St Clement’s Cake

St Clement’s Cake – easy orange and lemon cake

St Clement’s Cake is an easy loaf cake flavoured with fresh orange and lemon. It is a variant on a drizzle cake, as the citrus juices, mixed with icing sugar, are poured on to the warm cake. When cooled, this gives makes the cake extra zesty and moist with a sugary topping.

I love drizzle cakes and often make both Lemon Drizzle and Orange Drizzle. This cake resulted from an idea to do a combination. I think it works well as the orange adds extra flavour to the sharp lemon. If you have ever been avoiding alcohol and have ordered a St. Clement’s, consisting of half and half lemonade and orange juice, in an English pub or bar then you will have an idea of how this cake will taste.

St Clement's Cake
In praise of citrus

I am a huge fan of citrus flavours in baking and desserts. If you like those zesty flavours too, here are some pointers.

  • The flavour of citrus fruits is concentrated in the zest rather than in the juice. Grated citrus zest is a brilliant way to get maximum flavour into your food. However, make sure that you buy unwaxed fruit and that you wash it before grating. Also, use a fine grater as you do not want big lumps of zest in your cake. Stop grating when you get to the white pith, underneath the zest, as this is bitter and does not add anything to the flavour.
  • You can adapt many recipes to use different types of citrus fruits. I have a number of variations on a Lemon Drizzle Cake including Blood Orange Drizzle Cake and Lime and Coconut Drizzle Cake. However, the amount of juice produced by one kind of citrus fruit may be less than another and some are more acid than others. For example, if you are substituting limes for lemons, you will need double the number.
  • Citrus juice, as well as adding some flavour and sourness, also has other very useful properties. For example, when making Lime Cheesecake, it is the chemical reaction between the lime juice and the dairy products that causes the cheesecake mixture to set.
Other citrus baking and dessert recipes
St Clement's Cake
Why St Clement’s?

In case you are wondering, the name comes from the 18th century English nursery rhyme and folk song which refers to the bells of a number of churches situated near the City of London. The first verse is Oranges and lemons say the bells of St. Clement’s. I have happy memories of singing this song as a child and, more recently, with my own children. I am also a born and bred Londoner who worked in the City for many years and was delighted to find many of the churches that are mentioned in the song still standing. The full lyrics are included below.

Oranges and lemons,
Say the bells of St. Clement’s

You owe me five farthings,
Say the bells of St. Martin’s

When will you pay me?
Say the bells at Old Bailey

When I grow rich,
Say the bells at Shoreditch

When will that be?
Say the bells of Stepney

I do not know,
Says the great bell at Bow

Here comes a candle to light you to bed,
And here comes a chopper to chop off your head!
Chop chop chop chop the last man is dead

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St Clement's Cake

St Clement’s Cake

  • Author: Tastebotanical
  • Prep Time: 15
  • Cook Time: 45
  • Total Time: 1 hour
  • Yield: 1 loaf cake (serves 6-8) 1x
  • Category: Cake
  • Method: Baking
  • Cuisine: English

Description

This quick and easy St Clement’s Cake is flavoured with zesty fresh orange and lemon.


Ingredients

Scale
  • 125 g butter 
  • 175 g caster sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 175 g self-raising flour
  • 4 tablespoons of milk
  • 1 lemon and 1 orange (both unwaxed and washed)
  • 200 g icing sugar

St Clement's Cake


Instructions

  1. Set your oven to 180 degrees centigrade or Gas Mark 4.
  2. Grease a 450 g loaf tin and line the bottom with baking parchment.
  3. Cream the butter with the sugar.  (I usually soften the butter for about 30 seconds in the microwave first as it makes it much easier.)
  4. Gradually add the eggs to the butter and sugar mixture.  If it looks as if it is going to curdle, add some of the self-raising flour.
  5. Once the eggs have been incorporated add the rest of the self-raising flour.
  6. Add the milk and the grated zest of your lemon and orange.
  7. Spoon the cake mixture into your prepared loaf tin.
  8. Put the tin in the oven and bake for 45 minutes.
  9. While the cake is baking, put the juice from your orange and your lemon in a small saucepan.  Heat gently with the lid off until the liquid is reduced by half.  Then add the icing sugar to form a thick syrup.
  10. Remove the cake from the oven and immediately pour the syrup over the top.
  11. Leave the cake in the tin to cool completely before removing.   If you try and take it out while it is still warm it may fall apart as it will be very moist due to the syrup.

St Clement's Cake


Keywords: cake, orange, lemon, loaf cake, St Clement’s

This recipe has been shared on #CookBlogShare with Curly’s Cooking and #Fiesta Friday with Fiesta Friday and Jhuls @ The Not So Creative Cook and Laurena @ Life Diet Health

Loved this recipe? You may also like the following recipes. Or checkout the Recipe Index.
Lemon Curd Ice Cream
Lemon Curd Ice Cream
Lemon Pavlova
Lemon Pavlova
Lime Cheesecake
Lime Cheesecake

Marmalade Bread and Butter Pudding

Marmalade Bread and Butter Pudding gives a citrus boost to a traditional Bread and Butter pudding. In addition to marmalade, it also includes fresh orange zest and orange liqueur which boost the citrus flavour.

I love traditional British puddings and think they are particularly well-suited to our somewhat cold and damp winters. Bread and Butter Pudding is probably one of the quickest and easiest to make. It was actually the first pudding I ever made when I was eleven in a school “domestic science” class and it has regularly featured in my children’s school cookery lessons over the years. It is the perfect pudding for children to make due to its simplicity. I make Bread and Butter Pudding a lot and it is pretty much my go-to recipe when I suddenly realise that I need to make something to follow the Sunday roast. It can be made very quickly and you are likely to have all the ingredients in your store cupboard.

This Marmalade Bread and Butter Pudding is a traditional variant on the basic Bread and Butter Pudding. It is also known as Osborne Pudding, allegedly because Queen Victoria enjoyed it when she stayed at Osborne House, her palatial holiday home on the Isle of Wight. Osborne Pudding is generally made with brown bread but I use either brown or white depending on what I happen to have available. The fresh orange zest and orange liqueur are my additions, as I think they enhance the flavour, and are not traditionally included.

Marmalade Bread and Butter Pudding

Other easy puddings

I do not have a particularly sweet tooth. I am definitely a crisps rather than chocolate kind of person. However, I do love a home-made pudding. During the week, we aim to be healthy and will eat fruit or sometimes yogurt after our evening meal. However, I generally cook a big Sunday lunch, including a roast for the meat-lovers, and I will always follow it up with a pudding. During the summer, I will often go for home-made ice cream which can be made in advance, often with a floral note such as Rose Ice Cream or Lavender Ice Cream, or something involving meringue such as my Lemon Pavlova. However, in winter I will go for something with a bit more substance! That is when I will produce Bread and Butter Pudding, fruit crumble or, a particular favourite with my youngest son, Banoffee Pie.

Easy Marmalade Bread and Butter Pudding

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Marmalade Bread and Butter Pudding

Marmalade Bread and Butter Pudding

  • Author: Tastebotanical
  • Prep Time: 10
  • Cook Time: 30
  • Total Time: 40 minutes
  • Yield: Serves 6-8 1x
  • Category: Pudding
  • Method: Baking
  • Cuisine: English

Description

This Marmalade Bread and Butter Pudding, containing fresh orange zest and orange liqueur,  is a citrus twist on a traditional English recipe.


Ingredients

Scale
  • 4 thin slices of white or brown bread
  • Butter
  • Marmalade
  • 3 teaspoons of orange liqueur (optional)
  • Zest of one orange
  • 500 ml milk
  • 2 eggs
  • 25 g soft dark brown sugar plus a little more to sprinkle on top


Instructions

  1. Set your oven to 180 C, 350 F or Gas Mark 4.

  2. Butter an oven-proof dish.
  3. Butter your slices of bread and spread with marmalade.   Place in the buttered oven-proof dish.
  4. If you wish, sprinkle each slice with a little orange liqueur.
  5. Grate the orange zest over the bread slices.
  6. In a separate bowl, combine the milk, eggs and 25 g brown sugar.  Whisk until combined and then pour over the bread slices.  Sprinkle a little more brown sugar on top of the mixture.
  7. If possible, leave for around 15 minutes so that the bread absorbs some of the milky mixture.
  8. Place the oven-proof dish in the oven and bake for 30 minutes until the custard is set and the top is golden and crispy.


Keywords: bread and butter, pudding, bread pudding, marmalade, osborne

This recipe has been shared on #CookBlogShare with Lost in Food and #FiestaFriday with Fiesta Friday  and Antonia at Zoale

Loved this recipe? You may also like the following recipes. Or checkout the Recipe Index.

Blood Orange Cake

Blood Orange Cake

Easy, zesty Blood Orange Cake

This Blood Orange Cake makes the most of the unique flavour of Blood Oranges. These oranges are only in season for a short time but they brighten up the dull winter months of January and February. They are the most flamboyant citrus fruit, with skin coloured purple and orange like an Athena poster sunset and a deep red flesh. Even their pink juice is pretty!

There are a number of different varieties of Blood Orange but, in general, they have a stronger and sharper taste than ordinary oranges which makes them a fantastic flavouring in cakes and puddings. This Blood Orange cake is a twist on a traditional Lemon Drizzle Cake and makes the most of the fruit’s intense, orange sharpness. I have decorated my cake with dark red Candied Blood Orange Slices which add an intense marmalade flavour.

Due to their pigments, Blood Oranges also contain greater amounts of anti-oxidants than other oranges. I think that they are best used in dishes where they can add colour as well as flavour. Traditionally, they are used in winter salads in Sicily, combined with fennel, and also to make ruby coloured orange sorbet. Blood Orange juice is also a great addition to cocktails giving them a pretty pink colour combined with a citrus kick of flavour.

If you cannot get hold of blood oranges, you can use ordinary oranges as a substitute.

Blood Orange Cake

Blood Oranges

Other loaf cakes

I love baking and have lots of easy baking recipes for cakes, biscuits (cookies) and muffins. I especially like making loaf cakes. They are quick, easy, versatile and do not require any extra icing or decoration (unless you want to do it). If you want a basic everyday cake, look no further than a loaf cake. They are also a great base for experimenting with flavours which is a big reason for me to love them. Here are some of my favourites.

Blood Orange Cake

Blood Orange Cake recipe

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Blood orange cake

Blood Orange Cake

  • Author: Tastebotanical
  • Prep Time: 15
  • Cook Time: 45
  • Total Time: 1 hour
  • Yield: 1 loaf cake 1x
  • Category: Cake
  • Method: Baking
  • Cuisine: English

Description

This Blood Orange Cake is very simple to make and uses seasonal Blood Oranges which have an intense flavour and beautiful purple and orange colour.


Ingredients

Scale
  • 125 g butter
  • 175 g caster sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 175 g self-raising flour
  • 4 tablespoons of milk
  • 1 blood orange
  • 100 g icing sugar

Instructions

  1. Set your oven to 180 degrees centigrade or Gas Mark 4.

  2. Grease a 450 g loaf tin and line the bottom with baking parchment.

  3. Cream the butter with the sugar.  (I usually soften the butter for about 30 seconds in the microwave first as it makes it much easier!)

  4. Gradually add the eggs to the butter and sugar mixture.  If it looks as if it is going to curdle, add some of the self-raising flour.

  5. Once the eggs have been incorporated add the rest of the self-raising flour.

  6. Add the milk and the grated zest of your blood orange.

  7. Spoon the cake mixture into your prepared loaf tin.

  8. Put the tin in the oven and bake for 45 minutes.

  9. While the cake is baking, combine the juice from your blood orange with 100 g of icing sugar to form a thick syrup.

  10. Remove the cake from the oven and immediately pour the syrup over the top.

  11. Leave the cake in the tin to cool completely before removing.   If you try and take it out while it is still warm it may fall apart as it will be very moist due to the syrup.

  12. You can just leave it there – and I usually do!  However, if you want to decorate the cake further, you can add some Candied Blood Orange Slices.


Notes

Blood Oranges are in season in January and February.  If you cannot find any in the shops, you can use ordinary oranges.

Keywords: blood orange, cake,

Candied Blood Orange Slices

Easy, seasonal Candied Blood Orange Slices

These Candied Blood Orange Slices are a great way of decorating cakes, such as Blood Orange Cake, and puddings.  They look attractive –  I love the fresh citrus colours –  and also taste good and are very easy to make.

You can make these slices with all types of citrus fruits, such as lemon and limes, grapefruits or little kumquats, in addition to oranges.

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Candied Blood Orange Slices

Candied Blood Orange Slices

  • Author: Tastebotanical
  • Prep Time: 5
  • Cook Time: 10
  • Total Time: 15 minutes
  • Yield: 810 slices 1x
  • Category: Decoration
  • Cuisine: English

Description

These Blood Orange Slices are a really easy way to decorate all kinds of cakes and puddings.  


Ingredients

Scale
  • 1 blood orange
  • 125 ml water
  • 75 g caster sugar

Instructions

  1. Thinly slice your blood orange.
  2. Put the water and sugar in a small saucepan.  Heat gently until the sugar dissolves.  Then increase the heat and bring the mixture up to boiling point.
  3. Put the blood orange slices into the sugar syrup and cook gently for 5 minutes until they are soft and translucent. 
  4. Remove the saucepan from the heat.  Leave the blood orange slices in the sugar syrup and allow to cool.
  5. When cool, remove the blood orange slices from the syrup and use to decorate cakes or desserts.
  6. Don’t throw away the syrup!  It will be a beautiful pink colour and strong orange flavour and is fantastic in cocktails or soft drinks.

 

 


Notes

If blood oranges are not in season.  This recipe can be used for ordinary oranges.  

Keywords: blood orange,

Loved this recipe? You may also like the following recipes. Or checkout the Recipe Index.