This is a fantastically easy cake and flourless so good for people with wheat intolerances. I was a little dubious about including fruit pith but it does work brilliantly with any clementines or satsumas which you may just have still hanging around from Christmas. Apparently lemons work too with a little extra sugar. I might try a mixture next time .
Though Nigella Lawsons original recipes said to initially cook the fruit for an hour I found 20 minutes of a fast simmer worked fine softening the fruit perfectly.
I served it as dessert for Christmas Eve dinner topped with whipped cream , satsuma slices and some chopped stem ginger . It was so good and got eaten so fast I have already made it again it keeps perfectly for at least two weeks , growing more and more moist.
Clementine and Almond Cake
6 clementines (about 300g total weight)
6 eggs
250g of caster sugar
300g of ground almonds
1 heaping teaspoon baking powder
Method
- Put the clementines in a pot pour over boiling water and bring to the boil , simmer fast for 25 minutes .
- Drain and, when cool, cut each clementine in half and remove the seeds. Then finely chop the skins, pith, and fruit in the processor .
- Preheat the oven to 190degC and line an 8-inch springform pan with greaseproof paper
- Beat the eggs til frothy and add the sugar, almonds, and baking powder.
- Mix well, adding the chopped clementines.
- Pour the cake mixture into the prepared pan and bake for 1 hour, you will have to cover the cake with foil after about 40 minutes to stop the top from burning.
- Remove from the oven and leave to cool, in the pan on a rack.
Girl Interrupted Eating 
I tried to make this last year and it was a disaster, I think because I didn’t have a processor. Yours looks lovely though and I really like the sound of the way you served it.
Looks really moist and a great way of using the bags of clementines I keep buying, then abandoning to the fruit bowl!
Agree, it’s a real winner. I now also add a drop or two of decent almond essence and sometimes orange flower water as it’s vaguely eastern in style.
For a non-dairy-eating friend this Xmas I added a quick cheat pouring sauce made from chunky Oxford marmalade, warmed up with blood orange juice, a dash of orange flower water and a slug of brandy. Everyone else had it too, so i guess it worked!
I’ve been meaning to make this, yours turned out beautifully!
Happy New Year Becky!
I am sure with your amazing baking talent Nicisme it would turn out even better so would love to see what you do with it . The recipe seems foolproof if you use a foodprocessor or blender to break down the fruit . It keeps getting better with age to more moist and fruity thought I suspect the fruit may be beggining turn to alcohol
I really want to try and make this for a friend’s birthday this friday as it sounds gorgeous and different from the average sponge. I just wanted to ask if it was okay to use a blender instead of a food processor, I’ve been told it doesn’t quite work the same? It’s an amazing recipe though, thank you.
Rosie
I think it would still work in a blender if you cooked the clementines till then were very soft , Nigella Lawson says an hour. Best wishes
Do you think this would work as cupcakes? I’m trying to make a luxury cupcakes for a friend’s wedding and looking for inspiration. Any other ideas gratefully received.
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