Easy Clementine Cake

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: Italian

Prep Time: 5

Cook Time: 50

Boiling time: 50

Total Time: 1 45

Servings:

Calories: 337kcal

Author: Andrea Soranidis

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.

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Metric - US Customary

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