Awesome but abundant jams and marmalades don’t ever die, they just make fabulous cakes.

Fresh fruit is great, but in a glut, they can inevitably end up as jam or marmalade. You can give it away, store it and eat it but even then, sometimes you have just had too much of a good thing and would prefer to use it up and move on to another flavour.

We use jams and marmalades as flavouring for home made yogurt, spread on biscuits, in gravies and marinades, and in cake. aaaaaaaw, cake.

You my recognise my favourite Rex jar (above) as looking very much like a Weck jar. That is because it is the same – just a different label but made by the same company. My Rex are older but all the parts fit both of course – they are identical in every way bar the name. You can still buy them in that vintage style label, which I love. Totally unnecessary of course but I love that I can still match the glass lids if they ever go south (which has happened once or twice over many years). The mixing can be by hand if you are keen, with an electric mixer, or in a Thermomix – my preferred these days.

..and here is my dead fav cake tin – Mastercraft loose base round 24cm (9″). I have the 8″ round and the Mastercraft 8 1/2″ square too, all of which take a beating with two teenage boys making cakes and me as well. The rule around here is that all food at home is free, and we don’t buy readymade so every recipe at our place must be teenager-friendly. They make stuff to take to school events – call me mean but I have never made stuff for ‘bring-a-plate’ events at school. The boys had to earn how to bake for themselves quick-sticks, even if it is just fairy bread! The younger lad makes slices and hedgehogs for mates’ birthdays and they LOVE it! Imagine a whole tray of slice for yourself. Instant legend status 😉

[Feature Picture: Marmalade ‘no-worries’ cake on Villeroy & Boch plate (Switch Beach House Water collection) served with French fudge icecream]

Marmalade ‘no worries’ Cake

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Cake. That's it – cake. Yum. If you need more reasons to make it, this recipe is super flexible and brilliant for using up the jam or marmalade you have sitting in the fridge. By flexible, we mean you can alter the sugar and the eggs and experiment a little without it going all wrong. See the variations for some ideas. Seriously folks, don't stress with this recipe. It is a good one to experiment with for structure and sweetness. Super forgiving and always yum.

Section: Cake, Dessert

Hero: citrus, jam

Features: Easy, jam, Vegetarian

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup marmalade or jam (flexible, anything 1/8 to 1/2 cup is fine)
• 1/2 cup brown sugar (flexible, 1/2 to 3/4 cup is fine, white sugar okay too)
• 125 grams butter (cubed for easy handling)
• 2 eggs (2 to 3 eggs is fine, see notes)
• 1 1/2 cups SR flour (or plain flour plus 3 tsp baking powder)
• 1/4 cup milk (or a good 'slosh')

Instructions

• Line or grease the tin and preheat the oven to 170 degrees C (340 F)
• Mix all ingredients together and beat til it goes lighter in colour (15-20sec, speed 4 in TMX)
• Spread into tin and bake for about 35 minutes. Watch it to be sure it's cooked through but not too browned, though it will colour up quite a bit given the brown sugar.
• Test centre with a skewer – ready when it pulls out clean. Leave to cool then turn out on a wire rack. Go to town with toppings or use hot with sauce as a pud.

Notes

FEATURES: Flexible, freezable, forgiving

EQUIPMENT: Thermomix (TMX) or electric mixer or elbow grease, average size cake tin, whichever shape you like.

STORING: keeps on the bench in a cake tin for a few days, or in the freezer ready to pull out when the mood strikes for dessert.

VARIATIONS: The sugar provides sweetness and moisture. Brown sugar has more moisture, so it’ll end up more moist and fudgey; white sugar will make it a lighter crumb. The eggs give it structure – 2 eggs is fluffier, 3 eggs is more dense and great for toasting in the flat grill press. Oh my, with butter or cream.

Dust with icing sugar, make up a butter cream icing, or have with warm custard. Candied peel, walnuts or glacé ginger goes well too. Experiment.  For an instant hot pud dessert, make it fudgey, heat in the microwave and put on a sauce or fruit coulis, either cold or hot. So versatile.

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