Spiced Marmalade Bundt cake

This is a lovely, slightly tangy treat. Even though it’s relatively simple to make it looks quite special. It’s a lovely recipe by Martha Collins – too good to alter and needing no “tweeking” on my part.

IMGP3946 Tue 20th - Spiced marmalade bundt cake for jig saw cafe - 8

Servings: 10 – 12               Time: 30 mins prep then 40 – 45 baking             Difficulty: easy

Ingredients

For the cake

  • 180g butter, softened
  • 225g caster sugar
  • 175g plain flour
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 75g ground almonds
  • 1.5 tsp mixed spice
  • 3 medium eggs
  • 100g good quality orange marmalade
  • Zest of 1 large orange

For the glaze

  • 125g good quality orange marmalade
  • 2 tbsp icing sugar
  • 2 tbsp fresh orange juice

For the icing

  • 75g icing sugar
  • 1 tbsp fresh orange juice
  • Orange zest, to decorate
  • Orange food colouring gel (optional)

 

Directions

  1. Some time prior to baking (maybe even the night before), grease a 1.5 litre bundt tin really well with butter. Use a brush to make sure every indentation is well coated. Allow the butter to set then dust interior lightly with flour. (Some people like to leave greased bundt tins in the fridge overnight. Some also butter them twice. It really is worth the effort.)
  2. When ready, preheat the oven to 160C/fan 140C/Gas 3.
  3. Cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy.
  4. Sift the plain flour, baking powder, ground almonds and spice mix into another bowl and mix together.
  5. Add the eggs into the butter and sugar mixture one at a time, beating as you do so. Add 1 tbsp of the dry mixture with each egg to stop any curdling.
  6. Add in the rest of the dry mixture and beat until smooth. Place the marmalade into a bowl and stir until loosened slightly (or a few seconds in the microwave on low). Spoon the marmalade and orange zest into the mixture and mix briefly to combine.
  7. Pour the mixture into the bundt tin and bake in the centre of the oven for 40 – 45 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the deepest part comes out clean. Leave the cake to cool for 10 – 15 minutes, or until the tin can be handled comfortably. Use a small plastic spatula and carefully run it round the edges of the tin if it appears to be stuck. Invert onto a cooling rack and ease the cake out if necessary. Leave to cool completely.
  8. In a small saucepan, heat the marmalade for the glaze with the icing sugar and orange juice. Simmer and stir until it’s runny. You may want to keep the marmalade “shred”, if not it needs to be sieved before use. When ready to glaze, place a sheet of parchment or a board under the cooling rack to catch any drips, then spoon or brush the glaze over the cake. Make sure the entire surface is covered.
  9. Finish off by mixing the icing sugar with enough orange juice to make a thick icing suitable to pipe. (You may want to liven up the colour with a small squirt of orange food colouring.) Pour into a piping bag with your choice of small nozzle, or simply cut the end. Pipe the icing over the sticky cake then top it with orange zest and serve.