Bitter orange & poppy seed cake

Bitter orange & poppy seed cake

This easy all-in-one cake is made with yogurt for a light texture.

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5
 stars 5 ratings

Recipe by Jane Hornby

Tested

Difficulty and servings

Easy

Cuts into 8 slices

Preperation and cooking times

Preparation time

Prep 15 mins

Cook time

Cook 1 hr min

Freezable

Without sticky topping

Method

  1. 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 microwaveproof jug or bowl, then cook on High for 30 secs). Beat in the yogurt, then let cool for a few mins.
  2. 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.
  3. 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.
Try

Toasted poppy seeds

Toasting poppy seeds in a dry pan for a few minutes really brings out their nutty flavour.

Recipe from Good Food magazine, March 2007.

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Per serving

422 kcalories, protein 6g, carbohydrate 54g, fat 21 g, saturated fat 12g, fibre 1g, salt 0.8 g

Latest comments and suggestions

  • 07 November 2007

    Elaine rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Brilliant teatime cake. Not too sweet; marmalade makes it v tangy. Made it for a weekend away in Wales and everyone loved it.

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  • 17 November 2007

    Jane rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Fantastic tangy cake that keeps well. Really easy.

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  • 24 November 2007

    patricia rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    This cake is delicious! Very easy to make and looks exactly like the picture. It is moist, soft and tangy. I used good quality orange jam instead of marmalade and the result was perfect.

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  • 16 December 2007

    Louisa Smith commented on this recipe

    A really yummy cake - moist and tangy. It won much praise from my husband's colleagues - one even said it was the best cake he'd ever eaten!

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  • 22 January 2008

    KarolasFaves commented on this recipe

    Really buttery, tangy moist cake. Like other people, colleagues and relatives downed this like there was no tomorrow! Didn't bother toasting the seeds. It's totally WOW and I'm making for the third time v shortly. Definitely a firm fave of mine.

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  • 24 January 2008

    Jean commented on this recipe

    I made this recipe when it first appeared in "Good Food" magazine. As I am coeliac, I made it with Dove's Farm Gluten-Free Plain Flour. It was really enjoyable: tangy, not to sweet and impossible to tell that it was not made with ordinary flour.

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  • 30 March 2008

    Ellie commented on this recipe

    delicious cake that keeps fantastically well

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  • 23 April 2008

    lovecookinghatewashingup commented on this recipe

    This is a fantastic cake. Easy to make and everyone who has tried it loves it. I have had to make two for other people this week! I am not a great lover of marmalade so I found the strong marmalade a bit much on the top but it gives the cake good flavour so I use a milder marmalade for the topping. I also tried this recipe with lemon marmalade and a lemon. Absolutely gorgeous!

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  • 23 April 2008

    lovecookinghatewashingup rated this recipe

    5 stars

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  • 18 July 2008

    Frantic Flapjack rated and commented on this recipe

    3 stars

    I couldn't get hold of poppy seeds, so used caraway seeds instead. This cake was very easy to make and popular with the family, but I found the topping quantity was way too much.

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Difficulty and servings

Easy

Cuts into 8 slices

Preperation and cooking times

Preparation time

Prep 15 mins

Cook time

Cook 1 hr min

Freezable

Without sticky topping

Made for sharing

Ingredients

  • 3 tbsp good-quality thick marmalade (we 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

FOR THE STICKY TOPPING

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Per serving

422 kcalories, protein 6g, carbohydrate 54g, fat 21 g, saturated fat 12g, fibre 1g, salt 0.8 g

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