Marzipan Lingonberry Swirl Scone Cake with Buttermilk Glaze

I apologize for bragging-and I hope you know I try to limit such instances so you can know for sure it’s a good time to believe me-but this cake is really, really, really, really good. Like, I don’t even know how it can be so good. I treated it with all the love and care I possibly could. I got my hands covered in dough rubbing in the butter. I gently folded in the lingonberry preserves just before baking. It looked so gorgeous, plump, and fluffy. And then it emerged from the oven, and I could not understand how it had transformed into something so golden, sweet, and dense, something even more than the sum of its parts.

Maybe it’s just that I’m an overachiever, and I produce nothing but overachieving cakes. OK, now I’m just flattering myself. But in all fairness, I really adored this recipe. Its edges are crisp with flavor, and the inside is as buttery, soft, and crumbly as a buttermilk scone. Except it’s cake.

As it rested on the counter, I could only think of one thing that might make the finished product better–the sweet, cool crosshatch of buttermilk glaze, dribbling down the sides of the cake. This, my friends, is the kind of cake that could make you believe in magic. I have no cards up my sleeves, no rabbits hiding beneath my hat, no quarters in my back pockets. But still, this happened:

And I think you’re going to like it.

Marzipan Lingonberry Swirl Scone Cake with Buttermilk Glaze
Makes 1 9-inch cake
BUTTERMILK GLAZE:
1 cup confectioner’s sugar, sifted
2 tbsp buttermilk

SCONE CAKE:
2 cups flour
1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp table salt
4 oz marzipan, cubed
6 tbsp unsalted butter, chilled and cubed
1 1/4 cups well-shaken buttermilk
4 tbsp lingonberry jam

BUTTERMILK GLAZE: Stir confectioner’s sugar and buttermilk until a glaze forms. Set aside.
SCONE CAKE: Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and grease a 9-inch round cake pan. Whisk flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. Add marzipan and butter cubes and cut in with fingers until the mixture becomes moist and crumbly. Stir in buttermilk until just combined. Spread dough evenly in greased cake pan. Dollop the 4 tbsp of jam across the top of the dough, then just a knife to gently swirl it in. Bake for 35-45 minutes, or until golden and set in the center (i.e., when a tester comes out of the center clean, with moist crumbles). Let cool for 10 minutes in the pan, then turn out on a rack and cool completely. Once cooled, drizzle the cake with buttermilk glaze liberally. Let the glaze set (about 10-15 minutes, then serve). Cake can be covered and stored for up to 3 days.