Marmalade isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, but every now and then I can’t resist a spoonful spread on hot buttered toast for breakfast. And if I were to take those flavours and put them in a dessert, it would be this one. Baking with breadcrumbs isn’t new – lots of recipes call for stale bread – but they’re a rarity in my house, so I tend to use fresh, which gives this cake such a good, squidgy texture against the warm, sticky marmalade topping. I’d avoid using anything too crusty, though: simple sliced bread works a treat.
Marmalade breadcrumb cake
Prep 10 min
Cook 45 min
Serves 8
120g unsalted butter, plus extra for greasing
130g sliced fresh brown bread
160g marmalade
150g light brown sugar
2 large eggs
3 tbsp double cream
45g plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp ground ginger
¼ tsp freshly grated nutmeg
¼ tsp fine sea salt
Cream or custard, to serve
Heat the oven to 180C (160C fan)/350F/gas 4, and grease and line the base and sides of a 20cm loose-bottomed cake tin with greaseproof paper.
Put the bread in a food processor and blitz to fine crumbs. Spoon the marmalade into the base of the lined tin and spread it out evenly.
Cream the butter and sugar in a large bowl, until creamy, then beat in the eggs to combine.
Stir in the double cream, then add the flour, breadcrumbs, baking powder, ginger, nutmeg and salt, and stir until well combined. Carefully spoon the batter on top of the marmalade layer in the tin, then bake for 20-25 minutes, until there’s no wobble to the cake.
Remove, leave to cool for five minutes, then flip upside-down to unmould. Serve warm with cream or custard.
