ICCHFC - Week 24: Orange drizzle cake

Jo's fourth cake was a closely fought contest with orange drizzle cake winning the vote by one from chocolate cherry cream cake and lemon Victoria sponge.

The cake was an adaptation of a traditional sponge. The cake itself was lovely (as usual) but not being a fan of marmalade I was not won over by the filling. I think the marmalade changed the flavour profile from sweet and sour to sweet and bitter. However, I was in a minority as everyone else loved it.

The sugar cubes on top was a touch of genius, adding a fantastic additional, and unusual, texture.

Jo's Orange drizzle cake recipe (taken from BBC Good Food)

Ingredients:
200g butter
200g caster sugar
200g self raising flour
4 eggs
Zest of 2 oranges
For the filling:
100ml crème fraîche
6tbsp orange & tangerine marmalade (the recipe states orange curd, but I couldn't find any)
For the drizzle:
Zest of 1 orange
2 tbsp of the orange juice
100g white sugar cubes

Method:
1. Heat the oven to 180°C, line two equal size (20cm) cake tins and grease the sides.
2. Put sponge ingredients in a bowl and mix using an electric whisk.
3. Divide the mixture equally into the two tins. Cook for 20-25 minutes until golden. Remove from tins and leave to stand.
4. For the drizzle, roughly crush the sugar cubes with orange juice until they absorb the juice and become slushy.
5. For the filling, whip the crème fraîche until stiff. Spread over one of the sponges, then spread the other with the marmalade and sandwich the two together.
6. Spoon over the drizzle and serve.