text: 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 .
target: 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 .