Let me start this post by saying that this is the best cake I’ve ever made so far… evvvvvaaaaaa! If you are looking for a taste of sunshine amidst all this winter gloom, this cake might be the one for you. Last week I went to Costco and got a box of clementines. They looked a lot nicer than they tasted. I think I landed on the perfect recipe to use them up. I must say, that the olive oil gives this cake a really lovely soft texture. The taste of the clementine itself is subtle, most of the flavour seems to come from the zest of the fruit. You can really taste the natural oils that hide inside their sunny peels. It’s deliciously mellow but slightly citric at the same time. Gosh, I sound like Nigella Lawson LOL. Anyway, Mr P thought it was fab, and he can be a tough critic. I still have six clementines left, so don’t be surprised if you see another clementine recipe in the near future. I am trying really hard not to be wasteful.
Notes on the recipe:
- I think this would work equally well with oranges.
- The recipe states that 2-3 clementines will make the necessary amount of zest and juice, but for me, it was more like 6!
- If you wish, I think you could make a nice glaze using powdered sugar and clementine juice to go on top.
- If you don’t want to make a glaze, a teeny dusting of powdered sugar wouldn’t go amiss
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Clementine and Olive Oil Cake
Ingredients:
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1+1/2 tsp baking powder
- Pinch of salt
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 tbsp clementine zest*
- 3 large eggs
- 1 cup clementine juice*
* Depending on size, 2-3 clementines would be enough for the zest and juice.
Method
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (180 degrees C). Grease and flour one 12 x 4 inch loaf pan.
- Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt into a large bowl.
- In a mixing bowl, combine sugar and clementine zest and rub together to extract the fragrant oil from the zest.
- Add olive oil and mix on high speed until completely combined (preferably with the whisk attachment).
- Beat in the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
- Add 1/3 of the flour mixture and mix on slow speed.
- Add half of the clementine juice and continue mixing.
- Add another 1/3 of the flour mixture, followed by the rest of the clementine juice and the remaining flour mixture and beat until combined between each addition.
- Pour batter into the prepared pan.
- Bake for 50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Remove the cake from the oven, wait 10 minutes for it to cool down and then remove from the pan.
