Marmalade loaf cake

Brought back a jar of marmalade from the storage unit made in 1999.  I prefer the crisp flavour of new marmalade but Rod likes this rick dark caramelly flavour.  I used half a jar to make him a cake using a recipe from the Telegraph as the base. This cake has a chewy toffee crust and gently orange middle.  Add more zest if you want a zingier cake.  I used satsumas as they were the only oranges I had.

I used half ordinary sugar and half a solid block of dark brown sugar which I had to dissolve slowly in the egg, so I didn't follow the creaming method fully.  I did cream the loose sugar, so for the first time in ages I got my food mixer out (thanks Lindsay).  The rest of the dissolved sugar and egg mix went into the mix after the butter and sugar was light and fluffy.

I added flaxseed as Rod's new pills mean he needs to increase his fibre intake.  It has the added benefit that I don't get tempted by these cakes as my delicate guts can't cope with flaxseed.

Loaf tin; 22cm by 12cm - traditional 1lb loaf tin, buttered and lined

Oven set to 175C fan

Ingredients
75g butter, room temperature.  If you are hasty and zap in the microwave be careful as the middle can become liquid before you realise
175 sugar (soft brown or other)
2 eggs
125g dark marmalade
zest of two satsumas and juice of one
175g self raising flour (40% urid, 40% tapioca and 20% cornmeal, with 1tsp of baking powder to 100g flour)
25g flaxseed (optional)


Beat the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy.
add in the egg, juice and zest, beat, then add the marmalade
Stir in flour and flaxseed until evenly mixed

Spoon into the prepared tin and bake for 35- 45 minutes.  If it looks wobbly when you first open the door at 35 minutes leave it in.  It should leave a knife clean when you test it.

Leave in tin for ten minutes.  Peel off paper and cool on a rack.

Gingersnaps -made with vintage marmalade (gluten-free and dairy-free)

gluten-free gingersnaps

We have been clearing the house and barns as we are trying to sell the house.  We came across a stash of marmalade so old it has to be called vintage - from 1999.  It wasn't hidden away - it was primly stored on the preserves shelves, but I like sprightly fresh marmalade and this just kept being ignored.  The seals were still good, and I had to use my jar opening device to get the lid off.

This morning I sorted out my spices.  I have lots of different types of herbs and spices, and buy frequently-used ingredients like cinnamon and cumin in large quantities.  The new house will be very small, so I was trying to think how to reduce the space needed - and this meant decanting spices, and soon the kitchen smelled enticingly of ginger.  So, gingersnaps became necessary.

I read several recipes, one using applesauce instead of fat, some egg free, others full of butter and syrup.   With the supply of marmalade that needed using up fresh in my mind I decided to make cookies where the marmalade took the place of the sugar and treacle and quite of bit of the usual fat.

gingersnap ingredients

I made up a batch of the batter, then baked a single cookie to test the flavour.  I added more spice and sugar at this point, and produced a cookie that is delicious, crisp on the outside and chewy inside, and that has a warm complex slightly bitter flavour, with the deep caramel of the marmalade complementing the spice.

TT has been in several times and snuck the slightly odd-shaped, smaller ones off the rack.  He can eat as many as he wants of course, but the temptation to keep coming back for more of the 'very grown up biscuits' as he puts it, is a good sign that they are something to make again.

Ingredients
100g crystallised ginger, chopped
350g flour (urid 40%, tapioca 40%, cornmeal 20%)
150g ground almond
4 tsp mixed spice
2 tsp ground ginger
1.5 tsp baking powder
60g soft brown sugar
2 eggs
400g marmalade
60ml sunflower oil

Method
Whisk or sieve the dry ingredients to make sure evenly mixed.
Mix the wet ingredients - marmalade, egg and oil.
Add dry ingredients to wet and mix
Stir in chopped crystallised ginger

Put spoonfuls of this stiffish but still sticky batter onto granulated sugar, roll to cover, then press flat, placing on a baking sheet.

Cook at 175C for about ten to twelve minutes, keeping an eye on them.  I cooked mine until the edges were just turning brown.  Cook at a lower heat for longer for a crisper biscuit.