Creamsicle Clementine Cake

Enjoy bright, fresh citrus and chase away the winter blues with the nostalgic summer-lovin’ creamsicle flavours.

We love clementines around here, we go through crates of them! Perfect pre-packaged snack for on the go, sweet treat in the late evenings. Their burst of sweet and sour is a welcome highlight to cold wintry days.

Some fruit is best eaten unadulterated: cooked or mixed with other flavours marring the experience. I used to feel this way about clementines until this idea came to me- creamsicle cake!

I love making complex pastries but some of my favourite cakes are the simplest. Vanilla layered cake and simple whipped cream always let fresh fruit shine. Here I share with you the steps and techniques to create a layered cake, perfectly adaptable for seasonal fruit.

I bake the cake batter on a baking sheet for several reasons. Not only does it cook faster and evenly but you can make any size/ shape cake with perfect, even layers. You then have offcuts to snack on (baker’s secret!) Or store the extra in the freezer for future cake pops or cute verrines.

Vanilla Cake

Ingredients

114g butter, room temp

100g vegetable oil

360g sugar

4 eggs, room temp

20g vanilla extract

zest of 3 clementines

450g cake flour

4g salt

12g baking powder

325g buttermilk

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 325°F

2. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper

3. Whisk dry ingredients in a medium bowl and set aside

4. In a stand mixer beat butter and oil until homogenous

5. Slowly add sugar and beat on high until pale and fluffy

6. Add vanilla, clementine zest, and slowly incorporate 1 egg at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed

7. Mix in dry ingredients and buttermilk, alternating two to three times

8. Pour batter into the prepared sheet and using an offset spatula (or bench scraper), distribute the batter as evenly as possible

9. Bake for approximately 20 minutes

Whipped Cream

1. In a stand mixer with the whisk attachment, pour 470ml of whipping cream

2. Whisk on medium and slowly add 40g of sugar

3. Add a splash of vanilla extract and the zest of 3 clementines

4. Increase speed and whisk until thick

5. Leave in the fridge until you've finished your montage mise en place

Montage

1. Prepare your clementine pieces. If you’re patient and have a sharp paring knife, make little suprèmes (wedges of pithless/ skinless citrus) from approximately a dozen clementines. If time isn’t on your side, peel and chop one dozen clementines, setting the cut fruit in a strainer for a couple of minutes to let the excess juice drain off.

2. Let cake cool completely then flip it over and peel off the parchment paper

3. Using a 6-inch cake mould (or anything round) as a guide, cut four discs of cake. It’s OK if one disc is two halves- it will be a middle layer and no one will know!

4. On a plate or cake stand place the first disc of cake, add whip cream and spread with an offset spatula so you have approximately a layer 1-2cm thick. Place one-third of the clementine pieces over the whipped cream, leaving a 2 cm border around the edge. (This is to ensure that the clementine stays trapped inside the cake and doesn’t come spilling out.)

5. Place the second disk of cake on top and press down, making sure it is level. Repeat step 4 for the second and third layers, making sure to keep a full cake disc for the top.

6. Place remaining whipped cream around the side and on top making it as smooth as possible.

7. Decorate with more clementines or to your heart's desire.

8. Congrats! You've made a delicious, beautiful cake! Let it set in the fridge for at least 2 hours before serving.

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