I'm willing to admit that I have a problem: I'm obsessed with clementines. I have welcomed at least 25 pounds of them into my house so far this season.
I love them for so many reasons: the ease of peeling, the tart and sweet complexity of the fruit and the squirt ability. Who doesn't love food that can make a mess?
I had a busy weekend- the last paper of the semester was due on Tuesday, tutoring started up again and we had some company...
My gorgeous niece, Em and her very dear friend, Kevin arrived with Em's parents. Baby E is nearly 11 weeks old and is now a huge fan of ceiling fans, bath time, 80s music, telling stories to GG and Pap, and thanks to my mother's good influence, sticking her tongue out. Kevin likes talking on the phone, long walks on the beach and hiding in my mother's Christmas tree.
I needed a low fuss cake because of how much we had going on and was fascinated with the idea of clementines and almonds in a cake together... yum! The cake did not disappoint!
Recipe from joyofbaking.com
I made two cakes at once- started with just over 2 pounds of clementines, about 7. I covered them with water and set them to boil. They needed to simmer for two hours. I cleaned, worked on a paper and enjoyed the orange scent pervading the house.
My three cup food processor got a work out with this one. First, it took care of 2 1/2 cups of almonds per cake, then I sprinkled on the baking powder, salt and sugar, whisking until they looked like this:
I have nearly no patience in the world, so the clementines weren't completely cooled when I started cutting them in half, removing the seeds and tossing them in the processor with some eggs. Each set of clementines had to be processed in two batches, the food processor is so small.
I dressed the spring form pans....
Mixed it all together and poured into the pans... the mixture didn't seem fully incorporated, which worried me a bit, but I popped it into the oven and waited.
It was one of my favorites and received the best reviews from the faculty- I got requests for the recipe, high fives and was told to quit my phd program and start baking for a living... tempting, but I don't think my waist line could stand it. The family was eh on it, but we had a lot of sweets and food this weekend. It was too orangy for mom, but everyone thought it was pretty tasty. It's going in the files...
I have cuccidate to make this weekend, along with a portfolio to begin, so you'll either get a play by play of my family's two day cookie recipe, or a relatively low fuss cake... either way, enjoy the snow and the shopping and the holiday cards... it's a stressful time of year, but it's not without its magic.
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