Seville Orange Marmalade Cake.

Let's be completely honest here, shall we?

This is not a looker of a cake.

If it were a she, and she were walking down the street, no-one would wolf-whistle.

I doubt she'd really even get a second look.

She's not a glamazon, sugar-bomb, over-the-top confectionary flight-of-fancy.

But don't discount her for that, because it's a feature, not a flaw.

She's an honest, approachable kind of cake. Suitable for all occasions, not just super-fancy frosting-laden affairs. Not that she can't handle a super-fancy, frosting-laden affair, mind you.

She's just understated, that's all.

If she were your friend, she'd be the one you call first with good news, and bad. The one who volunteers to drive you to the airport at 4 am. The one who makes you laugh so hard you can't breathe.

She's just a really good cake, she is. So don't hold her lack of exotic looks against her, because she makes up for it with character. Lots of orange marmaladey character.

For those of us who make jam, we're always on the quest for recipes to use that jam. And jelly. And preserves. And marmalade. Because, you see, our goal in life is to make more jam. And in order to make more jam, we need to use the current jam up, to make more space, free up more jars. So we can make more jam.

It's a vicious, never-ending circle of obsessive-compulsive preserving.

I am sure there's a self-help group out there somewhere. But I can stop any time. Really, I can.

This cake is a holy grail of using the preserves - three-quarters of a cup of marmalade in it, more on it. That's a whole jar gone. Plus you get a really great cake out of it.

So, bust this baby out for an afternoon snack. She's great with tea or coffee. After dinner, as a not overly sweet nibble. Breakfast, even. I mean, it's got orange marmalade in it, and that uses oranges, and so does orange juice, and orange juice is for breakfast, so there you go. Am I right or am I right?

Seville Orange Marmalade Cake.
Based on a recipe from the incomparable Darina Allen's Forgotten Skills of Cooking.

350 g self-rising flour
150 g butter, plus more for greasing the tin
150 g sugar
generous 3/4 cup orange marmalade* 
2 eggs
1/4 cup milk
hearty pinch of salt
powdered sugar for dusting (optional) 

You will need a 6 inch diameter, 3 inch high cake tin or springform pan, and a scale. 

* If the marmalade has coarse shreds, pop it in a food processor and give it a whiz, or chop by hand.

Note: I measured dry ingredients by weight, which I find faster and more accurate. There are internet sites that offer conversions based on ingredient, but I find them infuriatingly inconsistent. That truly irks the scientist in me. If you have the option, go for the scale. I can't guarantee success with a dodgy conversion.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F, and grease the tin (or use cooking spray).

Rub the butter into the flour and salt until the mixture is crumbly and the butter is incorporated, then add the sugar and mix. 

In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs and marmalade until combined, then stir in the milk. Add the liquid ingredients to the dry ingredients, and mix until just combined. This will make a robust, spoonable batter.

Scrape into the cake tin, smooth the top, and bake in the oven for 75 minutes until the top is browned and a cake tester comes out with only a few crumbs.

Leave to cool on a wire tray, and when ready to serve, dust the top with powdered sugar and eat with a generous slather of marmalade.

Keeps well for several days in an airtight container. Can be frozen for longer storage.

Comments

[myfudo]

My mom would really love a slice of this delicious cake. Thanks for sharing.

[Jammy Chicken]

Funnily enough, my mom said exactly the same thing!

[Sara]

I got Darina Allen's book for my birthday and I love it, though I haven't used it nearly enough. You say this cake isn't pretty but I think it's gorgeous! I hear you on the jam--I'm relatively new to canning but I can see myself in your situation someday. I wish I could find Seville oranges!

[Valerie]

Glad to have found a like-minded individual who likes to use a food scale! This would be nice to make for coffee hour at church, or maybe when our small group meets.

[Jammy Chicken]

Thanks Sara! That cookbook by Darina Allen has so much in it, I could cook from that and nothing else and still be cooking for years, and it's full of surprising little gems. Except, of course, that all my other cookbooks would get very jealous...

[Jammy Chicken]

Hi Valerie! Food scales make life so much easier it is hard to comprehend how I lived without one. I wish every cookbook had recipes with weight measurements. This cake looks small but it is filling enough that it serves a lot of people - perfect for groups or nibbling.

[anduin]

Have you tried making this with other types of jam or spreads? I have a couple experiments that have decent flavor but aren't the right consistency for using like a traditional jam.

[Jammy Chicken]

Hi Anduin - I have not made this with anything other than marmalade, but the marmalade I used was on the runny side. I suspect that you would be fine using other spreads, but if they have large chunks I would chop them up a little before using. I have been wanting to try this with Paradise Jelly just to see if it takes on that lovely pink hue. Do let me know how it turns out if you give it a try!

[Diana B]

Very good, but makes two 6" springform cakes, not one, and 75 minutes is way too long to bake it - I pulled mine out at 60 minutes, but 45 would probably have been better.

[Jammy Chicken]

Hi Diana - I am glad you liked the cake, but it sounds like you modified the baking instructions pretty significantly by dividing it into 2 cake tins instead of 1 thick cake in a 3-inch thick cake. Decreasing the thickness by half, plus the variability in oven temperatures, means that your significantly thinner cakes would bake a lot faster, as you found. As with any recipe, if you make significant changes then the directions as given probably won't apply anymore.

[Elizabeth Taylor]

Love little cake and perfect for people who really do not like cakes with a lot of icing. I strongly support you for suggesting cooks should invest in a scale - they are worth their weight in gold and only then can you assure accuracy. I agee that some of the conversions I see are far from correct.

[Jammy Chicken]

Thanks Elizabeth! Sometimes just sweet enough is just perfect, and I adore my scale!

[Sara]

By the way: I made this (more than once) and posted about it. You should have gotten a trackback but not sure if you did. Love it! Do you know where to get seville oranges by mail by any chance?

[Ingrid @ Jammy Chicken]

Hi Sara - I didn't get a trackback, but I could be missing it somewhere. I am really glad you like it. I found Seville Oranges in my local co-op in January. If you have a specialty grocery store you could try asking them to special order some for you. I've never mail ordered citrus before, but let me know if you do and how it works out.