I love Nigella's Clementine Cake, which can be decorated with a sprinkling of icing sugar, or an icing drizzle. I have added dried clementine slices which add an extra tang to the cake, and I served it with a delicious citrus curd creme fraiche. It is great as an afternoon tea cake or with whipped cream, or ice cream as a fabulous dessert .
Ground almonds and the beautifully sweet clementines work so well in this single layer cake. It is moist and nutty and has proved to be a real crowd pleaser. If you like the taste of marmalade this cake is for you. I personally prefer it with the creamy addition of a citrus curd mixed with creme fraiche or mascapone. I used my Lemon Curd Recipe and added a few spoons to a tub of creme fraiche. But you can just as easily add whipped cream, as this cake already has a slightly bitter note to it from the clementine skins. If you use Gluten Free baking powder, which is readily available at most health shops, it makes it 100% gluten free.
To make the Dried Clementine Slices
- slice the clementines and using paper towels dry off as much of the juice as possible.
- lay them on a wire rack and place in a 90ºC/190ºF oven for at least 3-4 hrs or overnight until they are perfectly dry.
- this can be done beforehand and kept in an airtight container.
To make the Clementine pulp
- place the clementines with skins on, in a pot of boiling water and cook until they are soft . This will take about 40 minutes.
- drain the water thoroughly as you do not want any additional liquid. This is already a very moist cake.
- blitz the whole clementines, skins and pitch, in a food processor and set aside until needed.
- this can be done the day before.
Once these two steps have been done, making the cake is simple.
To make the cake
- whisk the eggs until frothy
- add the sugar and beat
- add the ground almonds and baking powder and beat well
- add the clementine pulp and beat until combined
- pour into a prepared baking pan and bake