Clementine cake

Clementine cake

Clementine cupcake, cut open
Type	Cake
Course	Dessert
Created by	Possibly originated from an orange cake developed by the Sephardi Jews
Serving temperature	Cold or warmed
Main ingredients	Whole unpeeled clementine fruit, almond flour, butter, eggs, sugar
Ingredients generally used	baking powder
Variations	wheat flour
Similar dishes	Fruitcake
Media: Clementine cake

Clementine cake is a flourless cake flavored primarily with whole unpeeled clementines and almonds. It may originate from an orange cake in Sephardic cuisine. In popular culture, the cake played a minor part in the plot of the 2013 film The Secret Life of Walter Mitty.

Joyce Goldstein called it a classic. The Sydney Morning Herald called it famous. In 2021 Cooks' Country said it was "having a moment."

Ingredients

Clementine cake is prepared with clementines, ground almonds or almond meal, sugar, butter, and eggs.^[1][2] Some recipes call for flour, but the cake is typically flourless.^[3][2]

Optional ingredients include orange juice, orange muscat, milk, white dessert wine, or Riesling wine,^[4][5] orange oil or tangerine oil (or both),^[4] almond extract and vanilla extract.^[4] Other variations exist.^[2]

Preparation

The cake is typically prepared by boiling the whole unpeeled clementines, removing any seeds, and pureeing the whole fruit, then combining the pulped fruit with ground almonds or almond flour, eggs, butter, sugar, and baking powder before baking.^{[1][6][7][8][9][10]} The almonds used can be toasted or blanched.^[4]

Candied clementine slices are often used as a garnish. Other finishes include sweet toppings such as a glaze or powdered sugar.^[2][11][1]

Clementine cake is dense and moist,^[8][9] and its flavor may improve a day or more after preparation,^{[2][10][12][13]} because the ingredients intermingle and coalesce to enhance its flavor as it ages. After preparation, it can be frozen to preserve it.^[14]

Preparation

• 
  Boiling the whole fruit
• 
  Fruit after boiling
• 
  Pureed whole boiled fruit
• 
  Prepared batter in cupcake wrappers
• 
  Finished clementine cupcake

Variations

It can also be prepared as an upside-down cake.^[15][16] Individual cupcakes are a common variation.

• 
  A slice of vanilla clementine cake
• 
  Vanilla clementine cake and cupcakes
• 
  A slice of clementine cake
• 
  Clementine cake

History

Whole, peeled, halved and sectioned clementines

Clementine cake is probably related to a Sephardic orange cake.^[6] Sephardic Jews popularized citrus cultivation in the Mediterranean region^[17] in the 15th century and popularized the use of orange in baked goods. In addition to its Iberian flavors, the cake also has North African and Spanish roots.^[18]

Claudia Roden, writing for The Guardian, said that she'd traced the evolution of the dish, which she describes as a Sephardic passover dish, "from Andalucia, through Portugal and Livorno in Italy, to Aleppo".^[19] The New Yorker said that Roden's recipe had been adapted by so many other cook book writers that Roden had lost count.^[20]

Recognition and importance

According to the San Francisco Chronicle, Joyce Goldstein called it a "classic Judeo-Spanish cake".^[12] In 2020, Jill Dupleix, writing for the Sydney Morning Herald, called it "the now famous, never-bettered, flourless Sephardic cake".^[3] Nigella Lawson called Roden's recipe "magnificent"^[13] and created an adaptation.^[2][13] In 2021 Cook's Country said the cake was "having a moment".^[11]

In popular culture

Clementine cake played a minor part in the plot of the 2013 film The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, and was included in the opening scene of the film and in a couple of additional scenes.^[2][7]

See also

• Fruitcake
• List of cakes
• List of desserts
• List of fruit dishes

References

1. "Clementine Cake". San Francisco Chronicle. January 8, 2015. Archived from the original on December 8, 2015. Retrieved December 4, 2015.
2. Linn, Virginia (February 26, 2014). "The secret cake in 'Walter Mitty'". The Daily Herald. Archived from the original on December 8, 2015. Retrieved December 4, 2015.
3. Dupleix, Jill (2020-03-17). "Orange and almond cake". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 2024-04-13.
4. Goldman, M. (2014). The Baker's Four Seasons: Baking by the Season, Harvest, and Occasion. Montreal, Canada: River Heart Press. pp. 270–272. ISBN 978-0-9865724-1-8.
5. Watson, Molly (January 13, 2015). "Recipe: Clementine Cake". Houston Chronicle. Archived from the original on December 9, 2015. Retrieved December 4, 2015.
6. Willoughby, John (March 28, 2014). "Clementine Cake Recipe". The New York Times. Archived from the original on December 8, 2015. Retrieved December 4, 2015.
7. Lindahl, Nancy (January 8, 2014). "Sweet Basil the Bee: Sweet, little Clementines go into an intriguing, flour-less cake". Chico Enterprise-Record. Archived from the original on December 8, 2015. Retrieved December 4, 2015.
8. Perelman, Deb (13 January 2009). "Clementine Cake". Smitten Kitchen.
9. Hodgson, Moira (11 October 2023). "Claudia Roden's Orange and Almond Cake Recipe". NYT Cooking. Retrieved 2024-04-13.
10. O'Sullivan, Lucinda (December 4, 2015). "What to eat when wheat is off the daily menu". Irish Independent. Archived from the original on December 8, 2015. Retrieved December 4, 2015.
11. Cook's Country: Elegant and Orange. 11:30. 11 December 2021.
12. Gold, Amanda (18 January 2018). "Sephardic Orange & Almond Cake for Passover". San Francisco Chronicle.
13. "Clementine Cake". Nigella.com. Retrieved 2024-04-22.
14. Breyer, Melissa (January 5, 2015). "23 surprising foods you can freeze and how to do it". Mother Nature Network. Archived from the original on December 7, 2015. Retrieved December 4, 2015.
15. "Adorable Clementine Upside Down Cakes". The Huffington Post. March 18, 2013. Archived from the original on December 8, 2015. Retrieved December 4, 2015.
16. McDonnell, Justin (February 18, 2015). "Kung Hei Fat Choy! Alternative ways to celebrate Chinese New Year". Time Out. Archived from the original on December 8, 2015. Retrieved December 4, 2015.
17. Marks, Gil (2010). Encyclopedia of Jewish Food. Wiley. ISBN 978-0-544-18631-6.
18. Colquhoun, Anna. "Sephardi Orange and Almond Cake". Culinary Anthropologist. Archived from the original on 2 October 2016. Retrieved 28 September 2016.
19. Roden, Claudia (2022-09-26). "Claudia Roden's recipe for orange and almond cake". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2024-04-13.
20. Kramer, Jane (2007-08-27). "Claudia Roden's Spice Routes". The New Yorker. ISSN 0028-792X. Retrieved 2024-04-13.

External links

• Preparation