Clementines are at their very best right now, and once I start eating them I find it really hard to stop. I managed to keep some back this week to make this scrumptious Clementine and Almond cake. This cake is packed full of almonds and citrusy zest and is the perfect guilt free treat. The edges of this cake have a delicious caramelised orange flavour and the centre is beautifully moist and nutty. I love the fact that this cake is not too sweet. It is rather healthy in fact, as it contains no butter or flour.
As you may have guessed by now, I love baking. I’m at my very happiest when covered with flour, melting chocolate, whisking batter and taking warm cookies out of the oven. I love everything about baking – the smell of cocoa, the crumbly textures and the buttery taste. When the doctor told me a couple of weeks ago that I might be gluten intolerant, I have to say my cake loving heart flopped a little. No flour…no fun!
You see, I’ve always associated gluten free as bland, boring and flat. I usually look sympathetically at the small gluten free sections in supermarkets -the barely risen breads and sad looking cakes. However, I’ve since had a massive change of heart. Having been gluten free for the last few weeks, I can honestly say I am feeling a lot better and full of energy. I’ve been working on lots of gluten free recipes and have been pleasantly surprised at the results. I have fallen in love with polenta, almonds and coconut and it’s changed the way I think about cake. It’s a little bit of a challenge cooking sweet things without wheat, but with a little research I’ve discovered some excellent recipes. I adapted this particular recipe from Nigela Lawson’s recipe for Clementine cake.
Ingredients
- 4 to 5 clementines (about 375grams)
- 6 eggs
- 225g sugar
- 250g ground almonds
- 1 heaped teaspoon of baking powder
- 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
- 3 tablespoons of Cointreau
- 1 tablespoon of icing sugar, sieved
- Orange rind, sliced thinly for garnish
Method
Place the clementines in large saucepan with just enough cold water to cover the clementines. Bring to the boil, and then cook for 2 hours with the lid half on. You get a lovely aroma, when cooking the clementines. After the 2 hours, drain, throw out the cooking water and reserve the clementines. When the clementines have cooled, cut them in half and remove any seeds. Then place them in the food processor. It seems odd chopping them up as whole with the skin and all, but it works out fine!
Next preheat the oven to 190 degrees Celsius. Grease an 8 inch round springform tin. Beat the eggs with an electric hand whisk before adding the sugar, almonds, and baking powder. Continue to mix using the electric hand whisk, until all well combined. Next, add the Clementine pulp, vanilla extract and Cointreau, and mix well with a large spoon.
Pour the mix into the prepared tin. Place into the preheated oven and cook for 40-50 minutes. You may want to cover the cake with tin foil during the latter stages of cooking to prevent the top from browning too much. Mine took the full fifty minutes, but you should check after forty minutes. To test if it is ready, place a sharp knife into the centre of the cake. If it comes out clean, the cake is done. Once cooked, remove the cake from the oven and place on a wire rack. Once cool, remove from the tin and place it on a serving plate. Dust with icing sugar and garnish with some fresh orange rind. Serve with some thick and creamy Greek yoghurt or some vanilla ice-cream.
