MARMALADE THATCH CAKE

This is my last post before a summer break, but I will return on 17th Sept with lots of new recipes for the autumn. This intriguing cake comes from the Cornwall Hospice, Great Cornish Cake Bake Cake Book. A little taster for you, from this brilliant little book, available in any Cornwall Hospice shop or Amazon for just £6.99. Please support Judy Lawton, the Cornwall Hospice funds organiser by buying this book, for such a great cause, if you haven’t done so already. It is so good, I think you should do another next year Judy!

The recipe has a very interesting story attached to it, but I will say no more! You will have to buy the book, but I can tell you it is from a lovely lady named Doreen Donnithorne who comes from Mitchell.

Grease and line an 8” loose bottomed tin. Pre heat your fan oven to 160C [gas 4]

Topping:

2 level tablespoons golden syrup

5 level tablespoons marmalade

3 oz brown [wholemeal] bread, crust removed and cut into about ½” cubes

see notes

Blend the syrup and marmalade and in a basin, stir in the bread and coat well. then set aside for a while.

Cake:

6 oz butter

6 level tablespoons golden syrup

2 large eggs

5 level tablespoons marmalade

12 oz self raising flour

1 level teaspoon baking powder

1 ½ teaspoons cinnamon

1 level teaspoon nutmeg

pinch of ground cloves

¼ pint milk, approx

Beat the fat and syrup until light, then add the eggs, one at a time, then the marmalade. Fold in the sifted flour, baking power and spices then add enough milk to make a smooth but fairly stiff consistency. Turn into your prepared tin, level off then carefully spread the topping.

Bake for 1 hour. [mine took a good ten minutes more] Cool in the tin for a bit. Very unusual and just yummy! A great spicy combination of flavours.

NOTES:

The original recipe used margarine.

I covered the top of the cake with tin foil for the last 20 mins of baking.

In the list of ingredients it tells you to use about ½ pint milk. I think this is a mistake as a quarter is about right.

I could not coat all the bread topping with the listed amount of syrup and marmalade, so added a little more, making sure the cubes were all well coated.

My home made marmalade is quite chunky, so I cut the slivers up a little.

Enjoy!

See you in the autumn. Best wishes for happy holidays, Laurie, Penryn. x