Sticky clementine cake

Name: Sticky clementine cake
Yield: Serves 12
Cuisine: British recipes

Easy
January 2014

Easy
January 2014

Serves 12
Hands-on time 20 min, simmering time 2 hours, oven time 1 hour

Moist, soft and fruity, this clementine cake is both gluten and dairy-free. It makes a moreish pudding or tea-time treat.

Dairy-free recipes
Gluten-free recipes

Nutrition: per serving

Calories: 305kcals
Fat: 18g (2.1g saturated)
Protein: 9.9g
Carbohydrates: 26.8g (26g sugars)
Fibre: 0.4g
Salt: 0.2g

Nutrition: per serving

Calories: 305kcals
Fat: 18g (2.1g saturated)
Protein: 9.9g
Carbohydrates: 26.8g (26g sugars)
Fibre: 0.4g
Salt: 0.2g

For 12 servings

Rate

Save

Save recipe

Save

Save recipe Print

Rate

Ingredients

5 clementines
Vegetable oil for greasing
275g caster sugar
300g ground almonds
Seeds from 8-10 green cardamom pods, ground to a powder
1 tsp gluten free baking powder
2 tsp vanilla extract
6 large free-range eggs, lightly beaten
Juice 1 lemon
1 cinnamon stick

Ingredients

5 clementines
Vegetable oil for greasing
275g caster sugar
300g ground almonds
Seeds from 8-10 green cardamom pods, ground to a powder
1 tsp gluten free baking powder
2 tsp vanilla extract
6 large free-range eggs, lightly beaten
Juice 1 lemon
1 cinnamon stick

Method

Put 3 of the clementines in a pan of water, bring to the boil and simmer for about 2 hours until really tender, adding more water if necessary. Drain and leave to cool a little. Cut in half and pick out any pips, then whizz the fruit (skin and flesh) to a pulp in a food processor.
Preheat the oven to 180°C/fan160°C/gas 4. Grease a 23cm springform cake tin, then line the base with baking paper.
Put 225g of the caster sugar, the almonds, ground cardamom and baking powder in a large bowl. Stir, then make a well in the centre. Mix the pulped clementines, vanilla extract and eggs in the well, then mix into the dry ingredients. Pour the mixture into the tin. Transfer to the oven and bake for 50-60 minutes.
Meanwhile, squeeze the juice from the remaining 2 clementines into a pan. Add the lemon juice and the remaining 50g caster sugar. Heat gently until the sugar is dissolved, then add the cinnamon stick and simmer for 3 minutes.
Remove the cake from the oven and pierce the top in a few places with a skewer. Drizzle over the citrus syrup, then leave for 1 hour to soak in. Transfer the cake to a wire rack to cool completely.

Method

Put 3 of the clementines in a pan of water, bring to the boil and simmer for about 2 hours until really tender, adding more water if necessary. Drain and leave to cool a little. Cut in half and pick out any pips, then whizz the fruit (skin and flesh) to a pulp in a food processor.
Preheat the oven to 180°C/fan160°C/gas 4. Grease a 23cm springform cake tin, then line the base with baking paper.
Put 225g of the caster sugar, the almonds, ground cardamom and baking powder in a large bowl. Stir, then make a well in the centre. Mix the pulped clementines, vanilla extract and eggs in the well, then mix into the dry ingredients. Pour the mixture into the tin. Transfer to the oven and bake for 50-60 minutes.
Meanwhile, squeeze the juice from the remaining 2 clementines into a pan. Add the lemon juice and the remaining 50g caster sugar. Heat gently until the sugar is dissolved, then add the cinnamon stick and simmer for 3 minutes.
Remove the cake from the oven and pierce the top in a few places with a skewer. Drizzle over the citrus syrup, then leave for 1 hour to soak in. Transfer the cake to a wire rack to cool completely.

delicious. tips

If you prefer, make a citrus icing instead of the sticky syrup. Mix icing sugar with enough clementine juice to make a runny icing, then drizzle it over the top of the cake.
The syrup in this cake keeps it moist, so it stores well. Keep it out of the fridge, covered, for up to 3 days (if you haven’t eaten it all!). Boil and pulp the clementines up to 48 hours before making the cake. Keep in the fridge, covered. Freeze the whole cake, well wrapped in cling film, for up to 3 months. Defrost to serve.

Fancy getting a copy in print?

Subscribe to our magazine

Rate & review

Rate

Reviews

Read what others say...

Aless Bove says:

4th Apr 2018 at 11:56 am

This cake is a real crowd pleaser! Make it the day before, it only gets better and better. Perfect for afternoon tea, breakfast and pudding with a drop of cream!

Log in to Reply
1. Ellie Donnell says:
  
  4th Apr 2018 at 4:17 pm
  
  Glad you enjoyed it, and thanks for the tip!
Giuseppe Cescutti-Fitz says:

14th Apr 2016 at 11:29 am

Instead of cooking the fruit I blitz them raw. Leave it overnight in the fridge and it congeals into a thick jelly like state. Then I add it to the mixture as normal. This gives a richer more “citrusy” flavour and my guests prefer it. Then I tell the rest of the mixture and make the syrup. However, as the mixture hasn’t been cooked, there are small bits of peel in it so you have to strain it, and then pour the syrup over the cake. I also add a touch a Cointreau to it. The guests absolutely LOVE it. Better than the cooked clementine version first. They say it’s the best cake I have ever made. And I have made many that’s for sure.

Log in to Reply
Sarah Stuckey says:

14th Mar 2016 at 4:14 pm

This was fantastic served with chocolate orange icecream!

Log in to Reply
Janet Land says:

14th Jun 2015 at 1:38 pm

I love this recipe because it is just as DELICIOUS in the summer with seasonal fresh fruits as at Christmas with its delicious orangey hints of summer and perhaps even an added spice or two. Everyone loves it because of the almonds which make it so moist and no-one would tell (or even care) that it is gluten free!

Log in to Reply
Lucinda Barton says:

1st Jun 2015 at 12:11 pm

I love this recipe because…its actually great in the afternoon (or even for breakfast) with a huge scoop of greek yoghurt. Never woudl you know its gluten free or feel as though you’re missing out!

Log in to Reply