Buttery and soft with a light citrus flavor and a tart marmalade topping, this cake pairs perfectly with a strong cup of tea. The sticky marmalade glaze gives a lovely set topping.
Fun fact: When Captain Scott set off on his Antarctic exploration in 1910, he stocked up on jars of marmalade. Years later, a solitary jar of it was found buried in the ice where Scott had set up camp.
Fun fact: When Captain Scott set off on his Antarctic exploration in 1910, he stocked up on jars of marmalade. Years later, a solitary jar of it was found buried in the ice where Scott had set up camp.
Ingredients:
1 cup of orange marmalade, divided (if your marmalade peel is chunky, you will want to chop it a little finer.)
12 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened. Plus ½ tablespoon for glaze.
¾ cup sugar
Zest of 2 grated limes
Zest of 1 grated lemon
3 large eggs, at room temperature
2 tablespoons orange juice
1½ cups all-purpose flour
1½ teaspoons baking powder
¾ teaspoon of sea salt
4 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar
Instructions:
Heat oven to 350 degrees.
Coarsely chop any extra-large chunks of peel in the marmalade (I’d love to say use a really good British marmalade, but I found that the Bonne Maman marmalade had the perfect size peel.)
Line a 9-by-5-inch loaf pan with parchment (it's much easier to get out after pouring the glaze.)
Using an electric mixer, beat together softened butter, sugar and both zest’s until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time, until incorporated. Beat in ½ cup marmalade and the orange juice.
Coarsely chop any extra-large chunks of peel in the marmalade (I’d love to say use a really good British marmalade, but I found that the Bonne Maman marmalade had the perfect size peel.)
Line a 9-by-5-inch loaf pan with parchment (it's much easier to get out after pouring the glaze.)
Using an electric mixer, beat together softened butter, sugar and both zest’s until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time, until incorporated. Beat in ½ cup marmalade and the orange juice.
In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt. Fold dry ingredients into wet until just combined.
Scrape batter into prepared pan. Bake until surface of cake is golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center emerges clean, 50 minutes.
Remove from oven and transfer pan to a wire rack.
Heat remaining ½ cup marmalade in a small pot over low heat until melted; whisk in confectioners’ sugar and ½ tablespoon butter until smooth. Slather warm glaze over top of cake. Cool completely before slicing.
Full credit goes to The NY Times for this delicious afternoon cake. Note: I tweaked this recipe after making it according to the original - click on link if you’d like to see the un-tweaked recipe: https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1016043-orange-marmalade-cake
Enjoy your zesty cake!