22 December 2009

Clementine Cake - my Christmas tradition


You can't read this Nigella Lawson recipe without falling in love with it! What's not to love about clementine puree and almonds?! I made this last December when clementines were aplenty in the market, now have decided to make this an annual Christmas tradition!

This is my modified version of Nigella's recipe

4-5 clementines (any other small orange like satsuma, tangerine should also do)
1 1/2 cups ground almonds (I used almond meal)
3/4 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
3 eggs
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp almond extract (optional)*

Put the clementines into a pot of cold water, bring to a boil and cook on medium heat for 2 hours. When cooked, the clementines will be soft. Cut open and check to make sure there are no seeds. Put the cooked clementines into a blender, with pith and outside skin, and puree to a smooth paste.

In a bowl, combine all the remaining ingredients. Add the clementine puree and stir to make a smooth batter. Now grease a 9" baking tin well (make sure it is really greased well to avoid sticking) and pour in the cake batter. Cook at 375F for 30-35 mins.

The cake was moist and had the texture of chewy brownies.


* I prefer to put in some essence into cake to remove some of the "eggy" smell.

1 comment:

Safiya said...

I pulled a complete Nigella on this recipe - it tastes really good but the texture is not very cake like. It turned out a bit crumbly - V thinks its because the almond meal wasn't finely ground. I am not sure if I added enough baking powder.