzipan balls are used to decorate the cake, with a story that the balls represent the twelve apostles, minus Judas or Jesus. This tradition developed late in the Victorian era.
