Twelve Days of Holiday Treats: Orange Pim’s (Jaffa Cakes)

This post is produced in partnership with Bonne Maman Canada.

Welcome to Day 7 of

The Twelve Days of Holiday Treats!

Once again, this year, from December 1-12th I’ll post a new holiday treat recipe every day – inspiration for your holiday entertaining!

The recipes I’m sharing are small batch (perfect for this year of smaller gatherings – each recipe makes 1-dozen or a few more smaller-sized treats) that are simple to prepare and that use everyday ingredients and equipment  so hopefully you’ll be able to whip up any of these on a whim.

Today’s treat is one which combines the flavours of the holidays (chocolate and orange) with memories of a favourite treat from when I first travelled to Europe. Pim’s cookies (yes, the apostrophe is used in the original name) are actually “biscuits moelleux” (soft cookies, more like a cake) and are composed of a base of genoise sponge, topped with a layer of fruity spread and coated in a thin chocolate shell.So, yeah, you might know them as Jaffa Cakes depending on where you live!

They are delicious and more-ish and are the first thing that came to mind when I was presented with the new Bonne Maman Intense Orange Spread to work with recently.

The line of Intense spreads in Canada recently welcomed two new flavours – Orange and Cherry – which, like the rest of the line:

• are 100% natural (containing fruit, sugar, fruit pectin and lemon juice)
• contain no preservatives, additives, artificial flavours or colours or corn syrup
• are sulfite free
• are gluten-free
• are kosher

All spreads in the Intense line contain 38% less sugar than regular jams/ spreads/ preserves and more fruit. I’ve been enjoying the Intense line in France for a while now so I was happy to see them coming to Canada last year!

I love working with the spreads for baking (check out some previous recipes here) and couldn’t wait to try out my idea of an Orange Pim’s/ Jaffa Cake with the new Intense Orange. Because it’s a marmalade, I figured it would work beautifully, not adding too much sweetness to the cookie/ cake.

I initially baked the genoise sponge cakes and figured I’d layer the Orange Spread on top them coat them with the chocolate. But because the spreads are less “jelly” than other jams, this didn’t work as well as I wanted. So I froze the spread in small 1/2 tablespoon disks before I placed them on the genoise to help them hold their shape better.

I let them warm slightly and made sure my chocolate topping was not piping hot before I proceeded with the coating…

This worked much better – the disks of spread held their shape well…

The glossy chocolate spread cools to become smooth but slightly less shiny with a lovely “crack” consistency when you bite into it. Exactly like a Pim’s/ Jaffa Cake!

These are not difficult to make but they do require a bit of patience. It’s a fun stay-home project to do with the kids (or just on your own if you don’t want to share!).

Yield: 12

Orange Pim's (Jaffa Cakes)

Print

Easy homemade Orange Pim's (jaffa cakes).

Prep Time 30 minutes

Bake Time 10 minutes

Chill Time 1 hour

Total Time 1 hour 40 minutes

Ingredients

For the fruit layer

• 6 tablespoons Bonne Maman Intense Orange Spread

For the cake base:

• 1 large egg
• 50g (1/4 cup) granulated sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 58g (1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons) all purpose flour

For the chocolate topping

• 113g (2/3 cup) semisweet chocolate chips
• 57g (1/2 stick, 1/4 cup) unsalted butter
• 2 tablespoons light corn syrup

Instructions

Make the fruit spread layer

1. Line a baking tray with plastic wrap.
2. Using a 1/2 tablespoon measure, scoop the spread onto the plastic-lined tray. You'll need 12 disks of spread.
3. Cover with another layer of plastic and pat the edges of each disk gently with your fingers to remove any air from around the spread.
4. Place in the freezer for around an hour.

Make the cake layer

1. Pre-heat the oven to 350˚F.
2. Lightly grease a 12-cavity muffin tin.
3. Beat the egg and sugar together using electric hand beaters until thick and creamy (about 3-4 minutes).
4. Add the vanilla extract and beat until just combined.
5. Add the flour and mix with a rubber spatula until the flour has just disappeared into the batter.
6. Use a 1-tablespooncookie scoop or measure to divide the mixture between the muffin cups.
7. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean.
8. Remove muffin tin from the oven and place on a wire rack.

Make the chocolate topping

1. In a large microwave-safe bowl, melt the chocolate chips, butter and corn syrup. I do this at 60% power for around 2 minutes in increments of 30 seconds.
2. Slowly stir the chocolate mixture until the butter is completely incorporated. Set aside to cool slightly.

Fill and coat the cakes

1. While the cakes are cooling, remove the disks of fruit spread from the freezer. Remove the top layer of plastic.
2. When the cakes are completely cool, use an offset spatula to remove the disks of fruit spread and place them in the centre of each cake.
3. When the chocolate coating has cooled to room temperature but is still runny, place the cakes on a wire rack over a parchment-lined baking tray.
4. Use a small spoon to drizzle the chocolate coating over each cake and use the back of the spoon to smooth it over the disk of fruit spread. This is a bit fiddly so go slowly. If the fruit spread starts to melt a bit, your chocolate is too warm so let it cool a bit more.
5. Leave the cakes on the wire rack over the parchment-lined baking tray until the chocolate has set.
6. Store in single layers (with parchment in betwen each layer) in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days (bet they won't last that long!).

Recommended Products

As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.

• 
  Stainless Steel Measuring Spoons and Measuring Cups Combo
• 
  Cuisinart 5-speed hand mixer
• 
  Tovolo Flex-Core Wood Handled Spatula
• 
  LE CREUSET 12 Cup Muffin Tray
• 
  Small Cookie Scoop, 1 tablespoon/ 15 ml
• 
  Ateco Offset Spatula
• 
  Nordic Ware Natural Aluminum Commercial Baker's Half Sheet (2 Pack), Silver
• 
  Reynolds Kitchens Parchment Paper Roll with SmartGrid - 3 Boxes
• 
  Cooling Rack Baking Rack Twin Set

did you make this recipe?

please leave a comment or review on the blog or share a photo and tag me on Instagram @eatlivtravwrite !

These turned out exactly as I remember them from the first time I enjoyed them as a young exchange student in Europe. A light fluffy cake, a bright hit of fruit and velvety chocolate. I can’t think of a better combination to celebrate the holidays!

Stay tuned to see what tomorrow brings and in the meantime…

Check out the rest of the 12 Days of Holiday Treats:

Day 1: Rice Krispie Wreaths

Day 2: Cranberry Cheesecake Bars

Day 3: Peppermint Bark

Day 4: Orangettes

Day 5: Rocky Road Chocolate Crackle Slice

Day 6: Candy Cane Sugar Cookies

Day 7: Orange Pim’s

Day 8: Mendiants

Day 9: Chewy Chocolate Mint Crackle Cookies

Day 10: Apricot, Coconut and Cranberry “truffles”

Day 11: Chocolate, Cherry and Almond Brownies

Day 12: Peppermint Hot Chocolate

OR

Check out last year’s 12 Days of Holiday Cookies:

Day 1: Easy Three Ingredient Shortbread

Day 2: Jam Drops

Day 3: Chocolate Caramel Slice

Day 4: Melting Moments

Day 5: White Christmas

Day 6: Langues de Chat

Day 7: Chocolate Coconut Slice

Day 8: Cornflake Biscuits

Day 9: Rocky Road

Day 10: Honey Joys

Day 11: Rum Ball Truffles

Day 12: Giant Florentine Cookie (to share)

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Disclosure: I was compensated by Bonne Maman Canada for recipe development and for promoting their Intense spreads/ Advent Calendar. This post was not reviewed by the brand prior to publication and all opinions are my own.

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Please note: This post contains affiliate links. I am a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. This means that if you click over and purchase something, I will receive a very small percentage of the purchase price (at no extra cost to you). Thank you in advance!

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