dark and bitter, bright and sweet

March 23 2010 by Kristin at The Kitchen Sink in Uncategorized » 23 comments

All winter long, a bowl of clementines sat on the console table just inside of our front door. Perched on the table’s corner, the bowl would be piled high with the little orange globes on Sunday, after we’d grocery shopped, and depleted throughout the week. It was a stab of color during drab, short winter days—a sunshine substitute, of sorts. It had become such a trusty fixture that I had taken to remarking that I would miss it when winter ended. Those clementines and the grapefruits I supreme for breakfast were pretty much the only aspect of winter that I would miss.

And then spring rolled in, too early, I knew. It was, as a friend recently dubbed it, Fake Spring, but it offered abundant blue skies and couteracted the snowdrifts nonetheless. We fell for it, just like we do every year—stashing winter coats in storage, buying daffodils by the dozen. Eventually, we knew, the jig would be up. Still, I indulged in Fake Spring with abandon: sockless feet, a scarf-free neck, talk of the season’s inaugural dinner on the grill.

The only sign of winter to be found was that bowl of clementines.

Fake Spring’s inevitable, abrupt halt coincided, predicatably, with a weekend—this past weekend, to be exact. Gone were the breezes and sunshine and sixty-degree temperatures, clouds and snow (snow!) and wind sliding in behind them on Saturday. Wretched white stuff blanketed the cars that lined our street and the crocuses (which, apparently, also fell for Fake Spring) shivered pathetically. All of this on the first official day of spring, no less. Well played, Mother Nature.

Suddenly, those clementines by the front door seemed to be mocking us. The tiny oranges, which had so recently been my winter savior, had to go. And soon. I quickly narrowed in on Nigella Lawson’s Clementine Cake, much adored throughout the Internet land. A Google later, I found a reference to the chocolate version of the cake and the fate of those clementines was sealed.

They were boiled and pureed—a torturous end, I hoped, before being folded into a bowl full of eggs, ground almonds, baking powder and soda, sugar and cocoa. Baked for an hour, all that was left of those clementines was a citrusy perfume in the air. It smelled like winter, true, but bound up in chocolate, I hardly minded.

The cake is dense, yet tender, flecked with threads of clementine zest and nubs of ground almond. Its flavor is decidedly grown-up, both the citrus and the cocoa asserting themselves. Each bite hovers between dark and bitter, bright and sweet—not all that unlike spring in Chicago.

Chocolate-Clementine Cake
Adapted from Nigella Lawson, via My Wheat’s End

4 small clementines
6 large eggs
1 heaped tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 3/4 cups ground almonds (almond flour)
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup cocoa powder

Scrub the clementines and put them in a saucepan with some cold water. Bring them to the boil and then simmer for about an hour, or until soft. Drain and, when cool, cut the clementines in half and remove any seeds. Put whole clementines, peel and all, in a food processor and chop until fairly well pulverized but some flecks of peel remain discernible. Chill until fully cooled (about an hour).

When ready to assemble the cake, grease a 20-centimeter (8-inch) springform pan. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Transfer clementine pulp to a large bowl. Add all the other ingredients, give a good stir, and then mix well with an electric mixer on medium speed until homogeneous and glossy.

Pour into the prepared springform pan and bake in the preheated oven for 45 minutes to an hour, checking after 45 minutes. The cake is done when only a few crumbs cling to a tester poked into the center.

23 comments so far. »
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Jessica @ How Sweet says on March 23 2010 at 11:10 am:

Chocolate + clementines? It’s like my foodie dream come true!
Shannalee says on March 23 2010 at 11:14 am:

Your staircase is truly perfection. And this cake looks so good, like the perfect way to kiss winter goodbye (I hope!).
Kelly says on March 23 2010 at 11:25 am:

Your photography is stunning. Everything just looks SO delicious. Please teach me!
Half Assed Kitchen says on March 23 2010 at 11:34 am:

Gorgeous photos. And story. As usual. Nice work.
melmo says on March 23 2010 at 12:00 pm:

wow this cake looks so delicious and i love clementines. Want to try the recipe
Kara says on March 23 2010 at 12:20 pm:

Ah… the curse of the fake-spring. We had a not-so-dramatic tease here (in DC) too… but *sigh* I had nothing so gorgeous and yummy to remedy it as this cake.
Maddie says on March 23 2010 at 12:30 pm:

Your photos are so drenched in natural light that reading your posts always feels like an escape from winter’s darkness, no matter what the temperature in Chicago. That said, I hope Real Spring descends upon you soon!
Dawn (KitchenTravels) says on March 23 2010 at 12:34 pm:

This is so strange and funny. I literally just marked this recipe with plans to make it next weekend. Great minds think alike! Love the flavor combination of chocolate and orange, but I was worried the resulting cake might be too bitter. Anything you’d change if you were to make it again?
Barbara says on March 23 2010 at 1:55 pm:

What a super combination. I love the ground almonds in it. That would be marvelous with the clementines!
Rose-Anne says on March 23 2010 at 2:29 pm:

Oh, God, Fake Spring! It’s so true! That’s how the weather rolls through Chicagoland until, oh, about June. Beautiful post, Kristin. Citrus and chocolate are an amazing combination, and this cake sounds delightful. I think the kitchen is an appropriate place to hide out until Real Spring finally arrives.
Whitney says on March 23 2010 at 3:27 pm:

Wonderful post. I lucked out (I guess you could call it that) and had a temp doc review job all weekend so I didn’t really mind the crap weather.
Alanna says on March 23 2010 at 5:47 pm:

I love that cake – but haven’t seen the chocolate version. It’s calling to me …
Kristin at The Kitchen Sink says on March 23 2010 at 7:23 pm:

Jessica: I know — mine too!

Shannalee: Why, thank you! I’m quite fond of that staircase, too. (And, yes, please, please let the winter be over.)

Kelly: Thank you!

Angie: You’re so kind. Thank you.

melmo: I hope you do!

Kara: Did you say spring in DC? Swoon. It was my favorite time of year when I lived there (with fall close on its heels).

Maddie: Oh, thank you! And, yes, Real Spring needs to come (and stick around) soon.

Dawn: I don’t think I’d change a thing. Do make sure to bake it long enough. My oven usually runs very true to recipe bake times and my cake was *just* done at the 1 hour mark. I hope you give it a try! Let me know what you think …

Barbara: It really was. I loved it.

Rose-Ann: June. It’s true, I know, but it sounds so cruel. I suppose I’ve got this cake to tide me over.

Whitney: If there was a weekend to work, this was it. I had my share of that, too.

Alanna: I think you should answer that call. : ) You won’t regret it.
nags says on March 24 2010 at 12:02 am:

gorgeous pics!
jacqui says on March 24 2010 at 10:48 am:

i like seeing your photos progress from bright and orange to dark and chocolatey. lovely post — your description of fake spring in chicago is spot on.
Emily says on March 24 2010 at 4:34 pm:

Oh my goodness. We, too, have had a Sunday-replenished bowl of clementines all winter. This recipe and the photos all look amazing.
carolyn says on March 24 2010 at 6:47 pm:

chocolate and citrus. nothing beats it! and i love that this recipe contains just a handful of ingredients.
Yvonne says on March 24 2010 at 10:02 pm:

I know, Winter disguised itself here as Spring and I too, fell into it’s trap! But while it lasted it was a seasonal affair I was happy to have! Now, I had to put my coat back on today!
Your photography is fabulous. And what is that wonderful cake? Yummy!
So nice to stop by and meet you today.
Yvonne
The Rowdy Chowgirl says on March 25 2010 at 7:55 am:

I’m sure Fake Spring will end here in Seattle just as soon as I put my garden in. Sigh.
Kate @ Savour Fare says on March 25 2010 at 12:01 pm:

Even in sunny California, where we actually grow tangerines on our front porch, we keep a bowl of Clementines through the winter. And I love that clementine cake, though I’ve never made the chocolate version! I’ll have to try it – I love chocolate and orange together.
Rena says on March 26 2010 at 10:54 am:

Looks delicious and amazing photos as always. Boo fake spring – I am headed out to Chicago next week, so I hope at the there is no snow!!
Lake says on May 02 2010 at 5:23 pm:

I love the simplicity of this recipe. Is there a particular structural or flavor reason why it has almond flour instead of regular flour? Do you think wheat flour would work as well, or would it alter it negatively?
Kristin at The Kitchen Sink says on May 03 2010 at 11:36 am:

Lake: The ground almonds are much coarser in texture than all-purpose flour. I would be hesitant to use all-purpose or whole-wheat flour in place of the ground almonds, both in terms of the structure/texture and the taste of this recipe. That said, I do hope you give this a try, with ground almonds or without. If you (bravely!) try it without the ground almonds (using flour instead), let us know how it goes!