Monday, November 16

For everyone who thought Walter Mitty's clementine cake looked amazing

clementine cake
Ever since I saw The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, I've been dying to try his mom's famous clementine cake. The problem was that when I did a quick google search for a recipe, I discovered that this cake was likely invented for the movie. I found only one recipe that looked similar. Unfortunately it called for ground almonds and clementines that had been boiled for hours and pureed. I don't generally keep almonds around the house and I reserve our almond flour for my macaron experiments, plus I typically don't like to spend hours on desserts so boiling clementines wasn't going to happen. (It did look delicious though, so if you have time, find the recipe here).

I did the next best thing and experimented and created my own recipe based on countless other citrus-y recipes. I hope you enjoy it!

Walter Mitty-Inspired Clementine Cake
For the Cake:
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
Generous pinch of salt
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup milk
1/4 orange juice
1/4 cup olive oil (or vegetable, if you prefer)
2 medium eggs
1/2 teaspoon grated orange zest (optional)

For the Icing:
2 cups powdered sugar
1/4-1/2 cup orange juice (see instructions below)

For the Candied Clementines:
3 clementines, sliced thin
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup water

Instructions
Preheat oven to 350. Grease and flour one 8-inch or 9-inch cake round.

Whisk milk, juice, oil, eggs, and orange zest (if desired - I've made the cake both with and without the orange zest and it's delicious both ways; the zest just adds extra orange flavor). Stir together flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar. Add wet to dry ingredients; mix until smooth. Bake for 30-35 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.

While the cake is baking, prepare the candied clementines. Slice 3 clementines very thin (if they're too thick, the rind won't be pleasant to chew on). Discard the ends. Place in a pot with sugar and water and simmer on medium heat for 20 minutes. Remove from the pot with a slotted spoon and place on waxed paper to dry.

After the cake cools, mix 2 cups powdered sugar with 1/4 to 1/2 cup orange juice. I prefer a thick glaze and add a little over a 1/4 cup, but thin is also delicious - just start with a small amount of juice and keep adding until your glaze is the consistency you like. Pour the glaze over the cake and spread evenly with a knife or spatula.

Garnish with the candied clementines. I personally really like the flavor the clementines add, but some people in my family don't like the chewy texture of the peel. You can always remove the sliced clementines before eating or garnish your cake with peeled, uncooked clementine segments (in this case, I'd either refrigerate your cake or eat immediately).

Side note: John loves this glaze and said we need to try it on pancakes. I concur. Maybe clementine pancakes will make an appearance on this blog in the near future.
clementine cake clementine cake

Linked up at Northern Nesting

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