Marmalade & Cointreau Sponge with Vanilla Bean Mascarpone

I am by no means a baker, but I loved making (and eating) this cake. It’s fun, simple and delicious.

As I don’t bake very often, I only had one cake tin, which is why there is only one layer to this sponge!  So I have reduced the ingredients accordingly, perhaps not such a bad thing when there is only two of us to eat it!

Ingredients

For the sponge

• 130g butter (unsalted)
• 130g golden caster sugar
• 2 eggs beaten
• 2 tbs water
• a pinch of salt
• 130g self-raising flour (white)

For the glaze

• 1 large orange (juice and peel grated)
• 4 tbsp marmalade
• 2 tbsp brown sugar
• 2 tbsp Cointreau
• optional popping candy for decoration (as per the image)

On the side

• 100g mascarpone
• 2 tsp vanilla bean paste

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 190ºc (170ºc fan) and prepare a 20 cm cake tin by greasing it with butter and then lining it with grease proof paper.
2. In a large mixing bowl, beat together the butter and sugar until smooth, and then add the beaten eggs, followed by the water and salt.
3. Sift the flour into the mixture and beat well until all of the ingredients are well combined.
4. Carefully pour the mixture into your prepared cake tin and smooth over the with a spatula.
5. Bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes until golden and risen.  Once out of the oven, turn the sponge out onto a cooling rack and after a few minutes, carefully peel away the grease proof paper.

For the glaze

1. In a small pan combine the juice and grated zest of the orange, the marmalade, and the sugar and let it bubble gently for 4-5 minutes.  We are trying to achieve a sticky but still fluid glaze that sinks into the sponge.
2. Just before taking the glaze off of the heat, add in the Cointreau and set to one side to allow to cool slightly.
3. Using a skewer, pierce multiple holes across the entire surface of the cake to allow the glaze to permeate the sponge.
4. Slowly pour the glaze over the cake, being sure to cover the whole of the surface and letting it drizzle down the edges.
5. Sprinkle with the popping candy, or crumbled white chocolate, or anything that takes your fancy!

Serve with your favourite side; cream, ice-cream, evaporated milk.  I happened to have mascarpone in the fridge that needed eating, so I simply combined it with some vanilla bean paste and it made a superb accompaniment.  Enjoy!