Devil in Disguise by Lisa Kleypas

Lady Merritt’sMarmalade Cake

THIS IS A LOAF of sunshine, based on Victorian era loaf cake recipes. It’s perfect for breakfast, teatime, or dessert. (Lady Merritt suggests using actual marmalade instead of “fruit spread.”)

Ingredients:

³/₄ C butter, softened

³/₄ C sugar

3 eggs

4 tablespoons marmalade

juice of 1 orange (about ¹/₂ C)

zest of 1 orange

1 ¹/₂ C flour

2 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. salt

Glaze:

4 tablespoons marmalade

1 tablespoon butter

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9x5-inch loaf pan—put a little rectangle of parchment paper on the bottom if your loaf pan isn’t nonstick.

Whisk softened butter and sugar together. (If it’s your cookmaid’s day off, use an electric mixer.) Add eggs, marmalade, orange juice, and zest; mix until combined.

In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. Add to the butter mixture and mix until just combined. Don’t overmix! Also don’t worry if it looks lumpy.

Bake for 55 minutes, or until a toothpick is inserted and comes out clean. If it starts to look too brown during the baking, lay a piece of foil over the top.

Cool for 15 minutes and ease the loaf out of the pan. Melt the other four tablespoons of marmalade with a tablespoon of butter and spread over the top of the warm cake, then let it cool completely before slicing. (If you have that much self-restraint, which, sadly, my family does not.)

A Word of Caution:

When serving this treat to a prospective suitor, remember to have a chaperone present.

We all know what scandal can lead to.