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
Bewitching Kitchen 
A heavenly cake! Delightfully citrusy.
Cheers,
Rosa
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Delightfully citrusy indeed….
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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 🙂
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I do keep trying Sonya, but somehow disaster seem to happen, every single time..
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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!
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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…. 🙂
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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. 🙂
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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….
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I love how it looks all cutted in slices. Perfect for me!
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Yes, definitely the slices looked a lot better than “some regions” of the cake… 🙂
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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!
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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… :()
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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!
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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?
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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.
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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)
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seu bolo ficou lindão, apesar dos pesares, mas esqueça isto! bj
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pois e’, Angela.. apesar dos pesares e’ perfeito… 🙂
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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.
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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!
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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.
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Thanks, Mary! citrus cakes are hard to beat, unless it’s a flourless choc cake, then my name is all over it! 😉
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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.
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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
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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.
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Orange liqueur? I’m in. Looks right tasty!
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I imagine it would be awesome with it in place of the extract. Maybe next time…
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Lovely cake! Something to make for tea. I like your drama equation.
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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.
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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!
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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!
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thank you, Sally! will make the recipe now!
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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
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Yeah! Some of them might be crucial…
No problem! Glad I could help fix a recipe for the future readers!
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DONE! Fixed the text – actually the eggs were also missing…. (sigh) and also fixed the PDF file
thanks again, and sorry for the stress!
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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!
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