Darling Clementine Cake from Jessica Prescott

INSTRUCTIONS

• 1
  Preheat your oven to 180°C and line a 20cm springform with baking paper
• 2
  Place the clementines in a medium sized saucepan, cover with water and bring to a boil.
• 3
  Cook for 15 minutes, drain and then cover with water again and boil for another 15 minutes.
• 4
  After the second boil, rinse the clementines with cold water. This seemingly strange process is what takes the bitterness out of the rind, allowing you to use the ENTIRE fruit in the next step.
• 5
  Roughly chop your clementines, discarding any seeds, and then puree them until no large chunks remain.
• 6
  Place the aquafaba and sugar in a large mixing bowl and using an electric beater, beat for 3-5 minutes. Of course, if you are fancy and have a proper mixer, use this instead.
• 7
  Once the mixture starts to turn white, add the pureed clementines and beat for another half minute or so then, add the almond meal, baking powder, vanilla and salt and beat until well combined.
• 8
  Pour the cake mixture into the lined springform pan, using a silicone spatula to scrape out all of the sweet gooey goodness and then smooth the top of the cake with the spatula – it’s ok if its a little rough.
• 9
  Place in the oven for 1 hour or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Allow to cool in the pan before running a knife around the edge and gently opening the springform pan, or leave in the pan and add some extra sticky sweetness with the topping as directed below:
• 10
  For the optional topping:
• 11
  Peel one of the clementines and cut the peel into thin strips, about 1-2mm.
• 12
  Juice the other clementine and the half lemon and pour the juice into a small saucepan with the strips of clementine skin, raw sugar and the leaves from the rosemary sprigs.
• 13
  Place the saucepan on a medium-high heat, bring to a boil and then turn the heat down to the lowest setting and simmer for about 5 minutes, until all of the sugar is dissolved.
• 14
  Using a toothpick, prick holes in the top of the cake and then gently pour the topping over the cake. Allow to settle for 30 minutes or so before running a knife around the edge and gently opening the springform pan.