Jaffa orange cakes

Name: Jaffa orange cakes
Total time: 45 min
Ingredients: 60g of caster sugar; orange peel, from 1 large orange; 3 gelatine leaves, platinum-grade; 100ml of orange juice, from about 2 large oranges; 40g of butter, browned and cooled; 60 icing sugar; 20g of plain flour; 40g of ground almonds; 1/4 tsp orange zest, finely ground; 2 egg whites, lightly beaten; 1 pinch of salt; 120g of dark chocolate

by Kate Doran

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Snack
medium
12
45 minutes

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This recipe for home-made Jaffa Cakes is perfect for a special afternoon tea or self-indulgent snack. Light-as-air sponge, zingy jelly and lashings of chocolate on top, they put shop-bought biscuits in the shade.

First published in 2015

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Somehow greater than the sum of their parts, Jaffa Cakes are one of my favourite teatime treats. And even though I'm thirty years old, I still like to lick off the chocolate then nibble carefully round the sponge until there's just a disc of wobbly orange jelly left. The sponge base is inspired by those irresistible French teacakes, financiers, but it's the zingy orange middle that really sets this recipe apart.

This recipe is from Kate's new book Homemade Memories: Childhood Treats with a Twist published by Orion, 2015.

Ingredients

Metric

Imperial

Orange jelly

60g of caster sugar
orange peel, from 1 large orange
3 gelatine leaves, platinum-grade
100ml of orange juice, from about 2 large oranges

Sponge cakes

40g of butter, browned and cooled
60 icing sugar
20g of plain flour
40g of ground almonds
1/4 tsp orange zest, finely ground
2 egg whites, lightly beaten
1 pinch of salt

To finish

120g of dark chocolate

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Method

To make the jelly, combine the sugar and orange peel with 120ml water in a small saucepan. Bring to the boil then simmer for 10–15 minutes until the liquid has reduced by about half

Meanwhile, line an 18cm square tin with cling film. Place the gelatine sheets in a bowl of cold water and soak for 5 minutes

Remove the syrup from the heat and strain into a measuring jug. Squeeze as much water as possible out of the gelatine leaves, then stir them into the warm syrup until dissolved. Stir in the orange juice before straining into the lined tin. Chill for 2 hours, or until firm

Preheat the oven to 190°C/gas mark 5

To make the cakes, measure out 30ml of the browned butter and set aside. Use the remaining brown butter to grease a 12-hole muffin tin

Sift the icing sugar and flour into a bowl, then whisk in the ground almonds and orange zest. Add the egg whites, salt and the cooled brown butter and whisk to a thick batter

Divide the batter between the muffin tin holes and bake for 9–12 minutes until the cakes are lightly golden and firm to the touch. Remove from the oven and leave to cool in the tin completely

When the jelly has set, use a 4cm cutter to cut out discs from the layer of jelly. Carefully place one disc on top of each cooled cake

To finish the cakes, melt the chocolate in a heat-proof bowl suspended over a pan of barely simmering water (or in the microwave) and leave to cool for 10–15 minutes

Carefully spoon 1–2 teaspoons of melted chocolate over the top of each jelly disc, coating the top of each cake. Leave to cool completely. The cakes will keep in an airtight container for 2 days

First published in 2015

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Kate Doran

Kate Doran is the blogger behind 'The Little Loaf', specialising in nostalgic baking recipes.

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