Clementines will always remind me of my stepson Alex, as he and his Dad would sit together devouring a few of them after dinner or mid-afternoon on weekends. We made sure to keep a backup bag stored away, just in case. In our neck of the woods, they are sold as cuties, a well-chosen name. This cake – made in the food processor – is supposed to be very easy. Of course, Sally + Cake = Drama. But it ended reasonably well, except for a burn on my right hand. Actually, two burns. A sticky kitchen floor. And a major spill of orange extract.
CLEMENTINE CAKE
(From Razzle Dazzle Recipes)
Cake:
3 clementines
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
3/4 cup softened butter
3 eggs
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
pinch of salt
Icing:
1 clementine
2 tablespoons softened butter
1 1/3 cups confectioners’ sugar
1 tablespoon orange liqueur (I used orange extract, about 1/4 tsp)
Grease an 8-cup bundt pan. Peel clementines; cut into quarters. If there are seeds, remove them (they are normally seedless). Process with sugar in food processor until smooth. Add butter, then eggs; processing after each addition until smooth. Add flour, baking powder, and pinch of salt; process until combined. Spoon into prepared pan. Bake in 350-degree oven for 40 to 50 minutes or until golden. Cool on rack for 10 minutes. Remove cake from pan.
For icing: Grate and squeeze juice from clementine. In food processor, measure 1 teaspoon rind and 2 tablespoons juice; add butter, confectioners’ sugar and liqueur. Process until smooth. Drizzle over cake.
ENJOY!
to print the recipe, click here
At some point I would like to be able to bake a cake smoothly. No bumps, no boo-boos. In this particular case, the cake part went fine, except for the fact that since our oven is a perverse piece of equipment, I had to keep moving the pan around to try to cook it evenly. Burned my hand twice in the process, touching the grids. I thought I was off the hook, and proceeded to make the icing. Knowing how powdered sugar has a tendency to make a mess, I was extra careful measuring the first cup, and then, all confident in my flawless technique, grabbed the 1/3 measuring cup but the bag literally Poltergeisted on me! Powdered sugar everywhere, counter, floor, rug, my shoes… Truth be told, not the first time it happened, and I suspect it won’t be the last. (sigh) No time to clean then, just chased the dogs away, failing to notice I had the bottle of orange extract already open next to the food processor. I bumped it. Double mess to clean up, a sticky mixture of powdered sugar and orange extract. Its smell lingered for a looong while…
Although I greased the pan well, some parts of the cake stuck while unmolding. I went Zen, and carefully lifted the stuck parts, patching them nicely back on top of the cake. I expected the icing to hide my poor baking skills. That takes me to the icing part. Since I did not have orange liqueur and the orange extract seemed quite strong, I reduced the amount to 1/4 teaspoon. Eyeballed a little water to compensate. It seemed too thick, so I added more water. That was a mistake in judgment. The icing ended up too thin and failed to cover the cut and paste job on the surface of the cake. It explains why you only see a close-up photo of my production… I may not know how to bake a perfect cake, but I can point the camera like a pro! 😉 Anyway, I took the cake to the department already sliced, so the boo-boos were less evident.
The cake has a very intense clementine flavor, if you like cakes that are not too sweet, this is a great option. Of course, it does have a lot of sugar in it, but the clementine juice and zest comes through loud and clear. A perfect cake to make graduate students happy. And lots of staff and faculty members too…
ONE YEAR AGO: Springtime Spinach Risotto
TWO YEARS AGO: The end of green bean cruelty
THREE YEARS AGO: Torta di Limone e Mandorle
A heavenly cake! Delightfully citrusy.
Cheers,
Rosa
LikeLike
Delightfully citrusy indeed….
LikeLike
Sally, too funny! Powdered sugar is a dangerous substance indeed!
I really cannot understand how you can make masterpieces in form of bread and be afraid of cake, that is so much easier, less “finicky”
keep trying, I know you will soon post a trouble-free layered cake with icing on top 🙂
LikeLike
I do keep trying Sonya, but somehow disaster seem to happen, every single time..
LikeLike
One of my sons could eat a bag of clementines in one sitting. I am laughing about your cake escapades. I’d so rather make bread!
LikeLike
Me too… give me some bread recipe anytime… in fact, I am a happy camper now, with a little starter getting ready for a bread tomorrow…. 🙂
LikeLike
It’s too bad Mike’s not at the same university as you both. Not only would it be a pleasure to be closer, but you sure keep your department well-fed with delicious treats. This looks heavenly. I’m with you on the cake baking issue. I should try your going Zen trick. I have my summer birthdays coming up and Mr. N has been known to request a cake every now and then. I think I’m going to suggest this one for Miss A though – she is my orange juice and cutie junkie. 🙂
LikeLike
Wouldn’t it be wonderful to be in the same department? Or at least the same university? Well, who knows… maybe we’ll get to meet somehow….
LikeLike
I love how it looks all cutted in slices. Perfect for me!
LikeLike
Yes, definitely the slices looked a lot better than “some regions” of the cake… 🙂
LikeLike
I pretty much always end up burnt when I make cake so don’t feel bad! I wasn’t as into citrus this year as I normally am but maybe I should make this cake before the season is totally over! It sounds quite refreshing and delicious!
LikeLike
Burn number 1 won’t leave a scar. Burn number 2 was a bad one. One would think that after being burnt once I would be more careful… noooo, not the case. I will have a scar for a while (for life?… maybe… :()
LikeLike
Sorry about your hands – ouch! It’s a funny thing baking, I have a reliable gas stove/oven but even at that, I can’t seem to avoid the lumps and pumps either – cheesecakes are a particular challenge – and yet, still very edible ;-). This looks delicious Sally – I love the idea of a clementine cake and the chunky pieces look amazing!
LikeLike
well, it was only one hand… one hand, two burns. I am extremely efficient 🙂
Did you know I have never made a cheesecake? Ever? I know, unreal, right?
LikeLike
Being a former graduate student myself and having attended more than a few pot-lucks in my day, I concur with your comment that food makes graduate students happy. Any kind of food. 🙂
I often burn myself when I bake or cook as well. And then there are the sliced fingers.
The cake looks good whether as a whole or in pieces.
LikeLike
Sliced fingers… ouch! I am not sure what I hate the most – of course, I do both kinds of boo-boos on a regular basis. (sigh)
LikeLike
seu bolo ficou lindão, apesar dos pesares, mas esqueça isto! bj
LikeLike
pois e’, Angela.. apesar dos pesares e’ perfeito… 🙂
LikeLike
Well, Sally, I learned something new here today. You and I must never attempt to bake something together. No telling how far the devastation would stretch nor how many lives would be lost. Still, I do love my Cuties, though, and the thought of having cake that tastes like them is very enticing. If only I hadn’t thrown out my bundt pan — cake included — the last time I tried to use it. See? Never in the same kitchen.
LikeLike
My gosh, John! from your Bundt cake episode, there is really no telling how many lives would be lost if you and I share the same kitchen with any type of cake in mind….
let’s avoid that – but I’m up for some home made pasta and sugo a la Bolognese!
LikeLike
I hope those burns heal quickly. The finished cake is lovely and I can’t wait to try it. I love citrus flavor so your recipe has my name written all over it 🙂 I hope your weekend is off to a great start.Blessings…Mary.
LikeLike
Thanks, Mary! citrus cakes are hard to beat, unless it’s a flourless choc cake, then my name is all over it! 😉
LikeLike
This is such a lovely cake. I love clementine and can’t wait to get some fresh ones from my In-Law’s garden to make this cake. It’s okay if the cake doesn’t look “perfect”, I’m sure it tastes perfect. 😉 You don’t know how many times a cake stuck in a cake pan in my kitchen, and the worst is that it refused to come out no matter what I did! hahaha….so, it’s okay. Hope you’re enjoying your weekend so far. Take care.
LikeLike
We are one on the cake front, cake is an ordeal, so finicky in its cooking times, give me bread to make and I relax 🙂 That does look good though! Have you ever made the Claudia Roden one where you cook the clementines or oranges whole and mix with ground almonds? long time since I did. Tastes fabulous and whole house smells wonderful while they cook http://www.lovefood.com/guide/recipes/11389/claudia-rodens-orange-and-almond-cake
LikeLike
I love cakes with almond flour or ground almonds! I am going to keep that recipe in mind for the future. Of course, you know that I can only bake one cake per couple of months maximum. More often than that and the known universe is at risk.
LikeLike
Orange liqueur? I’m in. Looks right tasty!
LikeLike
I imagine it would be awesome with it in place of the extract. Maybe next time…
LikeLike
Lovely cake! Something to make for tea. I like your drama equation.
LikeLike
What a beautiful cake, Sally. It looks so very moist. Clementines remind me of my husband. He can eat a pound in one sitting. Thank you for sharing. Another lovely recipe and another lovely post.
LikeLike
Pingback: Strawberry Cake {Secret Recipe Club} - Homemade Cravings
Dear Sally, almost started making this recipe since we’re having a crazy all-tangerine season here in Russia (thought to use them instead of clementines). I couldn’t figure out where and when the butter comes in? After I mix the fruit with sugar? Thank you!
LikeLike
I am so sorry! you are correct, add the butter right after processing the sugar with the fruit, then add the eggs
I will work on editing this post later today!
LikeLike
thank you, Sally! will make the recipe now!
LikeLike
Gotta admire cookbook authors, don’t you think? It’s so easy to miss stuff in a recipe, print the wrong amounts, etc etc.
oh, well…. glad you picked this problem and let me know – I gotta work this morning, but should have an opportunity to fix it all in the afternoon
LikeLike
Yeah! Some of them might be crucial…
No problem! Glad I could help fix a recipe for the future readers!
LikeLike
DONE! Fixed the text – actually the eggs were also missing…. (sigh) and also fixed the PDF file
thanks again, and sorry for the stress!
LikeLike
No worries! I skipped the eggs, I mean, I actually just forgot to add them… but the cake is super moist and sweet although less puffy because there are no eggs. But good anyway! Thanks for the recipe!
LikeLike