Orange Marmalade Cake

Sorry this post has been so long in coming. Guess what? School starts Friday. (wah wah wah) Yes Friday. Don't even ask, because I really don't know. Nothing in our town makes sense. School starts on a friday. The fair comes this week, when it is waaay to hot to be outside, especially while eating hot funnel cakes. We have 3 clothing stores and 1354 restaurants. Nothing here makes sense. Nothing. 

Well, anyway, let's talk about this cake. It's nothing short of amazing. Three layers of yummy, moist yellow cake with orange zest, soaked in a delicious orange glaze, with orange marmalade in between the layers, and a fluffy sour cream icing to top it all off. The icing balances out the intense sweetness of the cake. And I love that it has a glaze AND an icing-it's like the best of both worlds.

This cake only gets better with age, but it doesn't last that long. But maybe your family is not as obsessed with desserts as mine, so you get to enjoy it for a long time. 

Oh, one more thing. Butter and flour your pans. Don't use cooking spray. I used it, out of habit, and it wasn't pretty. It's cake, people, it's not supposed to be low cal.

Here's the recipe!

Orange Marmalade Cake

(From Jan Karon's Mitford Cookbook and Kitchen Reader)

Cake:

1 c unsalted butter, softened

3 1/4 c cake flour

1 tbsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

2 2/3 c granulated sugar

5 large eggs, at room temp

4 large egg yolks, at room temp

2/3 c canola oil

1 tbsp grated orange zest

2 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 350. Lightly butter and flour 3 9in round cake pans. Sift flour, baking powder, and salt into a large bowl. Sift a second time into another bowl. With an electric mixer, beat butter till light in color, about 4 minutes. add the sugar in a steady stream while mixer is still running. Beat till light and fluffy, about 4 min. Add eggs and yolks, one at a time, beat well after each addition. Continue to beat on medium speed for two more minutes. With mixer on low speed, add oil and beat for 1 minute. In a small bowl, combine zest, buttermilk, and vanilla. Using a rubber spatula, fold half the dry ingredients into the butter mixture. Scrape down the sides, and half the buttermilk mixture. Repeat. 

Pour batter into remaining pans. Bake 30-35 min, or till toothpick comes out clean. Let cakes cool in pans on racks 20 min.

orange syrup:

1 c fresh orange juice

1/4 c sugar

stir till sugar is dissolved. While cakes are still in pans, poke holes and pour the glaze on top.

Filling:

1 12 oz jar orange marmalade

heat in small saucepan over medium heat till just melted. cool 5 min.

Icing:

1 c heavy cream, chilled

4 tbsp granulated sugar

1 c sour cream, chilled

Whip cream and sugar till stiff peaks form. Add sour cream, a little at a time, and whisk till mixture is spreadable.

To assemble: 

Invert 1 cake layer onto a plate, spread 1/3 of the marmalade on top. Repeat till all the layers are stacked. Top with orange marmalade, leaving a 1 1/4 in border around the edges. Frost sides and top border with sour cream icing. Or, frost the whole cake, and garnish with marmalade. Chill for at least 2 hrs before serving. Yield: 12-14 servings

 

QOD: What's your best birthday cake? This was DEFINITELY my best tasting one. The cutest one was...hmm...when I turned 11, I had cupcakes decorated to look like mini individual cakes. We also had mini burgers and hot dogs with small cheese slices, baby pickles, and grape tomatoes.

Have a good day!

Mellie