Monday Bake - Orange Marmalade Cake

All weekend the weather forecasts have been warning of snow and today we woke up to some - not much, a slight covering.  I went into town to meet a friend for lunch and while we were in the local deli eating and chatting away - huge flakes started to fall.  By the time I walked up the hill home it was quite heavy.   It is so pretty at first, crunching through in my snow boots.  When it melts and goes all slushy I always want to to go quickly!

This weeks recipe is from the January Waitrose magazine.   An orange marmalade cake - I wanted a recipe to use up the marmalade from making my christmas pudding.   I have made Nigellas marmalade cake before but I liked the look of this sandwich cake. 

Ingredients:

Cake-
125g unsalted butter
200g caster sugar
3 large eggs
100ml single cream
250g ground almonds
125g plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
zest of 1 orange
3 tbsp seville orange marmalade

Orange Syrup-
juice of 1 orange
1 tbsp seville orange marmalade

Mascarpone icing-
150g mascarpone
125g greek yoghurt
4 tbsp icing sugar
2 tbsp seville orange
juice and zest of 1 orange

Method:
Preheat the oven to 180c/gas mark 4.  Grease and line the bases of 2 x 20cm cake tins with baking parchment.

Beat the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. 

Beat in the eggs one at a time, then the cream, followed by the almonds. Fold in the flour, baking powder and salt, then stir in the orange zest and marmalade.

Divide between the two cake tins and bake for 20-25 mins until a skewer inserted into the centre of the cakes comes out clean.   Cool in the tins on a wire rack.

Make the syrup - put the orange juice and marmalade into a small saucepan and stir over a low heat until dissolved.  Prick the cakes all over with a skewer and pour over the cakes.

When you are ready to assemble the cake, make the frosting.  Beat all the ingredients (apart from the juice and only 1/2 the zest) until combined.  I found this icing only needed a few drops of juice - I think using it all would make it too runny.  So add the orange juice sparingly.

Remove the cakes from the tins - remove the baking parchment.  Put one cake on the serving plate and spread some of the icing over,  sit the other cake on top and spread the over the remaining icing.  Sprinkle the orange zest on top.

This is a really light tangy cake, I am eating a slice as I type!  I think I might try making it another time with just a lemon curd filling and perhaps top with a basic icing made with icing sugar and water.

Bakebakegirl

Todays top three Spotify Songs:

1. Rip It Up - Orange Juice
2. Orange Crush - R.E.M
3. Rule The World - Take That (Jason Orange!)