I love using citris in recipes at this time of year. I love citris, period, although I rarely use it anymore due to my 1 1/2 year old’s citris allergy. When I saw this gluten and dairy free recipe for clementine cake by Deb at Smitten Kitchen, I knew I wanted to try it. I ended up making it for our Solstice Party (while my husband pointed out that having people over is not a time to try a brand new recipe which I planned to further alter).

However, it turned out really well. I was quite impressed and happy to have another use for the almond meal leftover from making almond milk.

Recipe:

• 1 pound of celementines.
• 6 eggs
• 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons  sugar
• 1 1/4 cups leftover almond meal from making almond milk (as opposed to Deb’s 2 1/3 cups of almond flour)
• 1 heaping teaspoon baking powder (I use homemade in order to avoid the cornstarch)

According to the original recipe, you cover the clementines with water, bring to a boil, and simmer for two hours, under the raised eyebrows of your husband, who is horrified that the entire clementines will go into the cake. Deb’s instructions say to deseed the clementines after they cool, but the seeds were so small it seemed pointless. I dumped them in my trusty Blend-Tec,along with the other ingredients, and blended away.

After pouring in a greased (with canola oil) springform pan, I baked the cake for about 50 minutes at 375.

The cake turned out wonderfully moist with an almost custard like texture and a taste that was more than sweet enough (I may even cut the sugar down next time).