My husband’s younger sisters’ winter break finally arrived. I think baking is a great way to spend time together and get over the stress of their school’s finals. I didn’t really have a specific recipe in mind, but I wanted to make a cake that reflects the holiday season. We started with a simple cake batter and flavored it with orange marmalade I received through our friend Diane from Napa Farmhouse 1885 and store-bought Swedish orange gingersnaps. I crumbled the gingersnaps and added them to the batter and the top of the cake. We baked the cakes in individual Flexipan molds and I let the girls decorate their own version with orange-flavored buttercream and chocolate-covered cherries.
Have fun this holiday season!
1. Info for Christmas Dessert: Orange Marmalade Cake
- Cook Time: unavailable
- Total Time: unavailable
- Servings: 6
- Calories: unavailable
2. Ingredients for Christmas Dessert: Orange Marmalade Cake
- 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 6 tablespoons orange gingersnaps
- 2 eggs, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
- ¼ cup granulated sugar, as needed
- 6 tablespoons milk
- 2 tablespoons ginger and orange marmalade (or any marmalade)
- 1-¼ cups orange buttercream frosting (see tips)
- 3 chocolate-covered cherries (see tips), halved
3. Directions:
- Preheat the oven to 375°F.
- For the crumb topping: In a mortar and pestle, grind the ginger snap cookies into coarse crumbs. Set aside.
- Using an electric mixer, beat the egg yolks in a mixing bowl with 2 tablespoons sugar until they’re pale yellow; the texture of the eggs will be thicker. Add the vanilla extract.
- In a separate bowl, sift the flour, baking powder and salt.
- Combine the egg mixture, 2 tablespoons butter and the dry ingredients, alternating with milk so the batter is smooth. Add 2 tablespoons marmalade and 2 tablespoons gingersnaps.
- In another bowl, add a pinch of salt to the egg whites and whisk for about 2 minutes at a low speed. Add 2 tablespoons granulated sugar, increase the speed of your mixer and keep beating for another 2-3 minutes until it forms stiff peaks. Don’t over-beat or the texture will become grainy.
- Using a silicone spatula, mix 1/3 of the whipped egg whites into the cake batter to soften it. Add the rest of the whipped egg whites and gently fold them in to get an airy batter.
- I used individual silicone molds. Cover each cavity with a thin layer of butter. Sprinkle with about 2 teaspoons gingersnaps. Pour the cake batter into the molds.
- Bake for 5 minutes at 375°F; lower the temperature to 350°F and bake for another 45-50 minutes until the top is golden. A skewer or a toothpick inserted into the cake should come out clean. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely.
- The texture of the cake should be very soft and moist.
- Unmold the cakes and cover the tops with a layer of buttercream; smooth it out using a spreader. Top it with a chocolate.
- Optional: You could also cut the cake horizontally prior to adding the buttercream and spread a layer of marmalade in the center of the cake (which I did). I also covered the buttercream frosting with additional gingersnap crumbs, which are very forgiving of any imperfection.
- Serve warm with a hot cup of tea.
- Bon appétit!
