Tart, sharp and very citrussy, these baby cakes are an amazing amalgam of flavours that will brighten up any winter day.
I’ve deliberately kept the added sugar low allowing the zing of lemon and marmalade to dominate.
The pungent heat of ginger adds a kick too.
These are sit up and take notice baby cakes - and I love them.
If possible choose a tart marmalade as a sweet orange one doesn’t have quite the hint of fragrant bitterness that gives these little cakes their depth of flavour.
Over the past year or two I have cut back the amount of sugar I add to cakes, biscuits and puddings.
Now I’m not so keen on overly sweet, sugary baked goods.
Although I am still very interested in a little sweet treat I want it to be intriguingly, interestingly sweet with a little bit of style and sophistication.
Sugary sickly-sweet and cloying will not do.
Lemon and ginger baby cakes
MAKES 12
160g self-raising flour
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp ground ginger
130g crystalised ginger, chopped to sultana size
70g butter, softened
100g dark cane sugar
2 large eggs (size 7)
¼ cup marmalade
¾ cup natural Greek yoghurt
Syrup
¼ cup marmalade
¼ cup lemon juice
2 Tbsp sugar
Method
Preheat the oven to 180°C.
Line 12 standard muffin cups with baking paper cases.
Sift the flour, baking soda and ground ginger into a medium size bowl and stir in the crystalised ginger. Set aside.
In a separate bowl beat together the softened butter and sugar until thick and creamy.
Beat in the eggs until well mixed, add the marmalade and yoghurt and beat briefly to mix.
Spoon the batter into the prepared paper cases filling them almost to the top.
Bake until lightly golden and the centres spring back when lightly pressed, 20-25 minutes. Remove from the oven.
While the cakes are baking prepare the syrup.
In a small heat-proof bowl stir together the marmalade, lemon juice and sugar. Cover and microwave for about 1½ minutes on high until the mixture is hot. Remove from the microwave and stir until dissolved and well mixed.
As soon as the baby cakes are out of the oven drizzle each one with the syrup - about one dessert spoon for each cake.
Wait for about 10 minutes and remove the cakes still in their paper cases from the muffin tins. Cool on a wire rack.
When cold, store in an airtight container in a cool place.
Before serving heat gently in a microwave.
