Gluten- & guilt-free clementine (mandarin) cake
My birthday is on the 20th of December. Every year since I was a little kid, I’ve been having a party either the weekend before or the one after my birthday (usually before). This year, however, I decided to have my party a couple of weeks earlier, on the 8th of the month. Amongst the finger food and a large selection of mince pies from Waitrose, I also decided to bake my Caribbean-inspired banana and papaya bread. It would perfectly compliment the tropical guava rum punch cocktail I had already prepared. But then I realized that one of my friends was gluten-intolerant, so she wouldn’t enjoy the banana and papaya bread. As much as this is a crowd favorite amongst my friends, my all-time personal favorite is Nigella’s clementine cake. I, however, decided to give it a small healthier twist.
I love clementine cake for a number of reasons. First, being such an aromatic and moist cake, it reminds me of ravani (or revani), a very sweet semolina cake with orange syrup from Northern Greece. Second, it can taste as good all year round. Served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream in the summer, or alongside the Christmas classics in the winter. Third, these small citrus fruits are loaded with vitamin C, and other micronutrients (potassium, choline and folate) and antioxidants. Last but not least, it is a very easy cake to bake; it calls for only five main ingredients: clementines (mandarins), ground almonds, eggs, sugar and baking powder. As I have recently been trying to reduce my sugar intake, I have been substituting sugar with honey when baking. I have now done the same with the clementine cake, and it works very well. So, here is the recipe:
Gluten- & guilt-free clementine (mandarin) cake
Ingredients:
- 3 clementines (you could use other types of mandarins, such as tangerines or satsumas, or even other citrus fruits; total weight should be 375 grams)
- 250 grams ground almonds
- 6 eggs
- 2/3 cup honey
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/8 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (optional)
Method:
- Bring a pan with water to the boil, add the clementines (whole) and simmer for 2 hours.
- Drain, and let the clementines cool down.
- Cut the clementines in quarters, and blend them.
- Preheatoven to 180 degrees. Line a 7- or 8-inch round tin with baking paper.
- Mix all the ingredients in a large bowl (no mixer required).
- Pour the batter in the prepared tin and cover with tin foil. Remove the tin foil halfway through the bake. Bake for 60-70 minutes until the cake is deep golden brown and a skewer inserted into center comes out clean. Set aside for 10 minutes before turning onto a wire rack to cool.
Inspired by my recent holidays in Martinique, and to further compliment the clementine cake, I have prepared this tropical guava rum punch cocktail; like the cake, it also tastes as good all year round. Guava rum punch cocktail
Guava rum punch cocktail
Ingredients:
- 120 mls (4 oz) guava juice
- 90 mls (3 oz) pineapple juice
- 90 mls (3 oz) rum
- 30 mls (1 oz) coconut cream
- Juice from 1 lime (2 tablespoons)
- 1 tablespoon honey
Method:
Place all the ingredients into a shaker. Shake well. Strain into glasses filled with ice.
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Cheers, it’s Christmas!
Alex
(the Traveling Psychiatrist)
Further reading
If you would like to read more about the health benefits of clementines, check out this post (it also includes a recipe for a holiday clementine salad).
To bake my Caribbean-inspired banana and papaya bread, check out my post ‘Nutritious & Delicious: Caribbean-inspired exotic fruit breads’.
If you enjoy baking with citrus fruits, checkout my post ‘Recipe: Alex’s portokalopita (orange pie)’.
To bake revani, check out this recipe by Akis Petretzikis.
Bon appétit!
Καλή όρεξη!
Alex
(the Traveling Psychiatrist)