SERVES: 8 - 10
PREP: 30 mins
COOK: 2 hrs, 10 mins
Easy
Ingredients
4 small clementines
200g unsalted butter, softened, plus extra for greasing
140g raisin
140g sultana
140g currant
100g glacé cherry, quartered
2 tbsp brandy
200g dark brown sugar
3 eggs, beaten
½ tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp mixed spice
pinch ground cloves
140g polenta
1 tsp baking powder
(we used Fiddes Payne, which is gluten-free)
icing sugar, to decorate (most are gluten-free, but check the packaging)
100g ground almond
For the topping
- 4 clementines
- 140g caster sugar
Method
- To make the cake, place the clementines in a small pan, cover with water and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for 1 hr or until tender. Drain and cool.
- Heat oven to 180C/fan 160C/gas 4. Butter a 20cm springform cake tin and line the base with a disc of buttered baking parchment. Cut the cooked clementines in half and remove any pips. Place in the bowl of a food processor and pulse until finely chopped but not puréed.
- Combine the raisins, sultanas, currants, cherries and brandy in a bowl. Add the clementine pulp and mix well. Cream the butter and sugar together until pale. Add the beaten eggs, a little at a time, mixing well between each addition. In another bowl, combine the spices, ground almonds, polenta and baking powder. Fold into the creamed mixture along with the dried fruit and clementine pulp.
- Spoon into the prepared tin and smooth the top. Bake on the middle shelf of the oven for 30 mins. Reduce the oven temperature to 160C/fan 140C/gas 3 and continue to cook for a further 40 mins. You may need to loosely cover the top of the cake with a sheet of baking parchment for the final 20 mins to prevent it browning too quickly. Cool in the tin for 30 mins before turning out onto a cooling rack.
- To make the topping, slice the clementines to a 5mm thickness. Tip the sugar into a saucepan with 140ml water and cook over a low heat, stirring often, until the sugar has dissolved. Put the clementine slices in the pan and stir through. To keep the clementines submerged in the syrup, cut out a circle of greaseproof paper to fit into the pan and place over the fruit. Cook over a low heat for 1 hr until glossy and translucent. Remove and spread out over greaseproof paper to cool.
- To serve, dust the whole cake with icing sugar, then arrange the clementine slices, overlapping, over the top of the cake.
Recipe supplied by BBC Good Food magazine
