clementine cake
It was a long wait. When you know you want to make something but the item is out of season, it seems like its time will never arrive. Last week, I came upon an artichoke recipe that is clearly designed to blow my artichoke-loving mind but are artichokes (that you’d want to buy, not that one with a fuzzy pelt I saw last week) anywhere? Nope. And tomatoes… flavorful, non-mealy tomatoes. I can’t even think about how far off they are. It makes me weep.
Nevertheless, I suspect that each and every one of our households has adopted one or ten of these crates this winter. I think we’re on box four or five, which is kind of frightening when you realize there are just two of us. So I don’t think about it.
Part of the reason making this cake seemed like the longest wait ever is that it endlessly fascinated me — I cannot read a recipe that uses a whole citrus fruit, rind and all, and not be curious to try it. It’s led me to some wonderful things, like this unfathomably good Strawberry Sorbet, a Whole Lemon Tart, Shaker Lemon Pie and more candied peels than I can count.
In this case, you take whole clementines and boil them for two hours before grinding them up, adding some sugar, a lot of eggs, a ton of ground almonds and baking powder and that’s it: you have a cake. And because it has no butter and no flour, I figure that the Resolutions-oriented among us will appreciate it — as well as the people still waiting for an update on last year’s clementine fiasco.
One year ago: Our then-favorite chocolate chip cookie. These days, we’ve disloyal all over the place.
Two years ago: Cream Cheese Marbled Brownies
Clementine Cake
Adapted from Nigella Lawson
… Oh right, I forgot to mention that this cake was darn good. I am not going to tell you that it is my favorite cake ever. It wasn’t. But all of the things I was worried would go wrong — it would be too bitter, it would be too tough, nobody would eat it — I couldn’t have been further off about. It is ridiculously moist, not bitter and surprisingly popular at a dinner party. You know, until you tell people they’re eating a cake comprised of boiled rinds.
4 to 5 clementines (about 375grams/slightly less than 1 pound total weight)
6 eggs
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons (225 grams) sugar
2 1/3 cups (250 grams) ground almonds
1 heaping teaspoon baking powder
Optional: Powdered sugar for dusting, or for making a glaze
Put the clementines in a pot with cold water to cover, bring to the boil, and cook for 2 hours. Drain and, when cool, cut each clementine in half and remove the seeds. Then finely chop the skins, pith, and fruit in the processor (or by hand, of course).
Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C).
Butter and line an 8-inch (21 centimeter) springform pan with parchment paper. (I used a 9-inch, it worked fine.)
Beat the eggs. Add the sugar, almonds, and baking powder. Mix well, adding the chopped clementines.
Pour the cake mixture into the prepared pan and bake for 30 to 50 minutes*, when a skewer will come out clean; you might have to cover the cake with foil after about 20 to 30 minutes to stop the top from over-browning.
Remove from the oven and leave to cool, in the pan on a rack. When the cake is cold, you can take it out of the pan and dust it with powdered sugar. I made a glaze of powdered sugar and a tablespoon of clementine juice because I was convinced the cake would be too bitter. It was not necessary. Nigella says the cake is best on the second day, but ours never made it that long.
Variations: Nigella says she’s also made this with an equal weight of oranges and lemons, in which case the sugar is increased to 1 1/4 cups.
* I am very unclear on the correct baking time, as you can see. Nigella’s recipe says it will 60 minutes. When I checked on it at 40 minutes (because I think you should start checking on any baked good at the 2/3 mark) it was done. Very done. Dark-brown edge-level done. And my oven runs cool. But I had made the cake in a one-inch larger pan, which made it slightly thinner. Which is all to say: Start checking at 30 minutes. Better to check too often than char your cake.
Ohhh… and I was this close to buying a box of clementines last night and thought, nah, I won’t eat them all before they go bad. Guess I’ll need to make another trip to the store. :) this looks amazing!
Ooo .. okay, time to go grocery shoppping. Again. I think I’ve gone every day this week because I keep seeing things I just *have* to make. I feel like my dad and sister would love this.
*drools* seriously…. omg that looks amazing.
This looks great! Do you have any ideas for converting it to use with honeybell (somewhere between clementine and full-sized oranges with a lot of juice) oranges? My grandma just sent me TWO DOZEN of them and I’m looking for ways to use them up (other than plain old eating them or juicing them and freezing the juice).
any tips on how to grind almonds would be much appreciated…is it impossible to do without a food processor?
and if grinding almonds most definitely requires a food processor, is there any good substittue for the ground almonds?
Deb,
I have a question regarding ground almonds. Should you toast them before you grind them? What is the best way to grind whole almonds?
I think you can buy ground almonds at Trader Joes. I am pretty sure, at least, that they have ground hazelnuts, so why not almonds? But chopping all that clementine stuff would probably be more pleasant with a food processor. Sigh.
Chopping: The clementines can be chopped by hand. I went for the FP because I was worried that a chunk of peel might be unpleasant. You can grind almonds in the food processor. I am sure you’ll get better flavor if you lightly toast them first. I don’t think there is a way to create almond meal/ground almonds without a food processor, however I bought mine from Bob’s Red Mill, for, like, so much more money than Amazon is charging. Most Whole Foods and other gourmet and natural stores carry Bob’s Red Mill products.
How does it get so cake-y without flour?
My mind has been officially blown.
Yay for metric measurements, Deb! Just so you know, a teaspoon is 5 grams, so I’d estimate a heaping teaspoon to be about 6 or 7?
To those above asking about ground almonds, I just buy them at the store pre-ground… they’re labelled “almond meal”.
Also, this looks delicious…
I use my clementines in roasted beet salad all winter long. Love them!
Stacey Snacks
This looks delish!
A quick clarification: 2 1/3 c. ground almonds (right?)….. not 2 1/3 c. almonds ground? If the former, approx. how much do you start with before grinding?
I always grind my nuts in a food processor and I prefer to brown them a bit first but if time is a factor, I skip it!!
This would be great for folks who can’t eat dairy. Or gluten. Or a whole host of other things that are not included in the recipe.
It looks so good!
OMG, and it’s gluten free. This is going on my list of things to try, along with the gluten free chocolate financiers that I have bookmarked. I just have to bite the bullet and buy the dang almond flour.
Oh, a question: does it have to be a springform pan? Would a regular cake pan work as well, just not be so pretty?
Oh my goodness, exACTly what I was thinking one hour ago: what will I do with all these clementines? Thank you once again for reading my mind.
Very interesting! And to think, I was up to my eyeballs in clementines about a week ago….now, I have none! :(
I have to remember to bookmark this for passover!
That reminds me of a cake that I made earlier this year, from the Australian What I cooked last night blog
. It’s humbler than this one, using one whole orange and three eggs. But really tasty! And he’s such a lovely writer.
Hi Lizzi — I immediately thought of that but baking powder! Whoops.
That looks incredibly good. And so few ingredients … what else can you ask for? We ate a crate of clementines in five days last week too … but there were two adults and two children involved in the process! And I only managed to use one in baking (rosemary muffins).
Next crate of clementines, however, I will definitely have to give this a try!
wow! I am on permanent lookout for gluten free cakes, as my immediate boss is gluten free, and I love taking baking into the office (and would hate making the one person responsible for my cool work and getting paid feel left out!).
this looks like a definite winner.. I’ve seen the whole boiled citrus cakes before, but perhaps not flourless? anyway, I feel some clemintine (or blood orange, or manderine, or lime…) cupcakes coming on!
and a scour through my nigella books to see if I have just been missing this by all this time :)
I would make this if I could convince my husband to part with 4 or 5 clementines. Not bloody likely. We are going through something like a box a week now and when they are gone from the stores I will CRY.
Eeks, I have to ask people not to leave full recipes in the comment section. Unfortunately, they’re usually quite long, and don’t do as good of a job of explaining why they’re important… Discussion-wise, it’s much more helpful if you can instead a) describe how they are different (”my favorite recipe is like this except…”), b) link to the recipe somewhere on the Web or c) just told people where book/page etc. they can find the recipe.
I know this sounds fantastically bossy, but I do try to do everything in my power to keep the comment section manageable and a good read. Thanks so much.
I’m sorry that I’m just seeing your post now. On Sunday I made a fruit salad (clementines, golden pineapple, mint and cardamom) from the clems that were languishing on my counter. I never even thought of making a cake!
I’m book marking this post for the next time we’re in clementine overload.
I am a huge clementine fan, ever since tasting my first ones in France 12 years ago. I bought ever so many boxes in December and then we had to move them off the kitchen table to keep my 2yo from sitting and eating them all day long.
Suddenly they looked like they weren’t going to last much longer, so I decided to can them all! 14 pints of clementines, sans rinds, so I can’t even experiment with using them to make this. How I would love to go get some more. . . .
I don’t have a food processor, though, and my blender never seems to do the trick. Can you recommend one? One that will grind the almonds I bought in a giant bag from Sam’s Club :), one that will chop tomatoes and bell peppers for fajitas, one that will work for large amounts of food and small just as well, be worth all the effort it takes to wash it, and not cost $100. Does it exist?
The cake is beautiful; I want to make one now and I don’t even like cake. Is it spongy? I can’t imagine it would be crumbly and dry; it’s got to be more like a souffle-like texture, in which case I will love it.
You know, I never use my blender so I probably won’t be very good at recommending one. I hope others can chime in.
The texture is actually soft and incredibly moist. In fact, I found mine almost damp, which I think others loved but was one of the reasons it wasn’t my favorite. The ground almonds I used could have been finer — I did notice a piece or two.
One of the nicer things about living in California is being able to wander outside in your flip-flops and pick them right off the tree in your backyard. This looks like an excellent use of them. I’ve made so many of your recipes and never once been disappointed!
Flip-flops? Wandering into your backyard? Sob. It’s going to be 20 degrees on Friday.
Making this orange cake tomorrow…or tonight after I eat your Cuban Arroz con Pollo….which smells fantastic BTW!! Thanks for including a CAKE us gluten-free chicks can gobble…we never get cake!
oh, wow this is right on time. I’m crazy about clementines and was looking for a good recipe two weeks ago. Finally I made a variation on orange cake but it was just OK and not so exciting. This one looks gorgeous. I got to try it for this weekend. Thanks for the recipe!
Oh, a quick question…do you guys think marcona almonds would work? Just got a huge can of them from Costco today. They are roasted and lightly salted. Thoughts?
Donna–I think the marcona almonds would likely be too oily and would turn into a paste (rather than a “flour”) when you grind them.
i make a version of this with cooked oranges and lemons, but in smaller individual tins… slightly larger than cupcakes but that size would work as well! they are lovely and perfect in small portions, moist from the almond powder and the citrus fruits.
Very nice! When I saw the title and picture, it brought a big smile to my face. I cooked this recipe a few years ago:
http://gregsfood.blogspot.com/2005/12/satsuma-cake_22.html
greg
I can’t tell you how many crates of clementines we’ve gone through this winter. I will eat 5 at a time.
My first time posting, but your blog is my favorite of all the food ones I read. Thanks! Question: is it possible to use that “real egg” substitute in this recipe? My hubby’s cholesterol test just came back this week (higher than ever), but I WANT to make this cake!! If I was more of a baker, I’d probably know the answer.
You are one of many to come upon too many oranges/clementines over the holidays. People must send fruit to encourage us to get back on the healthy train when the holidays are over! We love these flourless and butterless cakes! If we get a bushel of oranges in the mail, we’re making one.
While the glaze might not have been necessary for taste it made for an artful presentation. It looked like a cheesecake with a crust but upon reading the recipe realize it is just from the baking. I love clementines for no other reason then I love their name.
I so worded that wrong! I mean a food processor recommendation!
This looks like an absolutely DELICIOUS recipe! I can’t wait to make something with all of the clementines I just got from a friend’s tree! And no butter OR flour? Amazing!!! Thanks for always sharing such unique dishes.
Now that’s what I’m talking about! Clementines … almonds. Sounds so delicious. I’m going to make this for my parents – my dad will freak, as he’s now involuntarily gluten-free and is missing normal food. I might try it in individual fluted cake cups and see what happens. They would be so cute with a drizzle of glaze.
This sounds delicious! I always use a coffee grinder (one that I don’t use for coffee beans)to grind almonds and other nuts…you’ll have to do it in batches for this much, but it grinds them really finely.
If you don’t have a food processer or blender, clean up your coffee grinder really well (if you have one) and use that to grind the almonds at least. You might want to rough chop the almonds or start with slivered almonds to make it easier on the grinder. It may take a while, but it should work. Even a pepper mill would probably do the job. You would REALLYhave to want to make this cake to use a pepper mill though!
This cake sounds delicious and what a bonus that it’s gluten free, too. Thanks, Deb.
Oh my, my, my! I am absolutely in *love* with the whole idea of this cake! I, too, have clementine crates lying all about the house in the winter. My cat has adopted one as his favorite sleeping spot :) I can’t wait to get into the kitchen and make one of these LUSCIOUS cakes. Thank you so much for yet another to-die-for recipe and drool-worthy pictures.
Oh..btw, I clean my coffee grinder by using broken up pieces of hard dry bread.
This looks really good! I make a similar cake with oranges and cocoa – which is, rather unsurprisingly, called a jaffa cake. I find these cakes a great option if you have gluten intolerant people coming round for tea. I have to ask: do your clementines really come in those darling boxes? So sweet! We hardly find clementines in Australia, let alone packaged like that. I’d have a hard time throwing those mini-crates out.
I made this cake this weekend and I thought it turned out brilliantly. I added cocoa powder (her chocolate version of this cake is in Feast). I was surprised at how light it was for a flourless cake. I also found that I could I have blitzed the almonds a bit more to give them a finer grind.
Heh, living in Fl, we haven’t had much of a winter, this year, strawberries are already flooding the stores. And our orange tree finally fruited this season, so we haven’t bought any clementines. But this sounds yummy enough to make me buy some. I presonally am dying for cherries.
wow, that seems like a very strange recipe. Intruiging, but strange.
Yes, we too have had a box of clementines around for quite a while (that is to say that we keep replacing them with new boxes as they become empty!) This looks wonderful and different. I just might have to try it.
So I didn’t stumble upon your page today until almost EIGHT O’ CLOCK AT NIGHT, but I’m hoping you’ll wade down to the end of the comments to answer a question that’s been bugging me: When recipes ask you to line a springform pan, does that just mean the bottom, or also the sides? I wouldn’t usually need to ask, I’d just assume it’s bottom-only, but it’s springform, and for some reason springform=more elaborate in my head.
I am with Bookish Cook- this does sound strange. Eating the peels? I just may have to give it a try- we have some clementines just waiting to be used up! We’ll see if the husband can part with them.
Just the bottom. With a springform, the sides pop open so they shouldn’t be an issue. Lining the bottom helps you slide the cake out — or flip it out, over and peel it off, which I now realize this recipe doesn’t say to do. Hm, I’ll edit that in.
I thought I’d comment on the food processor posts. I have an extremely small kitchen which is insane for how much and how varied I cook. I have resisted buying a food processor because I just don’t have room for it. I did give up some space and bought a “Classic Ostereizer” blender which is a two speed model – fast and insanely fast. It has crushed and blended everything I’ve thrown in it. It came with a small food processor bowl and blade that have met all of my needs (well except for slicing veggies for gratins, etc. – but I’ve got great knife skills now!). I ground nuts in it on Sunday. Oh, and besides the basic blender vessel, and the food processor bowl, it also came with a milk shake vessel – perfect!
I love reading your blog — always something yummy!! :) This cake looks
A-MAZING. Seriously, it’s awesome how just a few ingredients turn out to be such a fantastic looking (and I’m sure tasting) cake!! This is for sure going on my list of “to-bake-soon” recipes.
hey brooklynite,
as far as a substitute for the ground almonds goes, try almond meal. pre-ground and packaged. not sure who makes it but you can find it at back to the land in park slope and fairway in red hook.
Gosh! Your cake looks even better the Nigella’s. Bravo!
you can grind almonds in a coffee grinder..I do it all the time..!
I’d like to second the passover comment! You can get baking powder that’s kosher for passover, and this looks like it will be an awesome addition to my passover menu.
This sounds great. Is there any alternative to ground almonds for the nut allergic people? Could one use flour?
I have only made the recipe with ground nuts and would be nervous to make swaps with a recipe that gets all of it’s structure from the nuts. But that isn’t to say that it couldn’t work. Do let us know if you try it — I am sure others would like to hear how it comes out as well.
On an aside, I’d like to try this cake — or the idea of it — next time folded into a pound or yogurt loaf cake. I might use only two clementines, still boil and then puree them, but then use a regular cake recipe. For those of you who aren’t afraid to experiment and want to avoid using nuts, that might be a fun thing to try out.
I’ve never had anything like this. I’m so curious, and cannot wait to test it out. I’m positive we’ve gone through more than 5 boxes of clementines, so don’t feel bad. Besides, they’re good for you – keeps the colds away.
I also sent you an email about possibly linking to a few of your recipes for a Meyer lemon post I am putting together. I don’t know if you got it, but let me know what you think. Thanks for all the great food!
I love this idea! I just found half a box of clementines that somehow got lost in the back of my refrigerator. They’re a little too old to eat on their own but I didn’t want to throw them out. And now I won’t have to, thanks! Plus, what a delicious way to get your vitamin C.
I agree that this is a very interesting cake. I’ve made it myself and really enjoyed it. Yours turned out really lovely. It looks elegant and homey at the same time.
Prudent Homemaker – I wrote a post about small food processors just yesterday. In my opinion, the KitchenAid Food Chopper is the best small processor out there- and it got GREAT reviews. Good luck!
One has to be a bit wary of Nigella’s baking times. I made her Madeira Cake (twice!) which is supposed to bake for 60 minutes. At 55 it was way, way overdone. At 40 it was definitely over done.
I *may* try it again at a lower temperature.
ok…someone else might have commented about this already but it’s late and i don’t want to read through all the comments:
do you know a place to buy cheap alond flour/meal? at whole foods it’s about 10 bucks or so for a very small bag.
beyond that, this recipe looks fantastic and i will probably make it anyway, even with expensive almond flour. =)
Chocolate? Chocolate glaze? Chocolate frosting? Chocolate chips? Chocolate and orange … yummy.
Liz C. : You can get ground almond meal at TJ’s for really cheap!
Thank you for pointing out I can use the bagged almond stuff. I splurged on a bag for a recipe a few months ago that I did not enjoy and was kicking myself, wondering what to do with the rest of the stuff. I hear it calling for the clementines on the table! Now if I only had a springform pan…
No no no!!! I think the artichokes you’re saying “have a fuzzy pelt” are called Frost-kissed and they are AMAZING! My best friend sells produce and he gave me several last season. They LOOK like there’s something wrong with them but they are SO wonderful! Very “meaty” and they have huge hearts. Buy them! Seriously.
I made this and while it was delicious I was decidedly nonplussed about the flavour, it’s wasn’t clementiney enough I think or maybe it was and it was something else but I couldn’t quite put my finger on it!!!
I totally know what you mean about out of season stuff…but it best to wait for the season to come around again! I sent my husband to the store this weekend to get whatever he wanted for dinner – something I never do, or will ever do again…anyway he returned with some tomatoes. They were a dull pinky red and super firm. I cut into one – it was this white, translucent mush inside. I didn’t even want to but it into the compost! This clementine cake looks delicious and a great way to use them.
Using whole clementines? I think I need to go to the stores and see if they have any left.I just have to try this recipe!
This looks just delicious! I made a whole orange cake this weekend. Clementines are not in season here right now. I love citrus cakes and I am sure this would fit the bill!!
For those who do not want to invest in a full size food processor you should look at the 4 cup Cuisinart mini that sells for 40-50 dollars.
I have made something similar with oranges (recipe by Donna Hay) but the recipe called for butter. This is intriguing, Deb – gotta try it!
Do you think that ground walnuts could be subbed for ground almonds? Here in Romania, even whole almonds are hard to find, but walnuts are abundant. We even have special little nut grinders (like a mini hand-cranked meat grinder) because so many local specialties call for ground walnuts. Thanks, I’m hoping I can try a modified version of the cake!
Lia — It was mold.
Nut substitution questions: I have only made this cake with almonds, as you see above. However, if you try it with another nut, do let us know how it goes. It sounds like a lot of people are curious.
I am so sad that the clementines are pretty much out of season. Half of the last crate we got was mushy.
I tried making this same cake several years ago by grounding my own almonds – in a mini chopper. Not the best idea, in hindsight, as the texture was a bit, um, coarse. But you’ve inspired me to try again, especially since I have some almond meal in the cupboard left over from a failed macaron baking attempt!
Deb, it’s -20 degrees here in Minnesota right now, enjoy your 20 above!
Hi! I find your blog and your clementine cake…
Some days ago I cooked a cake not so different from this. It is called “torta al succo di mandarini e olio d’oliva” (I’m italian) whit clementine juice and olive oil.
This is the link:
http://lericettedicarolina.blogspot.com/2009/01/torta-al-succo-di-mandarini-e-olio.html
Good afternoon!
I actually made this a couple of years ago, and had completely forgotten about it. Thanks so much for the reminder! I recall it being exceptionally moist…to the point of nearly gooey if you leave it around for a couple of days. But right out of the oven it is fantastic.
And me with a basket full of clementines. The photos look delightful, and I love any and all recipes that use the whole fruit. Getting the rind in there adds so much punchy flavor.
I’ve been a bit clementine obsessed around here too. I’ve been cooking up all sorts of ways of sneaking them into baked goods. My big success so far has been clementine and blueberry scones with pistachio. mmmmm.
This one is going in my “to try” file.
My girlfriend just made a “no more cakes” decree, which made me very sad, but maybe I can get her to make an exception for this one since the only bad thing in it is the sugar.
The clementines are cooking on my stove right now – and the smell is just delicious! Thank you so much for a recipe where I can use both my left over almonds from christmas baking and clementines.
I can confirm that it was really good. I was at the dinenr party. Mmmmm
Sounds delightful!
You’re right… this is quite an interesting cake. It’s the sort of recipe that would have grabbed me too. It’s amazing how it all comes together in a gorgeous looking cake. So pretty!
Yay, a naturally gluten-free cake. Cannot wait to try this! Thanks, Deb.
This looks really good, but do you think I could use Satsuma mandarins instead? This is what we get at our farmers market, & while we can get clemintines there too, the Satsumas are better and organic. They’re easily as sweet as the Mandarins you picture, sometimes sweeter, but the rind is definitely different. Maybe I’ll try & let you know if it’s a disaster or not…Also, can’t wait for the artichoke recipe. We’re in CA, and what with global warming et. al. the garden/farms are thinking its spring. Which is sort of messing with the seasonal goodness of winter. Case in point: we actually have some artichokes (naricssus (not to eat))in the market. Not the best they’ll be, but pretty good. I’m definitely feeling disoriented.
I have to make this. Despite the fact that I left my springform pan in my boyfriend’s old apartment and his cousin and girlfriend have seized control of it.
I’m hoping the cake is not so delicate that I can’t flip it out of a regular pan? Thoughts?
Wow – that is a beauty. My mini food processor gave out years ago (after a long and useful life), and I’ve never replaced it. Must get a new one soon, if for no other reason than to make this cake. On that note: “Finely chop [the clementines] in the processor (or by hand, of course).” Ha Ha Hoo Hoo! Ohhhh, that’s a good one. You make me laugh, Deb. Could it be done? Maybe. Will I be the one to do it? Um, no. ;)
I’ve made a version of this before – very yummy… intensely citrus-y and moist. I ended up toasting slices of it for breakfast, and it was amazing. So I recommend it that way, strange as it sounds, toasted like bread. Yum!
Longtime reader (since back in your smitten days!), but I’ve never commented before. Not sure why? I just had to say how happy I was to read your byline last night in MSL for your cupcake article! It made my night! Go Deb! Great work, as usual. I love your blog and have tried countless recipes I’ve found here. Keep it up!
this looks fantastic! i would like to make it for a friend that has severe food and gluten allergies but this might just be ok for her. i have three questions:
1- can you use an vegan egg substitute instead of eggs? if so, which brand do you reccomend?
2- is regular baking powder gluten free?
3- is almond meal simply finely ground almonds?
thanks!
This is really gorgeous, and so unique! I love clementines, but I never think to bake with them.
Hi Emily — Thanks! Just grabbed the mag today on the newsstand. I was there for the photoshoot so it was really fun to see what a set up they have… you know, as opposed to my smears, crumbs and all approach. Heh.
Leah — I have never used a egg substitute so cannot vouch for them. However, I might be wary to swap out ingredients in a cake with only five of them! I also cannot vouch for the gluten in products — there are many better sites out there for advice — but understand it to be, as it is can be made at home with cream of tartar, cornstarch and baking soda, which I believe are all okay. (I am sure I’ll be corrected in about 10 seconds if I’m wrong!) Almond meal is finely ground almonds.
I’ve made this cake twice from the Joy of Baking website and simply love it: the fragrance of the cooking clementines alone should be incentive enough. The danger of bitterness arising from the pulverized peel is a very real one, though, and probably varies according to the kinds of clementines used. One way round this is to ditch the peel of a single clementine after cooking but before pulverization. The flecks of dark orange peel look beautiful in the baked cake and give it texture. It IS a very damp cake. Next time I make it, I’ll also try adding a bit of flour for more robustness, along the lines of the version shown here: http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2008/dec/06/puddings-christmas-recipes-desserts
I tried out this recipe last nite! Thanks for the posting of it. To all those who do not have a food processor etc…
1. I used store bought almond meal and measured it in grams instead of cups.
2. I cooked the clementines as directed and after cooled, hand chopped them with a really sharp knife as fine as I could.
3. made a glaze using lemon juice instead of clementine juice for extra tartness.
It came out really good! And I agree with Deb, cooking time for this is around 40mins. I did it for that long and the outside looked really done, but the inside was super moist!!! Almost too moist so the next time maybe I’ll cook it for 5 more extra to dry it out a bit.
This looks like some kind of crazy science experiment that you can actually EAT the results of! I can’t quite wrap my head around how this works but I’m excited to try!
Deb, oranges are all very well and good but I hear tell you baked a sweet and salty cake…something about salt caramel and ganache. Please, hold out no more. I must have details. Really, I must!
Deb, let me first say how grateful I am to have stumbled upon your website. I’ve recently moved in with my girlfriend (a big deal), and finding myself jobless I have taken it upon myself to be the best ‘housewife’ I can be. She’s a vegetarian, and since it’s her place, my serious appreciation for meat has had to take a back seat. Your smitten kitchen has come to the rescue – thank you!
Right now I’m in the midst of preparing this mind boggling cake for a soiree of desserts and board games. This might seem like a blatantly obvious question, but on my box of Clementines from Stop & Shop via Spain, three pesticides are listed as used. Orthophenylpnenol, thiabendazole and imazalil. Is this the reason for boiling them for 2 hours? Normally I discard the peel, therefore I figure I’m discarding the bulk of the pesticides as well. If this cake goes down well I’ll probably want to make more, but without the headache of cancer and birth defects. Your thoughts? Thanks once again.
I tried a very similar recipe out a few months ago here
http://www.laurasaur.com/2008/08/31/going-on-a-little-holiday/
It is sooo good!!
Prudent,
I highly recommend a Cuisinart food processor. No, it’s not under $100 but it is so worth it. It will change your life just like a KitchenAid standing mixer. Keep an eye out at Amazon or Cooking.com. Or ask for it for your birthday like I did!
Also, Trader Joe’s has the almond meal for sale, and it’s not that expensive.
came home to find a box of clementines on the kitchen table… I will definitely be making this tomorrow.
For those interested: I just bought a 1 lb bag of almond meal for $2.99 (or $2.29, I can’t remember).
er duh, meant to say at trader joes
Hi Avi — What a bummer. Glad you’re trying to make the best of it. The reason you boil them for two hours is to remove the bitterness from the peels. When you candy orange or other citrus peels, they’re usually boiled in plain water two or three times before they’re candied, again, to get some of the bitterness out. The same idea is used in this recipe.
Pulled this bad boy out of the oven about 15 minutes ago. This is, by far, the most unusual cake I have ever made! I threw a bunch of mini chocolate chips on top of the cake after it came out of the oven, and they melted into a lovely chocolate layer that hardened as it cooled.
We cut it and inspected it and ate it. VERY moist. Tasty as well, and not at all weird in that gluten-free way…probably because it doesn’t have gluten-free flour in it. Both boys said “YUM!”, but they are certainly not picky and will eat almost anything covered in chocolate.
Baked exactly 40 minutes….20, then turn, then 20 more. Browned beautifully without covering with foil…looks really pretty. Maybe could have baked a minute or two longer as the center is very moist. May set up a little as it cools longer…if it makes it that long.
Thanks for the interesting experiment Deb!
I’d like to make this cake but was wondering about the sugar. Does the sugar serve to add structure and lift for the cake or is it merely a sweetening agent? I’d like to use a Splenda 50/50 blend or all granular Splenda, which is used for baking but doesn’t add much in creating lift.
Deb, thank you so much for reminding me about this recipe. I made it a couple of years ago, and it was very well-received. I don’t recall adding the glaze, though. I think that would make things even better, adding that little extra dimension that would really set it off.
Lots of European recipes include at least some ground nuts in baking, so this one just takes it a step farther, and better in my opinion. The nuts act like flour in baking, absorbing moisture and providing the structure. I didn’t taste the cake I made as I don’t eat sugar, but who can argue with the nutrition? I’m definitely going to try to make a no-refined-sugar version somehow this year. We have half a box of clementines and three grapefruits, and my sister just sent us 12 pounds of honeybells, and there are just 2 of us, so guess where the clementines are going?
I have to say, I bought Trader Joe’s ground almonds a while back, and they were pretty flavorless. Does the almond flavor really stand out in this recipe? I think I’ll try grinding my own this time, and probably toasting them first to bring out the flavor before the cake even gets baked. If anyone tries that, please let us know how it works!!!
I am a total Nigella fan and was just eating a vegetarian version of her shrimp and black rice with Vietnamese dressing earlier today! I haven’t tried this cake yet but it sounds like a great winter treat that I can actually share with my GF friend.
I love Nigella and this is the perfect winter treat to share with my Stitch n Bitch group. I especially love that there’s no flour in it so I can serve it to pretty much anyone!
I had half a sac of rapidly-drying clementines in the fridge, so this recipe was perfectly timed! Made it tonight and am currently munching my way through a second huge piece – it’s light but sweet and moist and very delicious. I added a little vanilla extract because i am incapable of NOT adding vanilla to baked goods, and i think it brought together the citrus and almond flavours very nicely. A dusting of powdered sugar on the top makes this a very pretty cake, even if you happen to slightly over-brown the top and edges as i did (oops). Thank you for sharing this recipe with us!
PS: I plan to make this again as a desert for Chinese New Year later this month!
Wondering how long it would take to do the clems in my pressure cooker???
I would not recommend using a pressure cooker. The idea of the boiling is not to make them soft, but to remove much of the bitterness from the peels.
A note on splurging on a Cuisinart…mine is a hand-me-down from my sister and although it’s missing some parts, and looking a little sad, is about 25 years old (really, from the mid 80’s) and still going strong!
This cake reminds me of another great recipe that uses the whole fruit, including the rind:
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Ohio-Shaker-Lemon-Pie-13313
If you don’t slice the lemons thin enough, you do end up with some unappealing (sorry for the pun) chunks of rind. I haven’t tried to puree them; that might be a good solution, although it may take away from the charm that the description gives of the Shakers using the whole fruit because of frugality, but then again, they didn’t have food processors.
Just read your whole note on this cake, and saw your reference to Shaker Lemon Pie, sorry for the repetition.
Oh man… this is a perfect treat for the cast of the show I’m working on right now. We’ve all been downing clementines by the box full every day – this would shake up the norm quite a bit, I think.
This looks soooooo good, but I’m saving it for later. I’m wondering though… do you take requests? I’ve been waiting YEARS for a good buttermilk pie recipe. Pretty please?
I’m STILL having a hard time wrapping my mind around this one. But it looks so good… but sounds so strange. But looks SOOO GOOD!
Hmm. HEB here I come.
Krista:)
Just wanted to add, for all the people looking for a nut subsitute, that my mum made this cake for her nut-allergic, citrus-allergic mother’s birthday using semolina and pureed, poached dried apricots, and it worked out great. Why she just didn’t choose another recipe is a whole other story, but there you go.
For those who avoid sugar (or who are trying to hang on to New Year’s resolutions), I made this cake last night with 3/4 C agave instead of the sugar. I had to bump up the almond flour to 2 2/3 C to compensate for the added moisture, but it turned out wonderfully. Moist, not-too-sweet, and a great gluten-free sugar-free treat!
I made this yesterday and the clementines smelled wonderful. I was disappointed in the cake though. I didn’t care for the texture or something. I can’t really pinpoint what it is I don’t like about it. Maybe I didn’t get the almonds ground finely enough.
Wow, what a unique idea. I’ve never heard of Clementine Cake before. It looks beautiful!
I think it was a wise move to check on the progress of the cake, it is such a disappointment when one is overcooked. It looks delicious :)
I remember last year’s disaster and I’m glad this season of clementine baking has treated you better. I seem to peel and devour clementines before I can even think of baking them into anything.
Ditto comment #129- didn’t care for the texture of the cake, because I ground the almonds myself probably. I might like almond meal better if it’s more finely ground. I made the cake last night with 2 large oranges that I boiled for 2 hours. Husband likes it better than I do–for me it’s just OK.
Has anyone tried this with meyer lemons? Does it seem like a reasonable or good substitution? I have a tree in my yard that is hung over with ripe fruit (yes I live in CA) and would love to use some of it on a delectable cake like this!
This is a very interesting recipe. Too bad, because I’m not sure that I’m ready to venture into the world of citrus fruit rind again after the less than warm reception my Shaker Lemon tart got… maybe next year.
Made 3 or 4 of these last Christmas, and co-workers went through them in nothing flat. Tried the cake with walnuts, too bitter; with pecans, too oily. I wouldn’t use salted nuts, either. Had best luck with sliced almonds, which ground perfectly in the FP. May seem like a peculiar cake, but it will remain moist far longer than the average flour-based cake. Even picky people liked it, though I refrained from mentioning that the clementine peelings were ground into it.
Re, the texture of the cake: I wholly agree. This is why in the recipe notes I did admit that this hadn’t been my favorite cake on the site. It was the texture (and I use store bought ground almonds, but they weren’t as smooth as I had hoped) — because there’s so little to bind it, the texture of the almonds is very noticeable. I almost wanted some flour to make it taste more cohesive.
As I mentioned in a much earlier comment (#64) that I’d love to use this idea in a pound cake or yogurt loaf “setting”. Would probably only need one or two of the clementines ground up, and a couple additional tablespoons of flour to compensate for the moisture. I hope to get to this adaptation soon!
That’s exactly what it was missing…cohesiveness. It would be worth another try, if you could work it out. I did like the flavor a lot.
THANK YOU.
Once, when I was very young, a neighbor made these little breakfast cakes that tasted of oranges. I have never had anything like them since but I think of them often. apparently, hers were out of a supermarket or something.
This will more than likely fill that niche.
Re: Avi and the pesticide question. Avi – You are correct that most of the pesticides are concentrated in the peel of clementines, and that you should try and avoid them. In the future, when cooking with peels from citrus, splurge on the organic ones. As for this recipe, if you’re adverse to cooking the peels, I’d boil an extra clementine or two and just discard the peels. It probably won’t have the same consistency as using the peels, but it’s definitely an option.
So I went out and made one of these right away, but …is tasted pretty bad. When cooking the clementines I got the scent of cooked straw ( i know this smell because of paper making ) I got this same smell when I made your orange candy rinds as well. Anyways it tasted like straw ….I followed it right, and I connsider myself a fair cook / baker …any idea what went wrong ? Do you normally get a straw sent out it to ?
Sorry it wasn’t something you liked. I have definitely not smelled straw before, but there is a different scent to the citrus fruits as they boil.
I am making this cake right now…with fingers crossed. I had to use a ten inch pan and since this is just a test I threw in a handful of dark chocolate mini chunks. Can’t wait to see how it turns out.
I made this cake tonight using a standard 9″ round cake pan, buttered parchment on the bottom, baked for 40 minutes. It came out as described, firm & moist. Based on some of the comments I added 2 tblsp of whole wheat flour to the ground almonds. One note regarding measuring the almonds for grinding. I measured out 2 1/3 cups of whole almonds (which I toasted, I can’t say that it made any difference) then ground them in my wee coffee grinder. Once ground I measured out 2 1/3 cups of almond meal & found that I had a significant amount left over. So, whole almonds take up more space than ground almonds.
What an unusual cake! I love clementines so I’ll have to try it!
This is fantastic! You should try making the cake with seville oranges, it’s a popular variation in Aus :)
Wild guess, Samantha, but perhaps the fruit smelled of straw because it was originally packed in straw? I wash fruit with soap and water anyway before cooking to get rid of what lingering chemicals I can. Might be worth a try. Obvious point but it’s also always worth tasting the fruit you’re about to cook before you cook it. I’ve had everything from bland and insipid clementines to stunningly delicious ones.
What a beautiful and delicious looking recipe! I love this clementine season. I could live just eating them but hadn’t heard of any baking recipes using them. Thanks for a great recipe again, and stop by to see my Scandinavian cooking sometimes!
If you enjoyed this then the chocolate orange cake in Feast is also great and always gets demolished pretty quickly. Same idea as this just orange instead of clementine and cocoa powder. I have cooked both the clementines and the orange in a bowl of water in the microwave and it seems to work just fine with no bitterness, just start with a couple of minutes and keep going until they are thoroughly softened.
I just discovered your site recently and absolutely love it!! I’ll be honest, my love for cooking and photography is what drew me to your site! You have the perfect combo! This clementine cake looks delicious, having just moved from FL to ATL, this recipe makes me think of home…can’t wait to try it!
Re: the texture of the ground almonds. Some years ago I wanted to make a hazelnut torte, nearly flourless, with lots of ground toasted hazelnuts. I’m pretty sure it would be nearly impossible to find ground toasted hazelnuts, so when I searched my kitchen for alternate means of grinding, I found my old Mouli cheese grater, similar to some on Amazon (http://tinyurl.com/8q2rub). It did take a long time to process all I needed, and I did have to pick out a few larger pieces, but the grater produced a fluffy meal, not an oily paste, and it was perfect! Now if I could only find that recipe again, I would be so happy.
Thank you so much for this recipe, Deb. My whole house absolutely loves it. I also thought the texture was a little off-but as long as you aren’t expecting a cake texture, it’s not disappointing, just a thing of it’s own. I compensated for that texture by slicing the cake into thin slices like bread and toasting them under the broiler-incredible!
I love your website because all of your recipes come pre-tried and true, and sometimes, I just need that in my life.
Sarah
Thank you for the beautiful cake recipe. Mine turned out perfectly the first time (except somehow I had to leave it in the oven for over an hour)! And I don’t feel guilty that half of it is already gone! I love your blog.
Stacey, thank you so much for the agave hint! I was going to make this for folks at work with the sugar in it, but now it’s all MINE!!!!!!! (gee, does that defeat the purpose of the whole avoiding-sugar thing? oh, well…)
That cake looks really good. I like how few ingredients there are.
Thanks again for a great recipe, Deb. I made this just this morning for a lunch with my in-laws. I added almost 3T of cake flour, 1 t. vanilla and 1/2 t. salt. I was surprised there was no salt in the original recipe. I boiled the clementines the night before and refrigerated them whole. I baked the cake for about 50 minutes and, when cooled, topped with some powdered sugar (no glaze). It was a huge hit with everyone and some went back for seconds. It’s no Devil Dog cake, but it was delicious. And a great use of five clementines from the box I have in the fridge. Make this and enjoy!
i received a bunch of homegrown tangerines and put five of them to good use with this recipe (only another 18 to go!). i made cupcakes and they turned out well. even non-tangerine loving hubby liked them. baked them for about 30-35 minutes, yielded 24, dusted with powdered sugar.
Thank you so much for this recipe. I baked it with the poor lonely clementines that weren’t getting eaten. It was a hit that was enjoyed by all.
Just made the cake, myself, after having looked forward to doing so since reading the recipe. Baked mine for 30 minutes, and the tester came out clean. It turned out not to be done, in fact, with the top middle still being too soft and moist to resemble cake yet. Probably my own fault, since I thought on putting the cake in that I should let the oven truly get to temperature for another five to ten minutes rather than relying on the oven’s own beeping avowal that it was done preheating; I’ve generally found it’s always better to let it be at temperature for a while before using, but the recipe had me too eager!
I did do the powdered sugar glaze, for the pretty, and liked that for the slight bit of textural difference it added, too. Now I’m thinking a harder glaze might truly help give a little contrast, though I’d reduce the sugar in the cake itself.
Thanks for the recipe! Love reading what you write.
I promised I would make this cake and did tonight (honestly, I was in the mood for something sweet and had all the ingredients). It’s great – very aromatic and surprisingly light, with a really nice texture. I had thought a cream cheese icing would be good, but now think it would make it too sweet. Also, I used an 8-inch spring form pan and the cake took exactly 50 minutes to bake through, although I began checking it at 30 minutes (also covered it with foil then). I was a little short on ground almonds – had about 2 cups – so used 1/3 cup almond paste to make up for that. It didn’t seem to make any difference taste-wise or texturally. Thanks for passing on this unique recipe!
Just made this cake this morning. I used toasted ground walnuts because I am allergic to almonds. First batch of walnuts I ground too much and now have walnut butter! Anyway this cake is very good.I used a 9 inch spring form pan in a 350 degree oven for about 45 minutes. Perfectly baked. Will add an icing because there is a little bitter after taste from the clementine rinds.
Made it! What a weird one! I added in a few tablespoons of flour and some vanilla. I have a 9 inch pan so I used 5 clementines. The texture is really odd for sure. It’s good… it’s just not cake like, it’s really wet and heavy. Oh… and I had to bake it for well over an hour. I am working with a small oven in an Airstream trailer so it is goofy no matter what I am cooking. We dusted it with powdered sugar and then drizzled a wee bit of dark chocolate sauce over that. My boyfriend announced that he could eat the whole thing in one sitting so I guess that means it was worth the effort. I can see where the texture would be a turn off for some peeps though.
I just pulled my cake out of the oven; using three tangelos (freshly picked from my sister’s tree yesterday) in place of clementines (polished off my box a while ago). I can’t wait to taste the final product!
Has anyone else tried this with lemons? I’d like that a go as I will have lemons from my own tree.
Thanks for the great cake!
I made this yesterday and my dad came up with the idea of adding grand marnier to it. That sounded like an excellent idea to me. What do you all think?
I just made this again last week. One of my wintertime standbys. I love it!
I made this and just thought it was… strange.
However, I hand-chopped the almonds into tiny pieces, because of my lack of a food processor. The cake’s texture was gritty. I may be trying this recipe again! The flavor was great!
Made this yesterday for a gluten-free birthday party and thought it was great. I actually made two in smaller springforms and dusted powedered sugar on one and chocolate shavings on the other. They were delicious, but I would definitely bake them a tad longer next time. One cake was very wet, delicious, but wet. I was also thinking about adding a 1/2 cup of rice flour to firm it up a bit, but will first just try baking it longer next time. Thanks for the recipe and great site!!
I think I will bake this cake for my husband. I will tell him that I am baking it in honor of the woman he loves the most in the whole wide world. When he learns its name he will understand. You don’t often find a name with your name on it!
I just made this. It’s cooling on a wire rack right now. I can’t wait to have a piece tomorrow.
Made this cake yesterday, and I have several comments. My cake took about 45 min. to bake, and it was still quite moist (particularly in the center). I was afraid of overbaking it as it was very brown on top and sides. I used an 8-inch non-stick springform pan, and papered the (pre-greased) pan bottom w/parchment paper. Then greased the paper top and sides again. No sticking issues! I used a NEW oven thermometer, and checked for 375 degrees accuracy on my oven. Perhaps 50 min. would have been better than 45 min.– in hindsight. I tasted the cake last night (meh), and again this AM (less on the meh). While Nigella herself says that the Clementine cake tastes best the second day, I’m not sure that it has enough sugar in it for us. You could taste the clementines in the cake, however. The citrus fruits alone were def. sweet enough, as I sampled one before baking the cake. My husband commented today that it was a moist cake, but that was the end of his observation. That it is — quite moist. No choruses of ‘wow’ I would add. Very honestly, while this particular recipe originated with Nigella Lawson, I much prefer Alice Water’s Almond Cake (recipe for that is at Leite’s Culinararia website). No almonds to grind finely, sweeter, and more lovely texture. No problems concerning how long to bake the cake either. Straightforward. If this Clementine cake recipe were tweaked for sweetness and moisture issues, I might have liked it better. Confectioner’s sugar helped it only minimally. Deb’s Mushroom Bourguignon was the better of the two recipes which I made yesterday. THAT was a keeper! Thanks, Deb.
WOW. I was wondering what i was supposed to do with all these citrus out-croppings.
Curious…
This sounds super intriguing to me, not least because I’ve recently been pondering making some kind of clementiney dessert. If I don’t wuss out and buy ground almonds elsewhere, I might just bust out the cheese grater and try Tres Amie’s suggestion. And just because I can’t resist the temptation to mess with a recipe before I make it, I’m wondering whether it would be possible to augment this with a little ricotta. I’m figuring that might improve the texture a bit (and taste good too). I’m also thinking it could use some booze (of course), but I’m undecided about which…any thoughts from the peanut gallery?
Are the almonds ground with skins on or off?
I made this last night, and I really really really wanted to douse it with a mixture of lemon juice, rose water and sugar water (a la middle eastern dessert) to give it more flavor. The tangerines smelled amazing in the food processer, but not much of that orangey flavor seemed to come through in the finished product. I knew it was going to be super moist, so I tried to counteract that by adding 1 tablespoon of flour and baking it for longer than humanly necessary. It turned a nice crispy brown on the outside, which I usually abhor in a sweet baked good, but it only seemed to add to the cake. I drizzled my piece of cake with honey, which helped some. Overall, I wouldn’t make it again, but it’s not bad.
172: Traditionally with the skins off, but you can do it either way. It might change the appearance a bit, and could possibly make it the tiniest of twinges more bitter, but I wouldn’t really worry about either thing.
My husband and I have gone through a few boxes of these little treasures ourselvesl!! Thank goodness Sam’s keeps them in stock. This recipe looks great!!
I made this cake last month, seduced by Nigella on Food Network. I really loved it, Hubby not so much, he didn’t care for the texture of the ground almonds. Next time we make it I’ll grind them finer. I thought it did taste better the next day – more dense.
I know this is a super late comment, but I tried making this with lemons, following the directions to increase the sugar, and it was HORRIBLE. Like deadly bad. Don’t do it! I have a funny feeling Nigella didn’t actually bake it with the lemons, but maybe did a little guess work about the substitution because it was very, very bitter.
Another late comment, but hey. I made this with 3 clementines and 3 small Meyer lemons (from my brother’s tree!). I didn’t change the sugar, because Meyers aren’t that sour. Also my almonds had skins on. I think this is delicious. I will probably make it every so often, and mess around with it (use hazelnuts, chocolate, etc.). Thanks very much!
I picked up a tip from Bakewise by Shirley Corriher – to grind nuts really fine for something like this, put the sugar (or part of it) in the food processor with them, and you can always use a sieve and re-process the larger bits. The ground almonds I had were pretty chunky, so I did this – it seems to have worked really well.
Made it, served it, loved it, making it again this weekend as a pineapple upside down cake. It does brown aggressively around the sides so I’m going to try 350 instead of 375.
Baked this cake and it was awesome! Only thing I will try to do next time is get the almont bits more finely ground. It was kinda crunchy.
This looks absolutely amazing!! My mouth is watering just looking at it. I never thought that anything with so much rind could turn out looking so good, I can almost taste it. I must try this one. Thank you!!
Do you think that you could boil and process the clementines, and then freeze them? That way you could enjoy this treat another time, when clementines are out of season…
Thanks, Deb!
I baked this last night, and it took nearly a full hour in order for a tester to come out clean. Next time (and there WILL be a next time!), I may line the sides of the pan with strips of parchment paper as well.
Baked this tonight in a double batch — 1 in 8″ springform and 1 in 9″ springform. I have 100 Meyer lemons to use (poor me!) so I used all Meyers, and increased the sugar to 1 3/4 c. per cake. I tasted the batter and was sad the boiling took away some of the fragrance of the Meyers, so I added in the zest of 2 more Meyers before putting in pans to bake. The 9″ was done around 50 minutes (perfect), the 8″ went in for a full 60 minutes.
The good: They smell amazing. The crumbs (no slices yet) are moist, delicious, and fragrant. The flavor is a combination of good marmalade with the lemony of Meyers (probably due to the zest). I enjoy the texture, which is very similar to other ground almond cakes I’ve made (which strangely always come from British cooks, e.g. Jamie Oliver — probably because they work so well for Tea).
The not-so-good: Well, first that a double cake meant $20 of almonds. One cake would have been $10 still. Not-so-good. At least the 14 Meyer lemons were free (from my labmate’s backyard). Also, this cake is sticky! It probably has to do with the extra sugar I put in to combat the lemons, and I probably should have put in less (it’s def not bitter), but it also just might be this type of cake. As a result, while the 9″ turned out fine (beautiful golden on all sides), the 8″ adhered to the sides of the springform and ripped way huge amounts when I undid it. Next time I think I’ll line the sides of the pan with parchment.
The end result: I think this cake is a great use for Meyers, and probably a great use for clementines as well. It is certainly has to be far better than Bittman’s *terrible* clementine clafouti which I, too, made last year to great disappointment. The next time I would use Meyers again but line the sides of the pan, use Baker’s Secret instead of butter, and decrease sugar to 1 and 1/3 c sugar. Thanks Deb!
I made this cake this weekend because it really intrigued me – and I love Nigella! It was delicious, although not what I was expecting. It seems kind of muffin-like to me. Mine took 40 minutes also – glad I checked!
My friend had a good suggestion for all of the left-over clementines. Clementine martinis! I will be making those soon!
This cake got RAVE reviews at a dinner party on Saturday; there was one tiny slice left. I purchased almond meal at Whole Foods. The 6 oz. container was $5, and was exactly 2 1/3 cups. I’m going to try to freeze the puree and see whether that works; I’d love to be able to make this year ’round.
I have to say, this is one wonderful cake. I think it’s mis-named, though, because it’s not cakey at all. I do not own an 8″ springform, so made it in an 8″ loose-bottomed pan, with sides maybe 1 1/4″ high, so I couldn’t fit the whole recipe in it. I had to bake the rest in small creme brulee dishes. The cake wouldn’t release from those, because I was to lazy to line them, but released from the 8″ wonderfully. I ground the almonds with about 1/3 cup of Splenda so they wouldn’t turn oily, then used the 3/4 cup of agave that was recommended earlier. I also added a few drops each of almond extract, orange extract, and vanilla extract. The smell while it was baking was amazing, and everyone at work loved it. I wil absolutely make this one again. Thanks again for reminding me of this recipe!!
I just made this as a cupcake! http://the-cooking-of-joy.blogspot.com/2009/01/clementine-cupcakes.html
My house is full of mandrine oranges due to chinese new year and I came across your site and saw this , totally amazing !! making a cake without flour (at least to me,its new :))
I plan to do this this few days and I have some questions to ask .. is it a MUST to boil the clementine?whats the purpose of doing so?(just curious)
I just put this in the oven…. smells delicious!
Oranges are on sale this week, I got beautiful clementines, blood oranges that are amazing (the red ones, as opposed to the blood ones that distubed my four year old), I’ve got Calla? that I’ve never tried and tangellos. We shouldn’t get another cold this winter!
So thanks for the recipe!
Oh and while I did boil the oranges, I’m curious (off to google) as to why you need to boil them. I make “Sunshine Muffins” and blend the entire orange without boiling and they aren’t at all bitter. I may try this again without boiling to taste the difference. HOWEVER, the smell of boiling citrus fruit is incredibly refreshing in the kitchen :)
Baked it and blogged it.
Come to think of it, it IS curious why the oranges need to be boiled at all. Let us know, April!
The idea is to remove the bitterness. When candying citrus peels, you also boil them a few times in water.
I’ve been longing to make this and just found ground almonds in the market — at $15 for a bag!!! Yowza, that’s expensive. Has anyone found them cheaper? This was the Bob’s Red Mill brand.
(But I did get some spelt flour for your crackers — I made them twice with regular flour and they were great, so can’t wait to see how the spelt tastes!)
try trader joe’s 4 the almonds
made this cake this weekend & it was still a little bitter…
should the clementines be cooked longer?
also, it sunk significantly after cooling…what is my problem?
Janet: You should be able to buy other brands of almond meal cheaper online, although a more convenient option would be to buy blanched almonds in a grocery store (I think they run about $7/lb, but don’t quote me on that) and then just grind them up at home with a food processor.
deana: When I made this cake, the top domed up quite a bit during baking and then fell when it cooled, so the result ended up being a flat(ish) top. It domed up so much, in fact, that it would’ve stuck to the aluminum foil if I had used it (which I didn’t). Maybe you need more baking powder? I used 2 tsp for a 10″ cake.
What a treat!
I had to try this cake. My springform is slightly bigger (10.5in), and I ended up using 8 clementines, 7 eggs, 300g (10.6oz) of ground almonds and 180g (little less than 3/4cups) of sugar, 1tsp baking powder; most recipes turn out to be too sweet for me, so I usually reduce the sugar. I baked it at 375F for 35-40min and it turned out so yummy and good. My husband is already on this 4th piece!
Two tips from me:
If the cake is slightly bitter, I suggest switching the wateronce or twice during the boiling process. My clementines looked deflated as well, after 2hrs of boiling, but I didn’t think much of it and just smashed and purred them.
Homemade almond meal: if you add the sugar to the almonds it will prevent them from becoming pasty-oily.
I made this last night and ate it with my husband and co-workers this morning. It was so moist and delicious! One of our student workers with a gluten allergy begged me for the recipe.
I used one lemon and three clementines, and over 1 and 1/4 cups of sugar. I did change the water the fruit boiled in about halfway through, because I used too small of a pan and the initial water had all boiled away. Almonds I got at Trader Joes (just 4.49 per pound), and buzzed them in the food processor.
The cake was brown but not finished baking at 30 minutes. I ended up baking it for about 45 minutes with foil over the top for the last 5.
We make this all the time at home (Australia) from Navel oranges and it is always a huge hit. Fantastic with chocolate anything, and clotted/double cream or creme fraiche! If you’re making your own almond meal don’t toast the almonds or they won’t soak up the liquid in the cake properly, and grind them really, really finely. I even re-grind store bought sometimes. Also, it’s a good idea to measure the amount of puree your 4 clementines produce – some are larger than others, and the amount can be varied next time if it comes out too soggy. We find it doesn’t help much to just cook it for ages longer. Better to reduce the amount of liquid a bit. And grand marnier in it is fantastic!!
I finally got around to making this tonight. I read some of the comments about the texture in the middle, so I decided to make cupcakes. They turned out great! I was able to get 22 standard cupcakes out of the recipe, and I baked them for 25 minutes. My husband likes them with a bit of whipped cream, but they’re good plain too. Thanks for the recipe!
I just made this last night with kumquats. I didn’t even deseed them because i’m being a major bum. instead, i processed them longer. I wished at that point i have one of those super vitamix blenders… I can hardly taste the seeds in the cake; so i was relieved.
I had a piece while it is still warm and it is pretty good. I think i might want to have it with some chocolate sauce or something after i get back today. I think i’m missing the chocolate component in this dessert though. I wonder how “bad” this cake is. All this baking is killing me.
I made this on Saturday and I loved it. Someone wrote in the comments that it was bland, but mine came out SUPER flavorful. I could not believe how citusy it tasted and I can’t wait to experiment more with boiled citrus in cakes.
I used two super ripe meyer lemons from my aunt’s tree and two clementines from my CSA box. I also adjusted the sugar to 1 1/4 cups.
My only issue was that it was very fragile once baked. However, I don’t think I let it cool enough before handling and that may have been my issue. Awsome!
I made this recipe in a 10″ springform and it turned out perfectly! Also, I used tangerines instead of clementines, and sprinkled it liberally with powdered sugar. With a little vanilla ice cream, it turned into the perfect creamsicle dessert.
This is a wonderful cake with a deeply complex flavor. I wouldn’t serve it for a kids’ party, but if you have sophisticated palates at your table, and particularly after a rich meal, they’ll love it. Try using “Bob’s Red Mill” almond flour, available at most health foods stores and Whole Foods. It is fluffy and finely ground and works better in this recipe than the almonds ground with the skins. The cake lasted four days in our household of only two persons, and it got better each day, trust me on this (I kept it wrapped tightly and refrigerated though). Thus, it’s an excellent “make ahead” dessert.
Forgot to mention that I added a heaping tablespoon of fresh ground ginger and about a fourth cup of chopped candied ginger to the cake recipe. Good additions, I think.
I absolutely agree with Barbara’s comments, a fabulous cake to serve after a rich meal, though with great complexity. Also enjoyed it for breakfast and at tea time (with a cup of white or roibos tea). Would absolutely recommend buying pre-roasted almonds (unsalted) and not attempting to use raw. Even toasting them by hand, there was still quite a bit of moisture in them which complicated the grinding/flouring process. Hard work with the coffee grinder but I enjoyed the ride. Mine too held up well and got better with age, even un-refridgerated. Baked in exactly 45 minutes in a 10 inch springform.
I just spotted your blog, and I cannot stop flipping from one recipe to another.. this is an amazing blog!!!!
thank you so much for all the great recipe you are sharing..
I wish I spotted this recipe before i went shopping today,
did yu try using almond paste instead of ground almond???
or the recipe will change??
I made this Nigella Lawson cake a few years ago for a Christmas party and everyone loved it…it’s not the prettiest cake but it tastes great..yum!
Great success with the cake yesterday evening and for the leftovers at the office this morning ! As clementines are not currently in season, I used oranges (3 big organic ones) and I did not have to increase the sugar proportion…Moist, slightly bitter, definitely for the adults…very very nice…and the kitchen had this wonderful orange smell for the whole day…
PS: my little secret: 1 added 2 teaspoons of orange blossom water to the recipe…
Hey! This cake sounds great and I love clementines. One question: my boyfriend is horribly allergic to nuts. Is there anything I could substitute for the ground almonds?? Thank you for this recipe!
I am so happy to see this recipe on your site! I have been wanting to try it, but too scared that it wouldn’t work out. Here is my question: I am almond intolerant. I don’t know if it I am technically allergic, but they really don’t agree with me at all. Do you have any suggestions for substitutions for the almond flour? I was thinking hazelnut might be good…or possibly macadamia or cashew. Maybe something that doesn’t have a lot of flavor itself and then add some almond extract? (which is I actually can tolerate just fine). I would live to hear from you!
I have never used ground almonds in a recipe before and I don’t think I ground them up enough. The consistency of the cake was disgusting. I had to throw the whole thing away. It would have been helpful if the recipe desrcribed what the consistency of the almonds should have been.