Toddy Cake

That's toddy as in 'hot toddy', the drink beloved of many an Irish person or Scot on a cold wet day when the sniffles have set in: whisky (for the Scots) or whiskey (for the Irish) with hot water and sugar.  If you're feeling up to it, you can put the lot in a pan with cloves and cinammon, although personally I rarely get that far.  I thought this cake, which takes a lemon sponge and turns it into something a bit more complex with the addition of whiskey and marmalade, looked like it could be a heavy thing, especially given the marmalade (thrown in because I had a gift pot of whisky marmalade at the back of the cupboard that wasn't going to get used otherwise).  I feared something far too close in texture to a pudding of my early school days: sponge covered with marmalade served from great deep aluminium trays, to be drowned in lumpy anaemic custard.  But lo and behold, it emerged from the oven a light and delicate affair that carried just enough depth of flavour to make it interesting without so much as a hint of institutional stodge.

Like most cakes it's even better on the second day so long as it's kept in an airtight container - get a large plastic storage box big enough to take the cake and the plate (look in the homeware aisle of any large supermarket).  The marmalade I used was a dark one (probably made with muscovado sugar) with big chunks of peel as opposed to fine shreds.  Whether I'd find it easily if I went scouting around my local supermarket I couldn't say, let alone whether I could find whisky marmalade (certainly at the price bracket where I'd be happy sticking half of it in a cake).  I'd reckon any marmalade would do, and if you don't have/want any, then simply add another 50g of sugar (half dark brown, half light brown) instead.  Similarly the split between dark and light brown sugar is simply one of personal preference - I wanted a fudginess the dark brown (or muscovado) sugar gives without overpowering the cake.  If you've only one kind in the cupboard, then just use that.


Ingredients

225g unsalted butter
90g soft dark brown sugar
90g soft light brown sugar
100g dark whisky marmalade
zest of 1 lemon
4 eggs, beaten
75 ml (5 tbsp) whisky

For the icing:
80g unsalted butter
30 ml (2 tbsp) thick honey
225g icing sugar, sifted
juice of 1 lemon
a few walnut halves for decoration

2 x 20cm sandwich tins, greased and lined

Method

Pre-heat the over to 190C (170C fan-assisted).
Cream the butter and sugar.  Add the marmalade and lemon zest.
Gradually beat in the eggs, one or two at a time.
Fold in half the flour, then the whisky, then the rest of the flour.
Divide between the tins and bake for 20-25 minutes.
Remove from oven, leave for five minutes then turn out onto a wire rack to cool.

To make the icing, beat the butter and honey together, then gradually work in the icing sugar.  Add the lemon juice and beat well.

Sandwich together the cakes with half the icing, then spread the rest on top.
Decorate with the walnuts.