Bitter Orange Loaf Cake

This lovely recipe is from the new Good Food 101 Teatime Treats, which I purchased last month on one of my famous amazon cookbook shopping sprees. The book is a collection of the very best recipes that are featured in the Good Food Magazine and follows on the success of 101 Cakes and Bakes. I was looking for a cake my boys would enjoy and love and came across this easy all-in-one cake. I adapted the recipe around my boys likes and I omitted the poppy seeds but I'm sure it would be great with the poppy seeds too. This zingy cake is so simple to make and using the yogurt gives the sponge a very moist and delicate texture. Orange lovers take note, this is definitely a must bake!

Bitter Orange Loaf Cake

Ingredients
3 tbsp good-quality thick marmalade (I used Frank Cooper's Thick Cut Oxford marmalade)
150g pot natural bio yogurt
3 eggs
175g golden caster sugar
200g self-raising flour
½ tsp baking powder
175g butter, softened
Zest 1 orange
2 tsp poppy seeds, toasted (I omitted the seeds)

For the Sticky topping:
Juice ½ orange
5 tbsp marmalade

Heat oven to 160C/fan 140C/gas 3. Butter a deep, medium-sized loaf tin (about 20 x 10cm, measured from the top), then line the base with a rectangle of non-stick baking paper. Put the marmalade into a small pan, heat gently until melted (or use a microwave proof jug or bowl, then cook on High for 30 secs). Beat in the yogurt, then let cool for a few mins.

Put the remaining cake ingredients into a large bowl and beat with an electric hand whisk until smooth. Quickly beat in the yogurt and marmalade mix, then pour into the prepared tin. It will be quite runny. Leave the mix mounded in the middle of the tin rather than levelling the top, to help it rise and crack in the middle.

Bake for 1 hr-1 hr 10 mins until golden and well-risen; a skewer should come out clean. Take a look at the cake after 45 mins; if it has taken on a lot of colour, loosely cover with baking paper. Meanwhile, heat the orange juice and marmalade in a small pan over a gentle heat until the marmalade melts (or use the microwave as before). Set aside to cool, stirring now and again, until you have a thick, but still runny, glaze. When the cake is ready, cool in the tin for 10 mins, then turn onto a rack. Spoon the topping over the cake while it's just warm. The cake is best served the day it's made, but will keep for up to 3 days tightly wrapped in an airtight container. Will freeze for up to 1 month, un-glazed.

A real afternoon teatime treat!