Marmalade Spiced Honey Cake (inspired by Marcy Goldman)

I’ve been making this honey cake for years now. But a happy accident several years ago has improved the cake.
My sister make homemade etrog marmalade one year and gave me a jar. I substituted her marmalade for orange marmalade when I next made the cake. A dear friend makes homemade etrog liqueur, which I then drizzled over the cake.
The next year my friend gave me the boozy pulp from when the liqueur was decanted. (Making the liqueur takes months of steeping and waiting.)
I froze the pulp and defrosted some to add to the cake. Because the etrog has been shredded very fine, it basically disappears into the cake but adds a little texture and a lot of flavor. Although it was steeped in alcohol, it does not taste overly strong.
If you have etrog liqueur, it’s wonderful to drizzle over the cake before serving. I’ve also drizzled Single Malt Scotch over the cake with good results. The men at the table appreciated the smokey flavor and said it was like having a cake and a l’chaim at the same time.
This cake freezes very well.

Marmalade Spiced Honey Cake (inspired by Marcy Goldman)

Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 1 hour hr

Total Time 1 hour hr 15 minutes mins

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Servings

Ingredients

• 1 cup vegetable oil I use Wesson canola oil
• 3/4 cup light honey
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1/3 cup brown sugar I use dark brown not golden
• 1/2 cup orange marmalade or if you have it etrog marmalade made from the previous years’ etrog
• 4 eggs
• 1 cup espresso or tea if you prefer
• 3 cup all purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon cloves
• 1/4 teaspoon allspice
• 1/3 cup lightly toasted sliced almonds or slivered if you prefer
• Etrog liqueur for drizzling

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease bottom only of a 9 or l0” tube pan or use three 8” loaf pans. (This cake makes a great hostess gift so making it smaller means you have more to give.) Cut out a circle (or rectangle if you’re using a loaf pan) of parchment paper and line pan bottom. In the bowl of your electric mixer, blend oil, honey, white sugar, brown sugar, and marmalade. Blend well then add in eggs. In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, cloves, and allspice. Slowly add the flour mixture to add wet ingredients, alternating with the coffee to make a smooth batter. Add in the cup of etrog pulp. (A dear friend makes etrog liqueur every year and after the liqueur is decanted – a process which takes several months, what do you do with the boozy etrog pulp? You freeze the pulp in 1 cup portions and then add it to the honey cake batter the next time you make cake. The etrog pulp will make the cake very moist and won’t taste of alcohol.)
• Blend well to make a smooth batter.
• Pour batter into pan – it will be quite loose. Sprinkle top with slivered almonds. Place cake on one or two heavy baking sheets to prevent the bottom from browning too fast. Bake 55-60 minutes or until cake springs back when lightly pressed with fingertips. When the honey cake is completely cool, if you’d like, drizzle etrog liqueur over the top. (I’ve also used Single Malt Scotch to drizzle and the men at the table appreciated that flavor.)