If this cake doesn’t scream Christmas, I don’t know what does!  The moist, spice-laden dessert tastes great both after dinner and the next morning with your tea or coffee.  It’s based on a traditional English recipe found in Rose’s Heavenly Cakes.  You can only imagine how excited I was when I realized that I didn’t need to pull out the stand mixer to make this – I can’t remember the last time I made a cake that didn’t require a mixer!

Serves 12-14

Ingredients

• 10 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus more for the pan
• 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons cake flour, sifted, plus more for the pan
• 1  1/3 cups dark corn syrup
• 1/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
• 1  1/2 tablespoons orange marmalade
• 2/3 cup milk
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 1  1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• confectioners’ sugar, for garnish

Directions

Preheat the oven to 325°F.  Grease the bottom and sides of an 8 x 8 metal baking pan with butter and line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper.  Grease the parchment paper with butter and dust the paper and sides of the pan with a little cake flour.

Heat 8 tablespoons butter, dark corn syrup, brown sugar, and marmalade in a saucepan over medium-high heat.  Cook, stirring often, until syrup thins and sugar dissolves, about 5 minutes.  Let cool for 10 minutes.  Whisk in the milk and eggs; set syrup mixture aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together cake flour, whole wheat flour, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, baking soda and salt.  Add reserved syrup mixture and whisk until just combined.  Pour batter into baking pan.  Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean, about 50 minutes.

Transfer the cake to a rack and let cool for 10 minutes.  Meanwhile, heat remaining butter along with sugar and lemon juice in a saucepan over medium heat and cook, stirring often until sugar dissolves, about 3 minutes.  Using a pastry brush – brush half the lemon syrup over the top of the cake.  Invert the cake onto a cooling rack, discard parchment, and brush the remaining lemon syrup on the bottom and sides of the cake.  Invert the cake onto a serving stand and wrap in plastic wrap; let cool completely.  The cake tastes better the day after baking and will keep for up to 4 days.

To serve, cut cake into squares and sprinkle with confectioners’ sugar.