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12/20/2001 Archived Entry: "Tawny Orange Marmalade Cake"

It’s clean-out-the-pantry time for me, and there always seems to be some kind of preserves, jam, jelly, marmalade that needs to be used up for thrown away. If, in your cupboard, there’s a jar of marmalade lurking, this is an excellent and simple cake to bake. It seems seasonal, too; for one of those holiday-time afternoons when friends drop by for holiday cheer, or for a family brunch or breakfast. Besides going well with tea and coffee, it’s the right kind of cake to go with a glass of Port or sweet wine. How about with a glass of eggnog?

Tawny Orange Marmalade Cake
Makes one 9-inch round cake

This is a wonderful, simple tea cake recipe that I got from Tiptree preserves (Wilkin & Sons), whose Tawny Orange Marmalade gives it a chewy texture and a rich, caramel flavor. It’s not a terribly sweet cake -- it even has bitter notes from the Seville orange peels -- but has a haunting flavor that will keep you coming back for just one more sliver. The original recipe calls for folding the marmalade into the batter, but my baking guru, teacher Carole Walter), showed me how much better the cake turns out when the marmalade is marbleized into the batter once it is in the pan.

1 cup self-rising flour
1/2 stick sweet butter
2 large eggs
2/3 cup superfine dessert sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup Tiptree Tawny Orange Marmalade (you can use Tiptree Orange Marmalade, or another brand of marmalade as an alternative)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Grease and flour a 9-inch layer cake pan.

Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.

Beat in the eggs one at a time, adding about a tablespoon of flour with the first egg to prevent curdling. Beat well after each addition and continue beating until creamy.

Fold in the remaining flour, into which the baking powder has been mixed.

Spread the batter into the prepared pan. Drop the marmalade by spoonfuls on top of the batter. With a table knife, swirl the marmalade into the batter. Smooth the top with a tablespoon.

Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until golden brown and the cake begins to release from the sides of the pan. It is okay if the top sinks a little.

Remove the cake from the oven and place it on a wire rack to rest for 5 minutes. Invert the cake onto the rack while it is still warm. When cool, place it right side up on a cake plate.

Serve plain or sprinkled with powdered sugar.