Marmelade d'orange Gâteau

I love cookbooks. I really love cookbooks! So when I'm asked to do a review of one, I'm giddy. The book I'm going to tell you about is fabulous. Piece of Cake has 175 one-bowl, no-fuss, made from-scratch cake recipes that are all natural, quick and easy to prepare.

Many home bakers believe there are only two options for making cakes at home:
1. Commercial cake mixes; or
2. Complicated, multi-step recipes developed by professional chefs.

Here is just a small list of the delicious recipes that are in Piece of Cake:

Tennessee Whiskey Cake 
Chocolate Vanilla Marble Cake 
Chocolate Ganache Truffle Cake 
Hot Fudge Brownie Cake 
Coconut Chocolate Chunk Cake 
Salted Caramel, Peanut and Chocolate Upside-Down Cake 
Sticky Toffee Pudding Cake 
French Almond Cake 
Cinnamon Hazelnut Cake with Chocolate Hazelnut Swirl

I decided to make the Marmalade Cake. Although it would be wonderful anytime of the year, I thought it had all the ingredients for a luscious Christmas cake.

Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
3 large eggs, at room temperature
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
1/2 cup buttermilk
1-3/4 cups orange marmalade, at room temperature, stirred to loosen
1 cup chopped toasted pecans
1 cup golden raisins, roughly chopped
(The book gave directions for an Orange Cream Cheese Frosting. I decided on using Whipped Cream Frosting instead. And I decorated with Mandarin oranges.)

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. (180 degrees C)

2. Prepare two 9-inch round cake pans with shortening and flour.

3. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg.

4. Add eggs, oil, butter and buttermilk to flour mixture. Using an electric mixer on medium-low speed, beat for 1 minute, until blended. Scrape sides and bottom of bowl with a spatula. Beat on high speed for 1 minute, until blended. Scrape sides and bottom of bowl with a spatula. Beat on high speed for 1 minute. Gently stir in marmalade, pecans and raisins.

5. Spread batter evenly in prepared pans, dividing equally.

6. Bake in preheated oven for 38 to 43 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a few moist crumbs attached. Let cool in pans on a wire rack for 20 minutes. Run a knife around the edge of pans, then invert cakes onto rack to cool completely.

7. I used a whipped cream frosting and Mandarin oranges for decoration.

The author, Camilla Saulsbury is a freelance food writer, recipe developer and cooking instructor. Her culinary focus is translating food and flavor trends into fresh, innovative, and delicious recipes for the home kitchen.