Oh My Darling Clementine!

I had six small, slightly shrivelled, dry-looking clementines . A friend had been about to throw them away and I said “Don’t do that” – she was convinced they were past their best and so was happy to throw them in my direction. I decided to make Nigella’s Clementine Cake. It is the strangest recipe, but ridiculously easy. The boiling makes the fruit soft and juicy. It makes a great cake which freezes well.

INGREDIENTS

• 4-5 clementines (about 375g total weight)
• 6 eggs
• 225g sugar
• 250g ground almonds
• 1 heaped teaspoon baking powder

METHOD

Serves: 8-10

1. Put the clementines in a pan with some cold water, bring to the boil and cook for 2 hours. Drain and, when cool, cut each clementine in half and remove the pips. Dump the clementines - skins, pith, fruit and all - and give a quick blitz in a food processor (or by hand, of course). Preheat the oven 190˚ C. Butter and line a 21cm Springform tin.
2. You can then add all the other ingredients to the food processor and mix. Or, you can beat the eggs by hand adding the sugar, almonds and baking powder, mixing well, then finally adding the pulped oranges.
3. Pour the cake mixture into the prepared tin, bake 60min

Here’s my ingredients- eggs, baked fruit, and all the rest, ready to blitz in the processor

As you process it, you get a yellow, custardy-looking thick goop.

Just a little too brown on top!I should have reduced the fan oven temperature a little more [I had already turned it down to 180˚ C]

But inside, golden, moist and citrussy!

It freezes beautifully – so once it was cool, I sliced it into 12  pieces, and wrapped them individually and placed them carefully in a flat plastic box for the freezer. That way I can monitor how quickly we eat it! Great on its own with a cuppa – and delicious as pudding with a splash of yogurt. I was given the fruit, all the other ingredients were in the cupboard [leftover from Christmas baking] But I bought the eggs this week. So that means I spent less than 8p a slice. Had I bought the lot, it would have cost about 35p a slice. I’m afraid that almonds are an expensive ingredient!

Thrift Notes- I have been menu planning extremely carefully and ‘eating up the cupboards’ and I’m pleased to report that food spending during January was just £20.10. February will not be so economical, as the Christmas leftovers are almost all gone now, and there are no more sachets of Gingerbread Porridge!

The Boxing Day woodcock and pheasant are still in the freezer, waiting to be casseroled, and there is also 500ml of turkey stock. I have allowed myself £30 for this month, and we will see how long that lasts.