Tortine alle clementine – Little Clementine Cakes

When the "challenge thread" was revived on my favorite forum, I knew I would suggest exactly these little cakes for February. I had been planning to make them for quite a while, but for some reason I just couldn't find the motivation. Something more important always came up. Luckily, the occasion finally presented itself, and now I know I'll be making these more often.

They are small, delicate, slightly crumbly, fluffy and simply delicious. They remind me a bit of the orange rolls I made about a year ago. You can bake them in muffin tins as well as in slightly smaller ramekins. I have to admit that while making these, I forgot to add the baking powder. Even without it, the cakes were fluffy and not the least bit gummy. They just came out a little smaller than they should have.

Because the clementines released quite a lot of juice, I didn't add any orange juice and used the clementine juice instead. For the syrup I used brown sugar. I also reduced the sugar to 100 g, and for me that was plenty.

Tortine alle clementine – little clementine cakes

Before I get to the recipe, I'd like to thank Olga, who translated it into a language I can understand :)

I'm sharing the recipe unchanged.

Instructions:

Peel the clementines and separate them into segments. Mix them with 50 g of the sugar, transfer to a skillet, add 1 tablespoon of water and cook for 1-2 minutes, until the sugar dissolves and the fruit softens (but it shouldn't fall apart). Divide evenly among 6 ramekins.

Cream the butter with the rest of the sugar until light and creamy, then add the eggs one at a time, beating constantly. Add the vanilla extract, the orange zest, and the flour mixed with the baking powder. Add 2 tablespoons of orange juice, stir, and divide the batter among the ramekins, filling them to ¾ of their height. Bake in an oven preheated to 180°C (350°F) for 25-30 minutes, until the cakes are golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

While the cakes are baking, pour the remaining orange juice into a skillet, add 2 tablespoons of sugar and cook for 3-5 minutes, until it thickens. Set aside. Take the cakes out of the oven and leave them in their ramekins for 5 minutes. After that, turn them out onto a wire rack and drizzle each one with 1-2 teaspoons of the syrup. Let them cool and serve.

Enjoy!

Source: Sigrid