Servings: 8 to 10
Preheat: 350
Prep Time:
Source: Jerusalem – A Cookbook by Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi
This fragrant cake has a wonderful light texture and will keep, covered, for at least a week. Oranges will make an adequate substitute for the clementines. A citrus zester, inexpensive and widely available, is the ideal tool for getting long even strips of orange zest to garnish the cake.
Ingredients:
3/4 cup plus 2 tbsp / 200 g unsalted butter
scant 2 cups / 380 g superfine sugar
grated zest and juice of 4 clementines
grated zest and juice of 1 lemon
2 1/2 cups / 280 g ground almonds
5 large free-range eggs, beaten
3/4 cup plus 1 tbsp / 100 g all-purpose flour, sifted
pinch of salt
long strips of orange zest to garnish
CHOCOLATE ICING (OPTIONAL)
6 tbsp / 90 g unsalted butter, diced
5 oz / 150 g good-quality dark chocolate, broken up
2 1/2 tsp honey
1 1/2 tsp Cognac
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350°F / 180°C. Lightly grease a 9 1/2-inch / 24cm springform pan with butter and line the sides and bottom with parchment paper.
Place the butter, 1 1/2 cups / 300 g of the sugar, and both zests in a stand mixer fitted with the beater attachment and beat on low speed to combine everything Well. Do not Work the mixture too much or incorporate too much air. Add half the ground almonds and continue mixing until combined.
With the machine running, gradually add the eggs, stopping to scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl a couple of times as you go. Add the remaining ground almonds, the flour, and the salt and beat until completely smooth.
Pour the cake batter into the pan and level it with an offset spatula.
Bake the cake for 50 to 60 minutes. Check to see if it is ready by inserting a skewer into the center. It should come out a little bit moist.
When the cake is almost done, place the remaining 1/3 cup / 80 g sugar and the citrus juices in a small saucepan and bring to a boil (the juices should total about 1/2 cup / 120 ml; remove some juice if needed). When the syrup boils, remove it from the heat.
As soon as the cake comes out of the oven, brush it with the boiling syrup, making sure all the syrup soaks in. Leave the cake to cool down completely in the pan before you remove it. You can then serve it as it is, garnished with orange zest strips, or store it for up to 5 days in an airtight container.
If you wish to ice the cake, we recommend doing it on the day you want to serve it so the icing is fresh and shiny. Put the butter, chocolate, and honey in a heatproof bowl and place over a saucepan of simmering water (make sure the bowl does not touch the water). Stir until everything is melted, then immediately remove from the heat and fold in the Cognac. Pour the icing over the cooled cake, allowing it to dribble naturally down the sides without covering the cake completely. Let the icing set and then garnish the center of the cake with the orange zest strips.