Chocolate Clementine Syrup Cake
I first tasted this cake in the Ottolenghi café in town. I was smitten, so googled the recipe straightaway! It’s reminiscent of a ‘Terry’s Chocolate Orange’, but with flavours far more elegant and sophisticated. It’s my new favourite cake, especially as it’s so easy to make…
200g unsalted butter
380g caster sugar
4 clementines (or tangerines), zest grated and juiced
1 lemon, zest grated and juiced
280g ground almonds
5 eggs beaten
100g plain flour, sifted (gluten-free if required)
⅛ teaspoon salt
Orange zest cut in strips, to garnish
For the Chocolate Icing:
90g unsalted butter, diced
150g dark chocolate, broken up
½ tablespoon honey
½ tablespoon cognac
- Put the butter, 300g of the sugar (the remaining 80g is for the syrup) and citrus zest into a mixer bowl, and use a paddle attachment to combine. Do not work the mix too much or incorporate much air. Add half the ground almonds and continue mixing to fold through. Then add the eggs gradually, scraping the bottom and sides of the bowl as you go. Finally, add the remaining almonds, flour and salt, and work until the mix is smooth.
- Spread the cake batter inside the tin and level out. Bake for 50-60 minutes in a preheated oven 160’c until a skewer comes out a little bit moist.
- Meanwhile, when the cake is almost cooked, in a small pan bring to a boil the remaining sugar and citrus juices (the juices should add up to about 120ml; don’t use more), then remove from the heat at once. The moment the cake comes out of the oven, brush it all over with the hot syrup, making sure it all soaks through. Leave to cool down.
- To make the chocolate icing, put the butter, chocolate and honey in a heatproof bowl and place over a saucepan of barely simmering water. Stir until all is melted, remove from the heat and stir in the cognac. Pour the icing over the cool cake, allowing it to dribble naturally down the sides without covering the cake completely. Let the icing set, then garnish with strips of orange zest at the centre.
