I’m a huge fan of clementines. For me they are the perfect introduction to winter fruits. Just as grapes fall out of season, clementines start popping up at my local fruit-shop. I love the smell of peeling them. It reminds me of my mom peeling them for me when I was little

This lovely fruit, once cooked, adds incredible flavor to puddings and cakes. Like this moist, delicious, incredibly flavorful cake. It has the intense aroma of clementines, not just a zesty undertone. It’s also very moist and tender. Choose the best fruit you can find for this. Unwaxed please. You don’t want any preservatives or chemicals in your cake. Just the unaltered orange colour and sweetness of this gorgeous fruit.

Ingredients

• 3 clementines (430-450 grams)
• 190 grams unsalted butter
• 240 gr granulated sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 1 ½ tsp vanilla extract
• 240 gr all-purpose flour
• 1 ½ tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp baking soda
• ¼ tsp salt
• 60 ml whole milk
• 110 gr unsalted, roasted almonds, coarsely ground

Method

Wash clementines and put them in a saucepan. Cover with water and bring to boil over high heat. Cook fruit for one hour, adding a bit of water if it evaporates. The clementines will stay to the surface as they boil and that’s ok.

Remove clementines from pot and set aside to cool. Discard boiling water. When fruit is cool enough to handle, slice it in half and remove any pits. What you need is only the solids, the pulp and flesh. Put the pulp and flesh in a food processor and blend until pureed. Set aside until needed.

Preheat oven to 175 C. Butter and flour a 23 cm cake pan with a hole in the middle.

Beat butter and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the flat beater, until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time beating very well after each addition. Mix in vanilla extract.

In a large bowl sift together the flour with the baking powder, baking soda and salt. Lower the mixer speed to low and add about 1/3 of the flour mixture. Pour in half of the milk, then keep alternating and finish with the flour. Don’t over beat.

Add clementine pulp and almonds in the mixer bowl. Mix on low speed until everything is incorporated.

Transfer batter in the prepared cake pan. Bake for 50-55 minutes until a cake tester comes out clean. Cool cake in pan for 5 minutes. Invert on a platter. Cool cake completely before slicing and serving. A simple dusting with icing sugar will make it look festive.