Wholesome Cook
Autumn

Wholemeal coconut and marmalade [mix and bake] cake

I can tell a packet cake from a mile. It has that strange, plasticy flavour to it and the icing is always so full of sugar it burns holes in my tongue. At least that’s what it feels like. For days.

Having said that, convenience has its merits and every now and again I think of reaching for the packet cake mix when stuck for time. I never buy it because, to be honest, I would rather go without cake than ingest whatever it is that the packet stuff is made out of, but I do consider it…

When a sudden cake craving hit the other day, I pushed the thoughts of packet mix aside and decided to experiment with a mix and bake cake of my own. A wholesome and an additive-free one of course! 

Better still, and I didn’t plan for this when brainstorming the recipe, I was forced to use wholemeal flour because I ran out of plain! It is much better for you, and according to my professional baker friend, the type of flour used in a mix and bake cake does not affect the quality of the end result. Perfect!

To make,  just throw everything together, mix and bake, and you will end up with one of the moistest fluffiest cakes you’ve ever had. Child’s play. PS Mandarin sugar syrup is optional.

Wholemeal coconut and marmalade [mix and bake] cake

Great to get extra fibre into your diet while having a little treat – a perfect  substitute for cafe-bought muffins. Syrup is optional.

Cake mix

  • 1 1/2 cups wholemeal flour
  • 3 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 cup shredded coconut
  • 1 cup white sugar
  • 2 tbsp marmalade
  • 1 tbsp lemon zest
  • 1 cup milk
  • 125g melted butter
  • 2 eggs

Mandarin sugar syrup (optional)

  • 3 tbsp icing sugar
  • juice of 1 mandarin

Preheat oven to 180C (160C fan forced, 350F, gas mark 4).

To make cake mix: grease a 20cm round cake tin. Mix all ingredients in a bowl until well combined. Pour batter into the tin. Bake for 40 minutes.

When cooled, remove the rim and transfer cake to a cooling rack.

To make syrup: combine mandarin juice and icing sugar. Mix well.

To serve: drizzle syrup over individual cake slices when serving.

14 comments

Maureen June 24, 2011 at 9:12 am

Wow, the crumb does look like a muffin, doesn’t it? Yummy cake! Marmalade is my friend and anything topped with mandarin catches my attention.

Reply
Wholesome Cook June 24, 2011 at 9:28 am

I’m obsessed with citrus at the moment, just as well as it’s in season and cheap. I haven’t tried, but I bet you can bake them into muffins, just reduce cooking time by about 10 minutes.

Reply
Heidi - Apples Under My Bed June 24, 2011 at 9:16 am

Oh beautiful!! This looks so moist. Snap for the wholemeal flour. & marmalade, why I never! I really should try marmalade again. I used to really dislike it as a child. But hey, if Paddington the bear likes it…(he’ was my fav)
Heidi xo

Reply
Wholesome Cook June 24, 2011 at 9:34 am

Hey Heidi, your comment made me giggle. I never used to like marmalade or orange peel as a child either – in fact I would pick it out of baked cheesecake. I can’t say I would put in on toast yet, but when added to cakes and glazes it gives them a nice aroma without being offensive.

Reply
Iron Chef Shellie June 24, 2011 at 5:03 pm

omg how fantastic does that look!!!! I’d love a slice please!!!

Reply
Laura (starloz) June 25, 2011 at 6:20 pm

oh boy, i’m so glad we’re neighbors. this was incredible, i’ve had a slice or two & seriously, yummy!

Reply
Sherilyn @ Wholepromise June 26, 2011 at 7:53 am

This looks very yummy. I love using wholemeal flour in cakes. I quite like the texture. I bet this was nice with a cupppa!

Reply
Wholesome Cook June 27, 2011 at 12:41 pm

Thanks Sherilyn. Indeed, great with an Earl Gray tea – with those citrusy notes.

Reply
Maria @ Scandifoodie June 26, 2011 at 3:30 pm

This looks so perfect! I have never tried packet mixes, I was totally unaware they even existed before I moved to Australia!

Reply
Wholesome Cook June 27, 2011 at 12:42 pm

They used to have them around in Poland, but mostly for really complicated and time-consuiming recipes. Never for simple cakes…

Reply
Keely aka The Richest Girl in Bondi June 28, 2011 at 4:51 pm

Your cake looks so tasty – big fan of the citrus zest and syrup. I like to use wholemeal flour when making pancakes (takes the edge of guilt off!) but am yet to try it in a cake.

Reply
Phuoc'n Delicious June 30, 2011 at 10:53 am

Nice! I’ve been waiting for this post. Good to know that it doesn’t affect the quality of the cake. Perfect excuse to now use to treat myself to something sweet and say it’s “good” for me lol

Reply
Wholesome Cook June 30, 2011 at 11:04 am

Indeed! :-) And I actually like the texture of this cake a lot, very rustic but still moist and flavourful.

Reply
Marmalade mix | Vanisson July 20, 2011 at 6:10 pm

[…] Wholemeal coconut and marmalade [mix and bake] cake « Wholesome CookOct 2, 2008 … charmed gossip girl one tree hill..mostly gossip girl and … […]

Reply

Leave a Comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.