Clementine Cake

When I first moved to America and became more aware of the rhythm of seasons in cooking, I was very surprised to learn that citrus were primarily winter fruits. To me, they speak absolutely of summer, of sunshine and warmth; but I guess I was wrong (I blame all those florida natural commercials for this misjudgment).

Regardless, citrus fruits are very versatile ingredients with clear, intense flavors that brighten up any dish. I first tried out this clementine cake recipe last Christmas. With an idiot proof recipe and seasonal clementines, I've declared it a staple in my winter repertoire.

The clementine cake is perfect either as a dessert with some crème fraîche, or as a cake to be eaten for tea.

Ingredients:

4-5 clementines (about 1 lb total weight)

6 eggs

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar

2 1/3 cup ground almonds

1 heaping teaspoon baking powder

Directions:

1. Put the clementines in a pot with cold water to cover, bring to boil and cook for 2 hours. When cooled, drain and cut each clementine in half and remove seeds. Chop skins, pith and fruit finely in a food processor.

2. Preheat oven to 375 degrees and butter a 8 inch springform pan.

3. Beat the eggs and add the sugar, almonds and baking powder. Mix well and add the chopped clementines.

4. Pour the mixture into the pan and bake for an hour or when a toothpick comes out clean. You might have to cover the cake with foil after about 40 minutes to stop the top from burning. Remove from the oven and leave to cool on a rack, but in the pan. When the cake is cool, remove from the pan.

This cake is better the next day when all the flavors have had a chance to mix and mingle, but can one really wait a day before tucking in?

Recipe courtesy of Nigella Lawson from How to Eat.