How to Make a Marmite Cake

When I had mentioned to Kurt about my favorite tea cake from my college years, I was surprised that he had never heard of a Marmite Cake.  Marmite, a staple in most British pantries and best married with cheddar cheese,  spread on piping hot slice of fresh bread or on scones topped with cheese :-)


But we are taking it up a notch here, my friend!  THIS IS MARMITE CAKE! Sweet and savory, this simple and economical humble tea cake can be made using ingredients in most household pantries: flour, sugar, eggs and milk.  I like to throw in a splash of pure vanilla in the cake batter and Kurt prefers to double or triple the quantity of Marmite.  

So, after I had Kurt fired up about this tea cake, I had to track down the recipe and found Jenny's South African Sweet-Savory Marmite Cake: 

http://bakingdevils.wordpress.com/2011/06/09/south-african-sweet-savoury-marmite-cake/


It is as I had remembered except the part about grilling the cheese to melt. Staying true to the recipe, we followed through to the end.... Final verdict? It is much better to keep the cheese "un-melted".  The cheese had congealed and made the cake greasy. 


Unlike Fairy Tales, our story here doesn't end well.....next day after a night out Kurt had his heart set on polishing off the rest of the cake but in the fridge he had found nothing more than a tiny corner of the cake and crumbs!  Sacre Bleu!! (Opps! that's French).  Bugger!!...

We have never managed to recreate this Marmite cake again, however simple this recipe is, we seem cursed to never taste another slice.....


True story!


For even stranger things, check out this site:
http://www.ilovemarmite.com/marmite-press.asp

Special Credit and Thanks to:


Isabelle - Sous Chef for her spectacular cheese grating and decorating :)  


Caroline Roberts - Without her, we wouldn't even be talking about this cake!