I was never a fan of oranges until I recently visited Seville. One of the specialties in Seville are their Oranges. You love it or hate it, but you just can't ignore those orange trees in Seville. I was completely enthralled when I saw hundreds of oranges hanging from trees, many sploshed on roads and nobody even cared or dared to pluck / pick them. Later on, I came to know that the Seville oranges have a bitter taste to them and having very few seeds, these oranges make the perfect base for marmalade. Their aroma is similar to that of other oranges, but they have a more potent “orange” flavor. There are thousands of orange trees lined the streets of Seville and when these trees are flowering, the tree lets out a citrusy fresh aroma and the fragrance linger for a long time throughout the city. This orange-y punch made me drink freshly squeezed orange juice three times a day during my 2 weeks stay in Spain. :)
My love for oranges still continues and I recently got an opportunity to bake a birthday cake for my lovely colleague and friend Pramila. I chose to bake a Clementine cake, Clementine being one of the sweetest variety of oranges and also I wanted to have that orange-y touch to my baking. An easy peasy cake which when baked will leave your home smelling with oranges and give you that Sevillian feel. Trust me!!
Ingredients
- 175 g / 6oz butter, softened, plus extra for greasing
- 2 clementines (or any variety of orange)
- 175 g / 6 oz caster sugar
- 3 eggs, lightly beaten
- 175 g / 6oz self-raising flour
- 3 tbsp ground almonds
- 3 tbsp single cream
Glaze and Topping
- 6 tbsp clementine juice (freshly squeezed orange juice)
- 2 tbsp caster sugar
- Icing sugar to sprinkle on top
- Preheat the oven to 180 degree Celsius. Grease an 18 cm / 7 inch round cake tin and base line with non-stick baking paper.
- Grate the zest from two clementines.
- Cream the butter, sugar and clementine zest together in a bowl until pale and fluffy.
- Add the eggs little at a time, beating well after each addition.
- Gently fold in the flour, ground almonds and cream. Spoon the mixture into the prepared tin.
- Bake in the pre heated oven for 55-60 minutes or until a skewer when inserted in the centre comes out clean. Leave the cake to cool.
Glaze
- Meanwhile to make the glaze, put the clementine juice in a small saucepan with the caster sugar over a medium-low heat. Bring it to boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 5 minutes.
- Turn out the cake onto a wire rack. Poke the cake with the skewers on several places and drizzle the glaze over the cake until it has absorbed completely.
- Sprinkle the icing sugar over the cake.
Calories in a clementine are smaller than an orange and have a much thinner flesh that is a deeper orange color.
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