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chocolate clementine marble layer cake with marmalade ganache and candied oranges

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… i’ve been clinging onto this cold for over two weeks now and quite frankly i’m a little fed up.  I’ve not really been able to stop but we’ve officially finished work for the year now and so we’re up at the cottage finally starting our festive break… I just need to break the back of this cold.  It’s left me with no taste and no appetite and this has kind of meant no appetite for blogging.  I was with good friends the other day and one of them told me they were looking forward to being inspired by all my cooking but to be honest I need inspiring myself, I just can’t seem to get into a cooking groove.  It could be this cold or it could be that and a combination of this ludicrously warm weather.  60 degrees this weekend.  Utterly ridiculous.  One of the reasons we missed Christmas so much last year whilst we were in California was because of the lack of a chill in the air – being from the British Isles we’re really used to a cold and sometimes snowy Christmas – so this really won’t do… i’m more in mind to eat salad than roast a bird… i’m hoping some boiling clementines filling the kitchen with the fug of citrus aromas will do the trick…

chocolate clementine marble layer cake with marmalade ganache and candied oranges
this is an adaptation of Nigella’s infamous clementine cake which is a flour-free cake that I have made to great success many times… it’s a very wet, egg-heavy, almost cheese-cake like cake, which is wonderful but I was after something with a more traditional crumb texture and still with the added moisture of the boiled clementines.  I’ve added the chocolate for a little extra richness and it makes this very much a bitter-sweet cake but with all the sweetness around at this time of year, it’s exactly what i’m after.  This cake is Christmas to me.  The house fills with the aroma of the clementines and it settles me into place… I make this cake when i’m finally back at the cottage and all is good again with the world.

for the cake
2 clementines – or roughly the equivalent of 250g
4 large free-range eggs
300g sugar
300g butter
200g flour
100g ground almonds
1 teaspoon vanilla paste
100g dark chocolate – melted

for the orange butter cream
250g butter
500g icing sugar
the grated zest of an orange
fresh orange juice

for the marmalade ganache
200g dark chocolate
300ml double cream
3 tablespoons marmalade
3 tablespoons water

pre-heat the oven to 170C and grease and line 2 x 20cm loose-bottom cake tins – I also lined the sides as this cake tends to burn easily

place the whole, unpeeled  clementines into a pan of cold water and bring them to the boil and boil them for 2 hours… check on the water level regularly as it will need topping up, after two hours, drain and set aside to cool slightly

weigh the flour and ground almonds and mix them together in a small bowl

in another, large bowl, beat the sugar and butter until soft and light and creamy (roughly 5 minutes) and then beat in 2 of the eggs, followed by half the flour and almond mix, then beat in the last 2 eggs and the rest of the flour along with the vanilla paste

use a hand-held stick-blender to blitz the clementines to a smooth pulp, then add them to the cake batter and stir them in thoroughly then divide the batter between the two cake tins

melt the chocolate very gently in the microwave and then pour over both cakes and use a spatula to stir the chocolate into the cakes – you want a rough marbling, not entirely mixed in

bake on the same shelf for 30 – 40 minutes, then remove from the oven and set aside to cool on a wore rack until cool

decorate in a manner to which you see fit…I found this wonderfully easy candied orange recipe on the Coriander Queen blog… then I have used the butter cream icing to sandwich the two layers of cake together but you could use cream or even mince meat, or a simple chocolate ganache would work superbly or try a marmalade ganache as I have done here

chop the chocolate into very small pieces and place in a bowl with the marmalade

put the cream in a pan and bring gently to the bowl and then pour this over the chocolate and marmalade and stir until it melts – let it cool slightly to thicken before using

eat and of course enjoy!

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Comments

  1. My Little Space says

    I'm coming over to join you, can I ??? >o< This cake looks fantastic and perfect for the coming celebration too. Sending an early season greetings. Wishing you & your family a MERRY X'MAS. May it be a blessed one. Enjoy have fun !
    Blessings, Kristy

  2. Sammie says

    Delightful, delicious, do I want some? Yes!! Love the look of this cake and it sounds scrummy, only one itsy busty snag – I'm allergic to oranges. So just need to make or source clementine marmalade and sub all orange with clementines and I'm good to go. Thanks for taking Nigella's recipe and mixing it up, it really looks great. Merry Christmas and I hope you feel better soon. Sammie http://www.feastingisfun.com

  14. Baking Addict says

    I've been trying to shake off my cough for the last few weeks and it's really annying now. I do hope you feel much better soon. This cake looks absolutely divine and I really wish I could have a slice of it now. Have a very happy Christmas and a wonderful New year xx

  15. Suelle says

    That's certainly one showstopper of a cake! I love the layered look of using two frostings.

    Happy Christmas to you – hope you're feeling better by the big day.

  16. Phil in the Kitchen says

    I'm deeply fond of the clementine cake (even if it is infamous) and this is a very fine embellishment indeed. Please don't drive the mild weather away – I don't cope well with the cold. Speaking of cold, I hope you're feeling very fine very soon and have an excellent Christmas.

  17. Karen Booth says

    Get well soon Dom and WOW! What a beauty of a cake – it's just amazing! I'm with you, it's just too mild and I don't want to see primroses in December! Merry Christmas to you and The Viking! Karen xxxxx

  23. SavoringTime in the Kitchen says

    First day of winter and it's supposed to get to 54F here tomorrow! Crazy weather. I can't say I miss sliding around on the snowy roads, though. What a gorgeous cake! I want to dig a fork right into my computer monitor! I hope you get rid of that cold soon. Green tea, elderberry tea, rest, blah, blah, humbug 🙂 Hope you have a wonderful holiday break!

  26. Kate Glutenfreealchemist says

    Well Dom….. What can I say? THAT cake is sumptuously gorgeous and way too tempting. If I could climb through the screen, I would have eaten it all! I love the thick drizzliness of the ganache….. never seen marmalade ganache before, but it is bookmarked for sure!
    Have a fantastic Christmas and rest up….. hoping you feel better soon and that the weather becomes more appropriately seasonal! x