20 COOK’S COUNTRY • FEBRUARY/MARCH 2019
This festive cake is
flavored with ground
toasted almonds and
pulverized whole
clementines.
Clementine
Cake
Ground whole clementines
in a cake? When done right, it
makes for a bright, delicious,
citrus-kissed dessert.
by Ashley Moore
Oh My Darling
Botanically, a clementine is a variety
of mandarin orange. Similar to a
tangerine and a satsuma, it is
loose-skinned, which makes it easy
to peel. Our microwave heating
method removes the bitterness from
the fruit’s peel and pith, so when the
clementines are pureed in a food pro-
cessor and combined with the cake
base, there’s just a pleasant hint of
bitterness—the fruit’s aromatic citrus
essence shines.
Slicing Tips
Chilling the clementines makes for
easier slicing. A mandoline is the best
tool to ensure even slices, but if you
don’t have one, a careful touch with a
sharp chef’s knife will work fi ne.
THE
AMERICAN
TABLE
Clementine cake is featured heavily
in Ben Stiller’s 2013 fi lm The Secret
Life of Walter Mitty, which was based
on a short story of the same name
by James Thurber that was fi rst
published in The New Yorker in 1939.
The fi lm bears little resemblance to
the original story, but both explore
the idea that the wall between a per-
son’s inner life and outer life is often
porous. While both the fi lm and the
story have moments of humor, each
also challenges us to consider the
role of imagination and fantasy in our
own lives and whether the distinc-
tion between “real” and “imagined”
means anything at all. One thing
that’s real: this delicious cake.
TEST KITCHEN FAVORITE
Swissmar Börner Original
V-Slicer Plus Mandoline
TEST KITCHEN FAVORITE
Victorinox Swiss Army Fibrox
Pro 8" Chef’s Knife