Happy Mothering Sunday - in Britain and Ireland

This morning when I opened my browser the Google Doodle was of a cheerful woman with two kids, on cycles with colourful capes blowing in the wind behind them. Hovering my mouse over the image brought up the caption "Happy Mother's Day" and on impulse I typed "Google.com" into the search bar to see what the US version of Google looked like.  Of course I was immediately redirected to "Google.co.uk" so I do not know if there was a different or no Google doodle for the  USA.

The reason is that here in the British Isles we still celebrate the ancient Christian festival of Mothering Sunday on the fourth Sunday in Lent, also known as Refreshment Sunday as the strict fasting observances of Lent were relaxed. 

"Mothering" initially referred to the duty to return to the "Mother Church" on that day, and later the day was adopted as a holiday for young people in service to have the day off to go home and take a present to their mothers.   Often the present was a Simnel Cake, a rich fruit cake with almond paste. I remember baking such a cake for my own mother when I was a student, and surprising her on Mothering Sunday when I turned up at her door.
My mother has since passed on, but yesterday I was prompted to make another Simnel Cake.

Authentic Simnel cake with Jesus and eleven Disciples

There are wide variations in the recipes and decorations on the top, but all versions include a topping of almond paste, or marzipan.  Most versions include a layer of almond paste which is baked in the centre of the cake, as in my cake seen above.  Often there are eleven or twelve balls of almond paste to represent the eleven disciples (less Judas) or twelve balls to represent Jesus and the eleven disciples.  Other decorations such as chicks or bunny rabbits can be added and Simnel Cake has tended to be associated with Easter Day, although these decorations, and Easter Eggs, hark back to the Pagan origins of Easter.

If you want to bake your own Simnel Cake you could try this recipe.  I have long since lost the recipe I used many years ago but this is much as I remember it and the proportions worked well, although I would have used less almond paste for the "disciples" as I think that using a third of the paste as suggested makes the cake a bit top heavy.  By the way the picture with the recipe shows a version without the middle layer of almond paste, as in my cake shown above, but the method gives the correct instructions for this.

Question: What are the traditions of Mothers Day where you live?  Are there special foods or presents given to Mothers on this day?  Do share in the comments below and we will pass on any delicious recipes.