I know, I
know. Gluten-free products aren't always the tastiest items on the dessert
menu. In fact, they can be downright icky (What? A writer can't find a better
word than "icky" when trying to impress other writers?) However, if
you have friends or family who suffer from celiac disease, as I do, it is
essential to have a repertoire of tasty things to serve.
I have
tried dozens of recipes for gluten-free desserts, most of which pale (i.e.
fail) in comparison to the real thing. But I sing the praises of Nigella
Lawson's Clementine Cake. It is the moistest, most delicious, most decadent,
most … my thesaurus runneth over. (Try saying that three times fast!)
What is
even more amazing about this recipe is that it has only five ingredients. Five,
I say! It couldn't be easier and it always
gets requests for seconds — and for a copy of the recipe.
This may be
a gluten-free cake, but it is definitely not glutton-free, and I have the hips
to prove it.
Clementine Cake
Adapted from Nigella
Lawson
Ingredients:
·
5 clementines (about 1 lb. total weight)
·
6 eggs
·
1 cup plus 2 T. sugar
·
2 1/3 cups almond flour (NOT almond meal)
·
1 heaping t. baking powder
Directions:
·
Put the clementines in a pot with cold water to
cover, bring to a boil, and cook for 2 hours. Make sure to keep an eye on the
pot so that the water doesn't burn off.
·
Drain, and when the clementines are cool, cut
each one in half and remove the seeds and the little stem thingie on the end.
·
Puree the skins, pith, and fruit in a food
processor. (Yes, the whole fruit goes in.)
·
Preheat the oven to 375°
F.
·
Grease and line a 9-inch spring-form pan with
parchment paper.
·
Beat the eggs.
·
Add the sugar, almond flour, and baking powder,
mixing well.
·
Add the pureed clementines and mix well.
·
Pour the cake mixture into the prepared pan and
bake for 60-75 minutes, depending on your oven, or when a skewer comes out
clean.
·
Cover the pan with foil after about 30 minutes
to prevent the top from over-browning.
·
Remove from the oven and leave to cool in the
pan, on a rack.
·
When the cake has cooled complete, take it out
of the pan and serve.
·
I lied. If you really want to gild the lily, the
list of ingredients comes to seven. Just add two teaspoons of coconut oil to a
cup of chocolate chips, zap in the microwave for about a minute, stir until
smooth, and then spread over the top of the cake.
Carol Goodman Kaufman writes about food and food history,
with regular columns in both Worcester
Living magazine and New England area Jewish press. She is currently at work
on a book that traces the paths some of
our favorite foods have taken from their origins to appear on the
nations' dinner plates, as well as in their cultures and traditions.
Website: https://carolgoodmankaufman.com/
