Wholemeal Apple and Orange Cake

This is a Nigel Slater recipe, published recently in The Observer, and is one of his hearty, rustic cakes. I was a little worried how it would come out, as I only had wholemeal bread flour. I used half white plain flour, in an attempt to reduce the higher gluten of the bread flour, although I didn't really know if it would have any effect on the cake batter. I also made the mistake of actually melting the butter, when trying to soften it in the microwave, so I was also concerned that this would also have an adverse effect, as I couldn't beat in air when creaming.

If there were any negative ramifications of these mistakes and changes, then all I can say is that the cake would be superb when made properly, as it was very good as it was. The flavour was very subtle, and not strongly orangey - perhaps because the marmalade I used was shredless, and quite mild in flavour. A darker, richer marmalade, with chunks of peel, would have a more pronounced effect on the flavour. My only criticism was that most of the sprinkling of demerara sugar on the top dissolved into the batter - I'll try adding more next time.