When life hands you oranges, do as the Scots do...

     When I think of citrus fruit, abundant and at its peak in the doldrums of winter, I do not think of the UK. However, orange marmalade was popularized in Scotland (specifically Dundee) in the 18th century. A shipment of Seville oranges was offloaded to a local grocer, where his wife then turned the tart fruit into batches of sweet marmalade. Although Dundee has other treats, like its cake that it was and is known for, marmalade has reached international fame. 
      My roommate's mother makes the best marmalade around, so I decided to try to recreate it stateside. There were two things I wanted to get right: it shouldn't be too sweet, and there should be large strips of peel in the marmalade. To be considered marmalade, peel should be present in the spread. All too often this is not the case. If you want the real deal, it's gonna be a kick in the pants. I made this cake because I had just made some marmalade, so feel free to do so with a prepared version, particularly Mackays. 

Citrus Cake with Vanilla Honey Frosting 

My grandma's birthday was last week and she doesn't like chocolate cake. Although she is an inferior human for this character flaw, it is my duty to make birthday cakes for this clan. Since I had just made some luscious marmalade, I decided to go with a citrus cake. The cake is very simple to make, as is the icing. Plan to make the icing the same day you want to serve the cake. 

To begin, cream the butter and sugar together until fluffy. Beat the eggs in until well incorporated. Add vanilla, vanilla seeds, and orange zest and mix. Combine the dry ingredients in a small bowl. Add about a third of the dry mixture into the wet and mix gently. Now add a third of the buttermilk and continue this dry-to-wet pattern until both are fully incorporated. Pour the batter into two greased cake pans and bake for 20-25 minutes; you aren't looking for a golden color. Let the cakes cool on a wire rack and then cover for later use.

To make the icing, combine the flour, vanilla, and milk over medium heat until a paste forms. Cool completely. Next, cream the butter and granulated sugar until fluffy. Add the flour paste, vanilla seeds, and honey and beat for around five minutes on high. It will take a while for the sugar crystals to dissolve completely. Add a pinch of salt to balance the sweetness of this frosting. 

To assemble the cake, place the first layer of your cake onto your serving platter and top with the marmalade. Add the second layer and frost the cake. I reserved some peels to decorate the top of the cake with, but you can go wild and do whatever you wish. This cake is really nice with black tea and some ridiculous grandparents. 

Recipe

Cake Adapted from Wonky Wonderful

375 F 20-25 minutes, 2 8-inch cake pans

Cake

1/2 c butter, softened 

1 c sugar

2 eggs

2 c unbleached cake flour

3 tsp baking powder 

1 tsp salt

1 1/4 c buttermilk

2 tsp vanilla

seeds from two vanilla pods

1 tbsp orange zest
Filling
1 c orange marmalade
Frosting
1 c milk
1/4 c plus 1 tbsp flour
1 tsp vanilla
vanilla seed from two pods
1/4 c orange blossom or wildflower honey
1 c butter, softened
1 c granulated sugar

     

    There's always time for tea, and there's always room for cake.

     I've noticed that the new wedding trend is to forgo cake in favor of cupcakes (dumb) or to completely cut out cake and serve something, say, like pie (more dumb). Let's not mince words here, I love pie just as much as the next lumberjack, but cake is sacred! I go to parties, christenings, and family gatherings to eat cake! For you see, cake used to be a more common affair (and was itself much more plain) in days past. If cake has turned into a "special affair" kind of thing, and people don't even want to serve it anymore at matrimonial events, I'm going AWOL. You can find me in the kitchen, baking a simple, spiced chocolate cake, perfect for tea or breakfast. #ChooseCake #CakeWins

     Cardamom and Coffee Spiced Chocolate Loaf Cake

     A word to the wise: chocolate cake is not the easiest cake to make right every time because cocoa powder is a mysterious creature. It often makes cakes too dry (like mine was), or can cause them to not set at all. The latter can occur when using Dutch cocoa powder in place of natural; the lower acidity in the former does not coagulate protein as well. A general rule of thumb is that a looser batter is best with chocolate cake as the extra liquid will keep the proteins from binding too tightly. 

     This cake is a snap to put together. First, cream the butter and sugar together in a large bowl. Add the egg and mix well. Add the buttermilk, coffee and vanilla (it should looked curdled). In a smaller bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa powder, salt, cardamom, and baking soda. Add the dry ingredients to the wet and mix til just combined. Pour the batter into a greased and floured loaf pan (9x5x3) and bake for about an hour. Let the cake cool in its pan for 15 minutes and then transfer to a wire rack for the reminder of cooling. 

Recipe

(Adapted from Smitten Kitchen)

325 F 60-70 minutes

1/2 c unsalted butter, softened
1 c light brown sugar
1/2 c granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 c buttermilk

1/2 c coffee
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 c flour
3/4 c cocoa powder 
1/4 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp cardamom
1/4 tsp salt

What I got my dad for Valentine's Day