Dessert

Yotam Ottolenghi's upside-down date cake with marmalade

Name: Yotam Ottolenghi's upside-down date cake with marmalade recipe
Yield: 8
Ingredients: 350g cumquats or mandarins; 3 whole star anise; 2 cinnamon sticks; 1/4 tsp vanilla bean paste or extract; 300g Essentials Caster Sugar; 1/4 cup (60ml) lemon juice; 1 1/2 tbs orange juice; 1 tsp Cognac; 170g unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus extra to grease; 175g plain flour; 50g almond meal; 2 tsp baking powder; 2 tsp ground star anise; 170g demerara sugar, plus 1 1/2 tbs extra; 3 eggs; 225g medjool dates, pitted and chopped into 1cm pieces; 70ml milk, at room temperature; 1 cup (250g) mascarpone; 1 cup (250ml) double cream; 1/3 cup (40g) pure icing sugar; 3 tsp Cognac

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by Yotam Ottolenghi

May 20, 2022

Yotam Ottolenghi proves there’s nothing sweeter than a nostalgic upside-down cake, re-imagined here with a marmalade you’ll want to spread on everything.

For the marmalade

350g cumquats or mandarins
3 whole star anise
2 cinnamon sticks
1/4 tsp vanilla bean paste or extract
300g Woolworths Essentials Caster Sugar
1/4 cup (60ml) lemon juice
1 1/2 tbs orange juice
1 tsp Cognac

For the cake

170g unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus extra to grease
175g plain flour
50g almond meal
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp ground star anise
170g demerara sugar, plus 1 1/2 tbs extra
3 eggs
225g medjool dates, pitted and chopped into 1cm pieces
70ml milk, at room temperature

For the Cognac mascarpone

1 cup (250g) mascarpone
1 cup (250ml) double cream
1/3 cup (40g) pure icing sugar
3 tsp Cognac

Method

1.

For the marmalade, trim cumquats and slice into 1/4 cm rounds, discarding seeds. (If using mandarins, quarter then cut into 1/4 cm-thick slices.) Place fruit, spices, vanilla and 2 cups (500ml) water in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat and cook until fruit softens, about 10 minutes. Add sugar and lemon juice and cook, stirring, until marmalade darkens and has a loose, jam-like consistency, adjusting the heat as necessary to maintain a rapid bubble, for 15-25 minutes. (Marmalade will continue to thicken as it cools, so don’t overcook it.) Remove from heat and stir in orange juice and Cognac. Cool for at least 1 hour. (We leave the star anise and cinnamon in, but remove now, if you like.)
2.

For the cake, preheat oven to 160ºC. Grease a 20cm springform cake pan with butter and line with baking paper. Measure out 1/4 cup (80g) marmalade and set aside. Spoon another 1 cup (250g) marmalade into the cake pan, leaving a 2cm border around the edges.
3.

Sift together flour, almond meal, baking powder, ground star anise and 1/2 tsp salt flakes and set aside. Place butter and demerara sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment and beat on medium until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Reduce to medium-low and add the eggs one by one, scraping down the bowl as needed, until combined, about 2 minutes. Add dates and mix for 30 seconds on medium. On low, add flour mixture, then milk, and mix until well combined, about 30 seconds more.
4.

Spoon batter into prepared pan, starting around the perimeter to keep marmalade in place. Smooth surface into an even layer. Place pan on a baking tray. Bake for 1 hour 25 minutes, rotating cake halfway, until cake springs back to a light touch in the centre or a skewer inserted comes out clean. Cool in pan for 5-10 minutes.
5.

For the Cognac mascarpone, combine all ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment. Beat on medium-high until smooth and thickened, about 2 minutes.
6.

Carefully release side of pan and invert a serving plate over the top. Flip the whole thing over, remove pan and carefully remove paper from the cake.
7.

Gently warm reserved 1/4 cup marmalade and spoon over the top of the cake. Slice with a sharp knife and serve warm, with the Cognac mascarpone alongside.