Sometimes Only Cake Will Do

I love baking and I love cake but made a conscious decision to indulge in less of both this year seeing as it's both an expensive and fattening hobby. Mostly it's been okay, though I'll make a birthday cake for anyone who'll accept one at the moment, but some days really demand cake. Yesterday was just such a day so seemed like the perfect time to use up some of the pre baking ban ingredients slowly passing their best in the cupboard. I was looking for something inspired to do with cherries and coconut but didn't really find anything, what I did find was an exciting chocolate cake recipe. Exciting because it involves marmalade and I've stopped buying bread too (not eating cake is pointless if you eat lots of toast with Nutella on it instead) so have a stock pile of jam and marmalade awaiting inspiration.

Marmalade brownies are a favourite but the beauty of this cake is all the same flavours with less ingredients and possibly a shade less trouble. It's a Nigella recipe from 'How To Be  A Domestic Goddess' because often when you want cake nobody else delivers quite like she does. This one is called Store-Cupboard Chocolate-Orange Cake - which is the worst thing about it (I'm sorry but it's a terrible name) because it's made with things you tend to have around. The name gives no indication of the lush rich chocolate and orange flavour, the yielding dampness, the aromatic splendour, and the all round gorgeousness of this cake which manages to be both decadently rich and very hard to stop eating.

Chocolate Marmalade Cake.

125g unsalted butter 

100g dark chocolate

150g caster sugar

300g good marmalade (Nigella says thin cut, I only had thick cut)

pinch of salt

2 large eggs (beaten)

150g self raising flour

Preheat the oven to gas 4 or 180 degrees C and put the butter in a heavy bottomed sauce pan on a low heat to melt. Butter and flour a 20 cm springform cake tin. When the butter is nearly done add the chocolate leave for a moment to soften and then remove from the heat and stir until all smooth and melted. Add the marmalade, sugar, salt, and beaten eggs. Stir until everything is coming together nicely and then add the flour and beat till smooth. Pour into the cake tin and bake for 50 mins or until a skewer comes out clean. Allow to cool for a few minutes before releasing from the tin. Good warm as well as cold this is basically a well baked brownie with a bit of spring in it. 

The chocolate seems to do something to the marmalade, it loses its bitterness leaving an intense orange flavour, because I used thick cut there are chunks of peel that still have a marmalade hit though, I feel that this adds a certain sophistication and wouldn't change it. It isn't the prettiest looking cake but I have to say again - it's delicious. 

Nigella says you can substitute the marmalade for the jam of your choice, and most excitingly for puréed prunes, I'm looking for an excuse to bake this again soon.