Clementine Cake

No ratings yet

This clementine cake has become a favorite in our house—bright, moist, and packed with sweet citrus flavor. Made with almond flour and whole clementines (peel and all!), it’s naturally gluten-free and surprisingly nutrient-dense. Everyone will be asking you to share the recipe for this one!

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Diet Gluten Free

Prep Time 1 45

Cook Time 40

Total Time 2 25

Servings servings

Calories 274kcal

Author Caitlin Self, MS, CNS, LDN

Ingredients

4-5 whole clementines organic preferred
6 large eggs
⅔ cup sugar white, cane, or coconut
1 ¾ cup almond meal or flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon fine salt
Optional: powdered sugar or candied orange for garnish

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Optional Step: Since you’re eating the peel, if you would like to reduce the surface pesticides, you can soak the clementines in a baking soda bath for 10-15 minutes. See notes for instructions.
Add clementines to a medium pot and cover with water. Bring to a simmer, and cook over medium heat for 90 minutes. Note: if you keep this below boiling, you will retain the beneficial compound D-limonene in the peels. 🙂
Drain clementines and place in a large bowl. Around this time you can also preheat the oven to 375ºF/190ºC.
Once cool enough to handle, remove the seeds and discard. Puree the clementines (including the peel) in a food processor or with an immersion blender. You can also use a regular blender if you’d like, but I prefer the rustic flecks of orange in the final cake when you use a food processor!
Add the remaining ingredients - eggs, sugar, almond meal, baking powder, and salt - and stir until combined. You can do this in a blender, but be aware that eggs will become very fluffy and your resulting cake might end up puffing too much in the oven and then sinking as it cools.
Pour into a lined 8-inch cake pan - I have a black-bottomed silicone cake pan, but see notes for other options. Bake for about 40-50 minutes. I recommend checking with a wooden toothpick or thermometer for 40 minutes. If the toothpick comes out clean (no crumbs or gumminess) and the cake springs back when gently pressed in the middle, or the internal temperature is somewhere between 205-210ºF, the cake is probably done! If it starts to darken on top before it is fully cooked, cover with a foil tent.

Notes

Soaking the Clementines. For a baking soda bath, dissolve 1 teaspoon baking soda in 2 cups of water. Add clementines and optionally, you can in-set a bowl on top to keep the clementines below the water line. If you need more water for your bowl, just keep the ratio of 1 teaspoon baking soda for every 2 cups of water. Soak for about 15 minutes. (The study I found on this method was testing 2 pesticides used on apples, so we cannot be sure how applicable it is to other types of produce.)
Baking Pan. This recipe has been tested in a silicone cake pan and takes about 40-42 minutes to cook. If using any other pan (aluminum, non-stick, spring form), I recommend buttering the pan and lining the bottom with a circle of parchment paper. You can also use a glass baking dish, but I recommend oiling or buttering the dish (you might not need parchment here). Be sure to check the cake as cake pans from different materials can influence cook time. More tips by Serious Eats for baking in glass vs. metal.
Cake Doneness. More tips at King Arthur Flour for assessing when your cake is done!
Swapping Citrus: For this whole orange cake, feel free to use mandarins, tangerines, or any other small and sweet “orange” - just be sure to measure by weight as the size of different small citrus fruits will vary.

Nutrition