This beautifully simple Clementine cake recipe is made with whole clementines and it's gluten-free and dairy-free, making it a great option for a holiday dessert.
I love this clementine cake, and it's one of my favourite desserts to bake during the colder months.
It also makes an excellent Christmas dessert, that you can conveniently bake and freeze in advance.
This beautiful easy clementine cake is soft and spongy, with a slightly moist and sticky texture.
It's loaded with citrus flavour and it's made without flour, butter or oil, making it completely gluten-free and dairy-free.
If you have been following The Petite Cook for a while, you know I like to make free-from desserts (such as my magic water cake, flourless Nutella brownies, or these vegan and gluten-free cookies).
This flourless citrus cake is no exception, and makes a fantastic allergy-friendly dessert, no matter the occasion!
WHOLE CLEMENTINE CAKE
This unique cake is inspired by a traditional Sicilian dessert called "Pan d'arancio", which means orange bread in Italian.
It's characterized by an intense citrus flavor, given by the use of whole oranges, including the peel.
This clementine cake recipe is made with clementines instead of oranges (but you can definitely substitute them if you like) and follows this quite unique method.
You boil the clementines, then blitz them in the food processor, rind and all, with the remaining ingredients to make the batter.
This technique is one of the most impressive things I've learned as a home baker.
There's no waste and allows the clementines to play a starring role and give a deep aromatic flavour to the cake.
There aren't many cake recipes that you can make all in the bowl of your food processor, so this is an extra added bonus!
INGREDIENTS
All you need to make this almond and clementine cake is just 5 ingredients:
- Whole clementines: Since you're using the peel and all, go for organic clementines and wash them well before use.
- Almond flour: It's just ground almonds. You can use almond flour (made with blanched almonds) or almond meal (made with raw almonds).
- Sugar: I use light raw cane sugar, regular sugar works just fine here.
- Eggs: Use Free-range medium-large eggs, they're about 55 - 60g / 2 oz each.
- Baking powder: Make sure you're using gluten-free baking powder if you have dietary restrictions.
DECORATION
Just like many Italian cakes, this is one of those beautifully simple cakes that doesn't really need decorations at all.
However, if you want to impress your family and friends, here are a few extra topping options:
- Simple glaze: made with confectioner's sugar and clementine juice. Cut the sugar in the cake recipe by 1 tablespoon, so that it's not too sweet.
- Mascarpone frosting: made with mascarpone cheese, this is my favorite cake frostings and works really well if you want your cake super rich and decadent.
- Confectioner's sugar: a little dust of confectioner's sugar is the most simple way to decorate the cake without affecting its flavour.
- Jam glaze: top the dessert with a simple orange jam glaze for extra citrus flavour.
- Almonds: toasted slivered almonds make an excellent topping, to make them stick, brush the surface of the cake with a thin layer of orange jam or greek yogurt.
HOW TO MAKE CLEMENTINE CAKE
This super easy citrus dessert is ready in 4 simple steps and with really little effort.
*Scroll down until the end of the post for the full printable recipe*
STEP 1 - Place clementines in a pot and cover them with cold water. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 50 minutes and drain.
STEP 2 - Whisk the eggs with the sugar until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
STEP 3 - Cut the clementines in half, remove any seeds, then blitz them in a food processor until pureed.
STEP 4 - Add the whisked eggs, almond flour, baking powder, sugar, and optional orange zest in the food processor. Blitz for 5 - 10 seconds until combined.
STEP 5 - Pour the batter into a cake pan. Bake for 50 minutes until the surface is golden and a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean.
STEP 6- Once the cake is ready, remove it from the oven and allow it to cool completely in the pan.
Feel free to top it with one of the decoration options above and serve.
BAKING TIPS
- To make things quicker, boil the clementines the night before, drain them, and store them in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Proceed with the recipe the next day.
- Clementines size may vary, so opt for a scale to make sure you have enough. You don't need to be extra precise, anything between 350g to 400g of clementines will be okay.
- I use a standard food processor, which is just big enough for the batter. Alternatively, blitz the clementines, then transfer into a bowl and whisk in the remaining ingredients.
- I like to use a square cake pan, as it makes pretty individual servings, but you can use a regular round cake tin.
- You can use a 23cm/9" cake pan or if you want the cake a bit taller, go for 20cm / 8" cake pan.
- Once baked, cool the cake in the pan – it’s too delicate to remove it while it's warm.
- Store your prepared cake in an airtight container in the pantry for up to 5 days, though if if your pantry is warm, then it's recommended to keep in the fridge.
RECIPE FAQs
Yes, absolutely! You can substitute the clementines with an equal amount of oranges, mandarins, or tangerines.
The short answer is yes. Although the traditional Sicilian recipe calls for unboiled citrus fruit, I recommend you boil them first. Boiling the clementines removes the bitterness from the peel and white pith.
Yes! It freezes beautifully, so it's a great make-ahead dessert for Thanksgiving and Christmas!
Let the baked cake cool completely, and then wrap it in plastic wrap whole or wrap individual slices.
Then store it in an airtight container or in ziplock bags.
You can safely freeze it for up to 1 month.
To defrost, place it in the fridge overnight. Once it has completely defrosted, pour the glaze (if using) over the top.
You could substitute blanched almond flour with almond flour (ground raw almonds). Your cake will be a little darker because almond meal has bits of almond skin in it.
Do not substitute almond flour with all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, coconut flour, or any other kind of flour, as the recipe won't work.
MORE ITALIAN DESSERT RECIPES TO TRY
Looking for more holiday dessert recipes? Try these Christmas-perfect Italian desserts:
DID YOU TRY THIS RECIPE?
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Recipe
Easy Clementine Cake
Ingredients
- 375 g clementines, approx. 5 medium-sized ones
- 6 medium-large eggs
- 225 g sugar
- 250 g almond flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon orange zest, optional
For the glaze:
- 50 g powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon clementine or orange juice
Instructions
- Place the clementines in a pot and cover with cold water. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 50 minutes and drain.
- Preheat oven to 180ºC/160°C Fan/360ºF. Grease and line with parchment paper a 20cm / 8-inch cake tin. Arrange a baking rack onto the middle shelf of the oven.
- Once cool, cut the clementines in half and remove any seeds, then place them in the bowl of a food processor and blend until pureed and creamy, about 1 minute.
- In a large bowl whisk the eggs with the sugar until light and pale, about 3 minutes.
- Add the whisked eggs, almond flour, baking powder, and optional orange zest in the food processor. Blitz for 5 - 10 seconds until combined.
- Pour the batter into a cake pan. Bake for 50 minutes until the surface is golden and a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean. After 40 minutes, you might need to cover the cake with foil to prevent the surface from browning too much.
- Remove the pan from the oven and arrange it over a cooling rack, but leave the cake in the pan to cool.
- Mix the glaze ingredients until you have a thick but spreadable glaze. Pour it over the top of the clementine cake and serve.
Notes
- To make things quicker, boil the clementines the night before, drain them, and store them in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Proceed with the recipe the next day.
- Clementines size may vary, so opt for a scale to make sure you have enough. You don't need to be extra precise, anything between 350 g to 400 g of clementines will be okay.
- I use a standard food processor, which is just big enough for the batter. Alternatively, blitz the clementines, then transfer them into a bowl and whisk in the remaining ingredients.
- I like to use a square cake pan, as it makes pretty individual servings, but you can use a regular round cake tin.
- You can use a 23cm/9" cake pan or if you want the cake a bit taller, go for 20cm / 8" cake pan.
- Once baked, cool the cake in the pan – it’s too delicate to remove it while it's warm.
- Store your prepared cake in an airtight container in the pantry for up to 5 days, though if if your pantry is warm, then it's recommended to keep in the fridge.
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
Jane Diver says
Hi,
I made this as my first test bake in my new Instant Airfryer.
It’s absolutely delicious!
I love cakes with ground almonds, I made a blood orange icing and it’s to die for!
Thank you 🙏
Lauren says
Is almond flour the same as just normal ground almonds? Struggling to find “almond flour” in a supermarket near me 🥴
Andrea says
Hi Lauren, almond flour is basically fine ground almonds 🙂 I make my own and usually go for blanched almonds.
Mary Ellen says
This cake was delicious! I had a hard time with converting grams to ounces and think my cake could have used a tablespoon or two more of the almond flour. Everyone loved it and other then stressing about the grams it was easy and fast. I boiled the clementines the night before.
Andrea says
Hi Mary, I'm so happy to hear that, this is one of my all time favorite cakes! About the conversion, under the ingredient list, you can find the buttons Metric and US Customary, so you can easily switch between grams and US cups 🙂
Laurie says
I am diabetic. Can I use a sugar substitute in this recipe? I love that it is flourless.
Andrea says
Hi Laurie! I've only tried making this cake with regular sugar, so I can't really advise about sugar substitutes. But if you give it a try, please let me know, I'm sure it will be super helpful for the other readers!
Courtney @ FitCakes says
Oh man, I wanted to share these lovely pics with my Fruit Dessert Roundup coming up, but they won't let me copy them!
The Petite Cook says
Hi Courtney, I'm so happy you like these delicious cake bars :). Please send me an email or write me on my facebook page so I can send you everything you need! helloATwww.thepetitecook.com
casey says
I'm allergic to almonds. I would really like to make this but I'm not sure what to substitute. Please help.
The Petite Cook says
Hi Casey, have you tried substituting with cashew nuts? It should work just fine 🙂