The Monmouth inquirer., 1889-04-18
AN EASTER CARD.
THE sIMNEL CAKE.
A Curious Concoction OF Pastry and Good
Thinss-Origin of the Name.

A Curious Concoction OF Pastry and Good
Thinss-Origin of the Name.
A very curious old Easter custom in
Shropshire and Herefordshire, England, is to
make rich and expensive cake called a sim
mel cake. The cakes are raised and the crust
is made of fine flour and water with enough
saffron to give it deep yellow color The
interior is filled with materials of very rich
plum cake, with plenty of candied lemon peel
and other good things They are made up
very stiff, tied up in a cloth and boiled for
several hours, after which they are brushed
over with egg and then baked When ready
for sale the crust is as hard as If made OF
wood, a circumstance which has given rise to
various stories Of the manner in which they
have at times been treated by persons to
whom they were sent as presents, and who
had never seen one before, one ordering his
simnel to be boiled to soften it, and lady
taking hers for footstool They are made
of different sizes, as may be supposed from
the ingredients. Their form, which, as well
as the ornamentation, is nearly uniform, will
be best understood by the accompanying en-
craving representing the large and small
cakes. One of the most curious things about
these cakes are the tales which have arisen to
explain how they first got their name. Some
pretend that the father of Lambert Simnel,
the well known pretender Of the reign of
Henry VII, was q baker and the first maker
of simnels, and that in consequence of the
celebrity he gained by the acts Of his son his
cakes have retained his name.
But much more curious story is one that
is current in Shropshire 1t seems that long
ago there lived an honest old couple, boast
ing the names of Simeon and Nelly but their
surnames are not known. 1t was their GUS
tom at Easter to gather their children about
them and thus meet together once a year
under the old homestead The fasting season
Of Lent was just ending, but they had still
left some of the unleavened dough which had
been from time to time converted into bread
during the forty days. Nelly was careful
woman, and it grieved her to waste any
thing, SO she suggested they use the remains
of the Lenten dough for the basis Of a cake to
regale the assembled family. Simeon readily
agreed to the proposal, and further reminded
his partner that tsere were still some remains
of their Christmas plum pudding boarded up
In the cupboard, and that this might form
the interior and be an agreeable surprise to
the young people when they had made their
way through the less tasty crust So far, all
things went on harmoniously, but when the
arose, Sim insisting that it should be boiled,
while Nell no less obstinately contended that
it should be baked
The dispute ran from words to blows, for
Nell, not choosing to let her province in the
household be thus interfered with, jumped
up and threw the stool she was sitting on at
Sim. who on his part seized a bosom and ap-
piled it with right good will to the head and
shoulders Of his spouse. She now seized the
broom, and tho battle became SO warm that
it might have had very serious result had
not Nell proposed as q compromise that tho
cake should be boiled first and afterwards
baked. This Sim agreed to, for he had no
wish for further acquaintance with the heavy
end of the broom Accordingly, the big pot
was set on the fire and the stool broken up
and thrown on to boil it, whilst the besom
and broom furnished fuel for the oven. Some
eggs which had been broken in the scuffie
were used to coat the outside of the pudding
when boiled, which gave it the shining gloss
it possesses as cake. This new and remark
able production in the art of confectionery
became known as tho cake Of Simeon and
Nelly, but soon only the first half of each
name was preserved and joined together, and
it has ever since been known as the cake Of
Simnel