Marmalade Loaf Cake is made in a flash with the all-in-one method. This plain, but fruity cake is good with coffee and travels well.
Marmalade Loaf Cake
Sometimes you don't want a creamy cake, or a chocolate cake, or a fruit cake. You just want a plain cake with a hint of fruitiness to go with your morning coffee or afternoon tea. On those days a cake like the Marmalade Loaf Cake is ideal (another popular cake in my house for this is Lemon Drizzle, or French Madeleines if you want small cakes).
Key ingredients in Marmalade Loaf Cake
What sort of marmalade is best in the cake?
Well, any sort really, but the very best, for my money, is a thick-cut orange marmalade. Having said that, last time I came to make this cake I couldn't find the marmalade. Now either someone's eaten it or it's still in the cupboard hiding at the back of a shelf.
So I used what I could find, which was a mixture of thick-cut lemon marmalade and fine-cut orange marmalade. The flavour is very good, but you don't see so many orange flecks.
Juice and zest of an orange
If you don't have an orange, you could use lemon juice and zest, or use orange juice from a bottle, or orange extract and a tablespoon of milk.
Secrets of Success
This is an easy one-step cake, made in a few minutes.
Do you need a food processor to make an all-in-one cake?
No. You can use a hand mixer or stand mixer, or you can beat all the ingredients together with a wooden or silicone spoon. You need to make sure the butter is very soft for any method, but particularly if you're making a cake by hand.
The main differences are preparation time and the size of the marmalade pieces, which won't be cut up if you're not using a processor - but that doesn't matter either way.
Why is my cake dry?
If your cakes turn out dry, check out my article Why Is My Cake Dry? for some of the most common reasons and the solutions.
Helpful Tools
- Lemon zester - I came late in the day to lemon zesters. I used my old box grater (with a different grater on each side) for years. The last time I used it for a lemon I grated my knuckle so badly that I finally gave in and bought a zester. And now I wonder why it took so long.
- Baking parchment loaf tin liner - This stops the cake sticking and keeps the tin clean - so less washing up. You can also store the cake in the liner until you're ready to eat it, keeping it nice and moist. Just make sure you buy the right size for your loaf tin. Old fashioned loaf tins are squarer and deeper (and better for bread, I think) than the others which are good for cakes.
- Beeswax Loaf Wraps - I'm trying to reduce the amount of clingfilm, foil and plastic bags that I use, and my biggest problem has been something to wrap loaf cakes in for the freezer. I've now found large beeswax wraps that will cover a loaf of bread, and are ideal for loaf cakes. They're washable and you can even rejuvenate them. Definitely worth a look.
If you like this...
...Why don't you try:
Crunchy Lemon Drizzle Loaf
Cherry Cake
Date and Walnut Loaf
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Baking parchment loaf tin liner
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Recipe
Marmalade Loaf Cake
Ingredients
- 125 g butter at room temperature (see note)
- 2 large eggs
- 60 ml milk
- 3 heaped tablespoons marmalade (135ml)
- 110 g castor sugar + extra
- 250 g plain/all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder (5ml)
- 1 orange
Instructions
Preparation:
- Preheat the oven to 190°C/170°C fan, gas mark 5/375°F
- Either grease the tin with butter or just pop the liner in
- Grate the zest from the orange
- Juice half the orange - you want 1 tablespoon (15ml) juice
For the Marmalade Cake:
- Put all the ingredients into a large bowl (or your mixer/food processor)(Butter, eggs, milk, marmalade, sugar, flour, baking powder, orange juice, orange rind)
- Beat together well, but don't overdo it - about 15 seconds in the processor. Scrape the mixture down and mix again for 5 more seconds in the processor
- Tip the mixture into the tin/liner and use a knife to make a slight depression in the top of the mixture. Sprinkle with 1-2 teaspoons (5-10ml) castor sugar
- Cook for 45-60 minutes. Test after 45 minutes with a toothpick. When it comes out clean the cake is done
- Take the cake out of the oven and leave in the tin for 10 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to cool
- Store in an airtight box when cool. (You can leave the liner on until the cake is served)
Emma says
How long does this cake last? I need something to bake on a Saturday to be eaten on a Thursday/ Friday. Thanks.
Emma says
Thank you for letting me know the cake keeps well in the fridge. I made two and couldn’t resist cracking into one of straight out of the oven. It was utterly delicious! This may become my signature bake!
Susie Collings says
Hi Emma, So pleased you like the cake. Hope the other one goes down well too 🙂
Alex says
Love this cake, do you think it would freeze well? I have a large amount of marmalade to use and batch baking these would be great.
Susie Collings says
Hi Alex. This cake freezes beautifully. I always make two and freeze one. 🙂
Sue Bradshaw says
Hi Susie this cake is scrumptious I actually add chocolate chips to it and add a warm marmalade glaze it was so yummy it didn’t last very long in our house 😂
Susie Collings says
Hi Sue, That does sound yummy. Chocolate chips is a brilliant idea - I might steal that one! Cheers - Susie
Sue Bradshaw says
I actually made your gorgeous everyday fruit cake yesterday it came out perfect it is so yummy I was worried as we have a new oven but no need it turned out really well, loving your recipes so glad I found your blog x
Susie Collings says
Hi Sue, Glad you like the fruit cake too. I love a loaf cake! Cheers - Susie
Mandy says
First time making this cake, can't wait
Susie Collings says
Hi Mandy, Hope you like the cake 🙂
Elizabeth Donald says
I do make quite a lot of fruit loaves etc but this is the first time i've made this one and I will be making it again. It is lovely!
Susie Collings says
Hi Elizabeth. Thanks for that :). I'm pleased you like the cake. Cheers - Susie
Deborah Harouma says
This has become our home baking cake of choice during lockdown. It’s very easy to prepare and mix with the food processor. I use vanilla extract to flavour it if I’ve no fresh oranges. The kids really like it (and they don’t even like marmalade normally).
Susie Collings says
Hi Deborah, That's great - and good that the whole family likes it. Thanks for letting me know 🙂 Hope you're all staying safe. Cheers - Susie
Jacqueline says
Followed recipe but cake too dense for me, wouldn’t use again
Susie Collings says
Hi Jacqueline, Yes this is a dense cake. For something lighter try a Lemon Drizzle cake. Cheers - Susie
Sue Curtis says
Can I adapt this recipe for a coffee cake thanks
Susie Collings says
Hi Sue, If you want a coffee cake, you could make a Coffee Sponge, which you can ice or just sprinkle with icing sugar. For a firmer cake like this, you could adapt the Cherry Cake recipe, leaving out cherries and ground almonds and adding 25g more flour (instead of the ground almonds).
Adapting this recipe might be problematic because the marmalade affects the sweetness and texture.
Hope this helps. I shall add a Madeira Cake recipe soom which is easily flavoured with coffee.
Cheers - Susie
Zoe says
You state 3 heaped tablespoons of Marmalade and then in brackets (135ml). A tablespoon is only 15ml, so how heaped are these tablespoons or is this a typing error?
Susie Collings says
Hi Zoe. A heaped tablespoon is as much as you can get on the spoon, typically about 3 level tbsp so 135ml is about right. Cheers - Susie
Susie says
Hi Peter, Congratulations! Welcome to the world of baking.
I'm so pleased that you like this cake. I agree it's a great not-quite-plain cake - and good with a cup of tea!
Hope you find some more cakes to make.
Cheers - Susie
Peter Marsh says
I tried this as my first cake and love it. I am in my 70 s and have cooked for a few years, but have never tried cakes. I found this website when looking for a sausage casserole recipe. I have substituted self-raising flour for plain flour and it is perfect. Just right for folk like me who do not have a particularly sweet tooth.