A lightly orange cake with a firm outside, and a very orangey, custardy topping. Unlike last week’s cake recipe from a ’70s cookbook, this one’s from a ’30s cookbook, called, amusingly enough at this point, The New Art of Modern Cooking!

Ingredients:

Cake:

• 2 cups flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 cup orange marmalade
• 2 tablespoons orange zest
• 1/3 cup water
• 1/2 cup nuts (I skipped ’em)

Orange Cream:

• 3/4 cup sugar
• 5 tablespoons flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon orange zest
• 1/2 cup hot water
• 1 cup orange juice
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
• 4 egg yolks, lightly beaten
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 9×9″ pan and set aside. In a small bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt and stir together.

In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar until fluffy.

Add the eggs and beat in, then add the marmalade and zest and beat to combine.

Add half the flour mixture and beat until well mixed. Beat in the water, and then the remaining flour.

Add the nuts and stir together. (Or not!) Pour into the pan and spread evenly.

Bake 45-50 minutes, until it browned on the outside and the cake passes the toothpick test. Set aside to cool.

To make the orange cream, combine the sugar, salt, flour, and zest in a saucepan and whisk together.

Add the water and orange juice and stir in, being sure to stir up any flour pockets at the edges, then turn the heat on to medium.

Cook, stirring constantly, until warm. Stir in the butter, then the egg yolks. Continue to cook and stir until the mixture thickens to a custard texture, with a big bubble or two coming up from the bottom.

Remove from the heat and beat in the lemon juice. Continue stirring until it’s stopped steaming, then let continue to cool about another half an hour. Spread on the cake, then cool in the fridge until chilled.

Orange Marmalade Cake

Adapted slightly from The New Art of Modern Cooking.

Cake:

• 2 cups flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 cup orange marmalade
• 2 tablespoons orange zest
• 1/3 cup water
• 1/2 cup nuts (I skipped ’em)

Orange Cream:

• 3/4 cup sugar
• 5 tablespoons flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon orange zest
• 1/2 cup hot water
• 1 cup orange juice
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
• 4 egg yolks, lightly beaten
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 9×9″ pan and set aside. In a small bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt and stir together.

In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar until fluffy, then add the eggs and beat in. Add the marmalade and zest and beat to combine. Add half the flour mixture and beat until well mixed. Beat in the water, and then the remaining flour. Add the nuts and stir together. Pour into the pan and spread evenly, then bake 45-50 minutes, until it browned on the outside and the cake passes the toothpick test. Set aside to cool.

To make the orange cream, combine the sugar, salt, flour, and zest in a saucepan and whisk together. Add the water and orange juice and stir in, then turn the heat on to medium. Cook, stirring constantly, until warm. Stir in the butter, then the egg yolks. Continue to cook and stir until the mixture thickens to a custard texture, with a big bubble or two coming up from the bottom. Remove from the heat and beat in the lemon juice. Continue stirring until it’s stopped steaming, then let continue to cool about another half an hour. Spread on the cake, then cool in the fridge until chilled.