He was the quiet Irishman with the hipster beard who plunged the Great British Bake Off into a storm of controversy over a Baked Alaska . Belfast-born Iain Watters had to leave the show after he binned his baked Alaska after the ice cream was left out of the freezer and it melted . But now he 's back with his modern take on traditional fruity Easter fare - a Simnel cake . Scroll down for video . Former Great British Bake Off contestant , Iain Watters , is back to revive Easter classic , the Simnel cake . Packed with moist fruit and marzipan , Simnel cake has been enjoyed since the Medieval times during Easter . Topped with 12 balls of marzipan to celebrate the 12 apostles , the cake already has a distinctive appearance but Iain has taken that even further by dying it green . Working alongside shopping website ao.com , Iain offers up a modern update on the fruit-based cake , with the twist of pistachios , figs and nutmeg seasoning . The Simnel cake took a backseat for years , replaced by other classics such as hot cross buns - until this Easter . Perhaps the trendy construction engineer can convince a new generation of bakers to attempt this hearty cake . The Belfast-baker puts a modern twist on the Easter favourite with pistachios , nutmeg and chopped figs . Instead of almond marzipan , Watters ' modern update has pistachio marzipan , and the cake is decorated with orange zest and edible rose petals . The Irish baker opts for a pistachio-based marzipan , and flavours the sponge with orange zest , chopped figs and nutmeg . The recipe was created by Iain after it was revealed by ao.com that the Simnel cake was enjoying a resurgence this Easter . A survey by the shopping website also revealed that 58 per cent of the population would be indulging in home baking to celebrate Easter . For the cake : . For the pistachio marzipan : . Method : . 1 . For marzipan , finely grind the pistachios in a food processor . Add the icing sugar and grind to a really fine mixture , then tip into a mixing bowl . Lightly whisk 1 egg white with a fork and stir in . Using your hand , knead the mixture until smooth . You may not need all the egg white take care as it can become too wet very quickly . 2 . Wrap in cling film and allow to rest in the fridge while you are making the cake . 3 . Heat the oven to 170°C/325°F/Gas mark 3 , and grease and line a 22mm round , deep cake tin . 4 . Prepare the figs by chopping then into large pea sizes and set aside . 5 . Sift the self-raising flour and finely grate the nutmeg and set aside . 6 . Beat the margarine and sugar until light and fluffy ; you can use a wooden spoon or an electric whisk or mixer . Then add all the eggs including egg yolk , along with the sifted flour and grated nutmeg and beat until well combined . 7 . Now fold in the fig until thoroughly dispersed . 8 . Pour the mixture into the prepare cake tin and bake for 35-40mins . Inserted skewer in to the center of the cake if it comes out clean it ’ s done . 9 . Leave to cool on a wire rack then remove from the tin and discard the lining paper . 10 . Trim the top of the cake so you have a flat top for the marzipan to sit on . 11 . Roll out two-thirds of the pistachio marzipan to a circle to fit the top of the cake . I rolled out the marzipan and used the base of the cake as a template and cut around it to form a perfectly sized disc Brush the top of the cake with a little warm apricot jam or honey and set the marzipan disc on top . 12 . Shape the rest of the marzipan into 12 balls and arrange around the edge , again stick them on with a little warm apricot jam or honey . 13 . Finally to decorate I sprinkling a few crush pistachios , zest of an orange and lemon , followed by some edible rose petals .
The contestant stormed off the show last August after dessert meltdown . This Easter has seen traditional Simnel Cake overtake hot cross buns . The Irish baker has given cake modern update with pistachios and figs .