Marmalade Cake

I made this Scottish marmalade cake for the premier of Outlander, a new series on Starz, that begins tomorrow night. It's adapted from a series of books by Diana Gabaldon.  I'm a big fan of this historical fiction/love story, and have been eagerly waiting to see these characters come to life.  It's the story of an ex WWII combat nurse, on a second honeymoon in Scotland with her husband, who finds herself swept back in time to 1743 Scotland after touching some standing stones. Here's a link to the trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YnaqypyJDHs



I thought this would be the perfect dessert for a series set in 1700's Scotland when reading about the history of marmalade.  (I love finding out how our food came to be) Legend has it that the first commercial marmalade was produced in Dundee Scotland in 1797 by Janet Keiller, when her husband bought a ship load of oranges from Spain that was waylaid in Scotland because of a storm.  The price for the oranges was excellent but the oranges weren't so she made them into marmalade.  

I started buy greasing a cake pan and lining the bottom with parchment paper.  Don't skip this step, it's important if you want the oranges to come out of the pan with the cake.  Next I lined the pan with some very thinly sliced oranges.  You should remove any seeds.

Next, I used my basic cake batter, substituting the water with orange juice and eliminating the apple cider vinegar. Because this cake is made without eggs, it's necessary to have an acid present to activate the baking powder and soda.  The acid in the orange juice will accomplish this.  Spread the finished cake batter over the oranges, I like to use an offset spatula.

I couldn't resist taste testing the cake, after all, what kind of blogger would I be to post a cake that I hadn't tried?  

The sliced oranges and glaze on top really finish the cake.  It's delicious warm, so I recommend baking it right before serving it.  Also, buy a good quality marmalade.  Keiller's Dundee marmalade is still being made today, it's available in most grocery stores in the US.

Marmalade Cake
Makes one 9" cake - Use organic ingredients whenever possible

For the cake:
1 orange (use an organic one since you're using the peel)
4 tablespoons whipped Earth Balance (butter substitute)
3/4 cup unbleached white sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups unbleached white flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup fresh squeezed orange juice
3 tablespoons orange marmalade

For the glaze:
4 tablespoons orange marmalade 
4 tablespoons powdered sugar
2 tablespoons water

Preheat your oven to 350˚
Grease a 9" cake pan with line the bottom with parchment.
Slice the orange as thinly as possible and remove any seeds.
Line the parchment with orange slices.
Cream together the whipped EB and white sugar for 2 minutes on a medium speed.
Add the brown sugar and cream for another 2 minutes
Add the vanilla and cream for 1 more minute.
Sift together the flour, baking powder and soda.
Whisk together the orange marmalade and orange juice.
Mix half the orange juice mixture to the creamed butter.
Fold half the flour mixture to the butter and juice.
Repeat with the remaining juice and then the rest of the flour.
Spread the batter over the orange slices.
Bake for 40-45 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.
Let the cake cool for 10 minutes while you make the glaze.
Whisk together the glaze ingredients.
Remove the cake from the pan by placing a plate over the pan and turning it upside down.
Remove the parchment paper.
Brush the top of the cake and the sides with the glaze.
(use all of the glaze)