Jaffa Slab

Or orange drizzle cake

Hello! Today I have a recipe that was inspired by a loaf cake that my pal Octavia Lamb posted on Instagram sometime last year. I only have a vague memory of her cake but I remember it featuring a layer of marmalade and ganache and looking absolutely delicious. I enquired about the recipe and she told me that it was something that she’d just made up on the spot so I decided to develop my own version.

This recipe uses whole clementines (or jaffa oranges if you want to be pedantic) in both the sponge and the jam for a super strong citrus flavour, my partner actually said that he thought this cake was “too orangey” whatever that means but I rebuke that, if I’m making an orange cake, I want it to tase like oranges! The type of orange doesn’t really matter, I used clementines, tangerines and jaffa oranges in my tests and didn’t notice any discernible difference so just use whatever you have to hand.

I tested this cake both in a loaf and in a 20cm square tin and while I found that the square tin worked better for jaffa slices, I think this sponge works excellently as a loaf cake with a tangy orange drizzle so I’ve included instructions for both.

A little note before we get started, this recipe uses citric acid in quite a few components, it’s not 100% essential but it makes the cake much more tangy and fresh! If you’ve never used it before, I have a full newsletter about how to use it and why I love it which you can read here.