Nutty Marmalade Cake

When Pete’s mum first asked if I’d like a slice of ‘Nutty Marmalade Cake’ I was unsure. I don’t eat marmalade so the name of this cake certainly didn’t appeal. However as Pete kept raving about how nice it was, I decided to taste some of his. Straight away I secured my own slice, a big slice at that!

You can’t really taste the marmalade although I’m sure it does enhance the flavour of this cake. The sponge is nicely spiced from the cinnamon and nutmeg and this warm spice is complimented with a subtle crunch from the walnuts. The sponge is really soft and bouncy and the citrusy icing, gives a strong, fresh flavour to finish the cake off.

The cake takes an hour and a quarter to bake but the actual method of putting all the ingredients together, is really quick. You can freeze this cake before adding the icing so it’s always a handy one to have in the freezer for when you need it. You can then just add the icing once it’s fully defrosted.

Ingredients

225 g unsalted butter or Stork/margarine

225 g demerara sugar

225 g self-raising flour, sifted

3 tbsp thick-cut marmalade

4 large eggs, lightly beaten

2 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp grated or ground nutmeg

100 g chopped walnuts

For the icing

225 g icing sugar, sifted

2 tbsp lemon juice

2 tbsp orange juice

Grated orange rind to decorate

1. Preheat the oven to 180°/Fan 160°/Gas 4. Line and grease a 20cm square cake tin.
   
2. Cream together the sugar, butter and marmalade, until light and creamy.
   
3. Gradually beat in the already beaten eggs. Adding a little of the flour (a tablespoon or two at a time) as you go, to avoid curdling.
   
4. Using a spatula fold in the rest of the flour, cinnamon and nutmeg, then fold in the walnuts.
   
5. Spoon the mixture into the tin and smooth the surface. Bake for an hour and a quarter or until an inserted knife comes out clean. Cool in the tin for five minutes, then turn out on a wire rack to cool completely.
   
6. For the icing, sift the icing sugar and beat in enough lemon and orange juice to give a thick but still slightly runny icing. Apply the icing to the top of the cake and decorate with orange rind.