Clementine Cake

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

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degree Celsius. Grease an 18 cm / 7 inch round cake tin and base line with non-stick baking paper.
2. Grate the zest from two clementines. 
3. Cream the butter, sugar and clementine zest together in a bowl until pale and fluffy.
4. Add the eggs little at a time, beating well after each addition.
5. Gently fold in the flour, ground almonds and cream. Spoon the mixture into the prepared tin. 
6. 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

1. 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. 
2. 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. 
3. Sprinkle the icing sugar over the cake.