I can’t say no to pretty cakes that can be made in under 20 minutes. If that cake is packed with flavour underneath its gorgeous look, even better! As soon as I saw the recipe for Big Girls Small Kitchen’s Pistachio & Marmalade Breakfast Cake over at The Kitchn yesterday, I knew I had to make it. When I discovered that I had every ingredient at home, even down to homemade marmalade and fresh-squeezed orange juice, I knew I had to make it immediately.
What makes this breakfast cake different from all other run-of-the-mill quickbread? Let’s first talk about the flavour combination. Pistachio, orange, and cardamom is one that reminds me of my favourite Scandinavian yeast cakes. Depending on your point of reference, perhaps it makes you think Moroccan. In either case, it’s super delicious and not seen often enough. Secondly, the recipe uses orange marmalade in the batter. Even though I sold and gave away many jars of homemade marmalade, I still have plenty more at home. Score! Last but not least, the recipe calls for cornmeal which naturally lends a lovely golden hue and subtle crunch to the crumb. Delicious! Did I mention how pretty this cake is? For such a small amount of work, it is the perfect snack or dessert to serve unexpected company. Everyone needs a handy recipe like this for emergency situations.
I made several minor changes to the original recipe. The amount of batter fit perfectly into a 9” round cake pan so that was what I used. The recipe did not specify which kind of cornmeal to use but I think fine grind yellow cornmeal works best for texture and colour. My homemade orange marmalade contains thin slivers of Seville orange peel which are like tiny candied surprises in the cake. In addition to orange juice, I also added in grated orange zest (no reason to waste anything of that organic fruit!) and a teaspoon of orange flower water to the batter. I increased the amount of ground cardamom to 1 teaspoon because mine were not terribly potent. The top of the cake was sprinkled with both pistachio and Scandinavian pearl sugar.
Like many classic quickbreads, all the dry and wet ingredients were mixed separately before gently stirred together. If you want to bake this first thing in the morning for a breakfast treat, I would recommend that you scale all the ingredients and prepare the baking pan the night before. The minute you wake up, preheat the oven. By the time you got your morning coffee brewing and your batter ready, the oven would be hot enough. When you’re caught up on email and morning news, the cake would be done! Let it cool while you shower and it will be ready when you are. The cake tastes great all by itself but I think serving it with whatever marmalade you used would be a great idea too.
Don’t wait, go bake!
