Bitter Sweet Clementine Cake

How about a really nice, moist and rustic Portuguese clementine cake! This simple yet incredibly moist cake combines whole clementines, oh yes, peel and all, creating a delightful bittersweet flavour that perfectly balances with the cake’s sweetness. The slight bitter notes from the clementine slices (with their peels) create a wonderful contrast against the sweet, tender moist crumb of the cake, i love it!

This cake is just in time for the Porto celebration of Saint Jorge (São Jorge) on June 24th, well i wouldn’t say this cake is a Porto classic cake, but i feel its a nice and light summer cake, perfect for the time of the year. The combination of fresh clementines, Greek yogurt, and a touch of vanilla creates a cake that’s both refreshingly citrusy and comfortingly sweet, a true taste of Portuguese Summer in every slice! Hehehe lets check it out!

Servings: 12
Time: 50mins
Difficulty: Normal
Rating: ★★★★★
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How about trying this Portuguese delight for a nice afternoon tea, im sure you will enjoy the nice contrast of bitterness and sweetness 😀

Ingredients

Clementines – 5
Clementines – 3 (Juice)
Clementines – 2 (To Cut)
Brown Sugar – 180gr
Brown Sugar – To Sprinkle
Butter – To Grease
Sunflower Oil – 50ml
Greek Yogurt – 120gr
Eggs – 4
Flour – 300gr
Vanilla – 1 Teaspoon (Extract)
Baking Powder – 2 Teaspoons
Salt – A Pinch

Directions

Start by removing the zest from 5 clementines, set them aside, then remove the peel from the clementines and remove the pits. Put the clementines in a blender or a bowl where you can use a hand blender and blend until you get a pulp.
Put the pulp in a bowl and add the sugar, eggs and whisk well.
Then add the zest, the vanilla, followed by the oil and the yogurt, whisk everything well until you have a smooth mixture.
Finally add the sifted flour, salt and baking powder, mixing well with a wooden spoon until everything is well blended.
Preheat the oven to 180ºC and prepare a buttered tin lined with non-stick paper, sprinkle the bottom with brown sugar, cut 2 clementines into very thin slices (remove seeds), place them on top of the sugar (don’t pile them up), pour the batter on top and bake for about 40 minutes until the cake is tender, prick the center with a toothpick and if it comes out dry then the cake is ready.
Take it out of the oven and let it cool down a little, then pour the juice over the still hot cake and let it soak in.
Finally, remove the cake from the tin, turn it upside down and it’s ready to serve, bon appetit!

Notes: Yes just like any kid… you can easily pick the slices out of the cake if you want a less contrast more sweet cake ;D

Of course you can use other kinds of oranges, you don’t need to get clementines, any thin skin orange variety will do just fine, since the bitterness comes from the peel, so mandarin oranges, valencia oranges or satsuma oranges are nice options, or just any orange with a thin skin.

This recipe for Bitter Sweet Clementine Cake was originally created on BakeAfter.com. Esta receita de Bolo de Clementinas foi publicada em português no Iguaria.com.