Frosted Marmalade Cake

This is a Nigel Slater recipe from the BBC Food website.http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/database/afrostedmarmaladecak_80553.shtml

I must admit it this wasn’t an entirely successful cake, although that was mostly due to me adding large sultanas to the cake which all ended up sinking to the bottom of the tin! Everyone who had a slice did enjoy it but personally I found the frosting a bit too sweet. It is a lovely light sponge though and if you like lemon drizzle cake then you should definitely give it a go.

Ingredients

175g/6oz butter

175/6oz caster sugar

3 large eggs

75g/3oz orange marmalade

1 large orange, zest & juice

175g/6oz self-raising flour

100g/3½oz icing sugar

Cream the butter and sugar together till pale and fluffy. Beat the eggs in a little at a time, then mix in the marmalade and the finely grated orange zest. Sift and fold in the flour with a large metal spoon. Lastly, gently stir in the juice of half the orange.

Spoon the mixture into a lined tin, lightly smoothing the top. Bake for forty minutes in a pre-heated oven at 180°/Gas 4, checking it after thirty-five with a metal skewer. Leave to cool in the tin - it will sink slightly - then remove and cool completely on a wire rack.

Sift the icing sugar and mix it to a smooth, slightly runny consistency with as much of the remaining orange juice as it takes - probably just under two tablespoons. Drizzle the icing over the cake, letting it run down the sides, and leave to set.

Fruit Cream Sponge

This is a really simple recipe that looks great when you present it at the table. I made this on Mother’s Day recently and it was very well received!

Ingredients
6oz self-raising flour
6oz caster sugar
6oz butter / marg
3 eggs
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp vanilla extract

Filling & Topping
300 ml double cream
Raspberry jam
Strawberries
Raspberries
Mango
Blueberries

Start by creaming the butter and sugar together until they are pale then beat in the eggs one at a time. Stir in the vanilla extract and sift in the flour and baking powder folding it gently into the mixture. Divide the mixture into two round tins that have been buttered and floured and bake in a pre-heated oven at 170°c for 30 minutes.

Cool the cakes on a rack and beat the cream until it is thick but not over whipped. Warm a little raspberry jam in the microwave, this will help it spread easily over the cake. Next spread half the cream onto the first cake and then scatter over small chunks of mango and raspberries (you can use as much or as little fruit as you like). Place the second cake on top and spread on the remaining cream and cover with strawberries, raspberries and blueberries. You can use any soft fruits you like on this cake, as long as they’re ripe you can’t go wrong!