I see this sort of cake as the antidote to those towering sponge-beasts, slathered in buttercream, that you see in bakery windows. This is delicate and moist, showing off its caramelised fruits with pride. The bulgur wheat is an ingredient you may not have baked with before; I tend to use it instead of polenta, as it provides texture but also a pleasing, nutty flavour that complements the citrus.
Clementine and lemon syrup cake
Prep 15 min
Cook 1 hr
Serves 8
100g double cream
50g fine bulgur wheat
6 clementines, washed and dried
2 lemons
150g unsalted butter, plus extra, melted, for greasing
60g sugar
125g caster sugar, plus 100g for the syrup and 60g for scattering
2 large eggs
150g ground almonds
1½ tsp baking powder
If you’re short on time, you can skip the poaching of the citrus rounds and just lay them straight into the tin with the sugar. The extra poaching, however, ensures that they will perfectly tender.
Pour the cream into a bowl and warm in a microwave (about 30-40 seconds). Stir in the bulgur wheat, then cover with a plate and leave for a few minutes. Start by givingGive the clementines and lemons a good wash, scrubbing them under warm water. Pat dry, then zest one of the clementines and one of the lemons. Set the zest aside in a small bowl.
With a sharp knife, slice the remaining clementines and lemon as thinly as you can: you will only be able to get about three slices from each clementine; save the rest for juicing later. I find they start to fall apart after you’ve got about three slices from one, so once you’re finding it difficult to slice evenly, set the remainder of the clementine aside and move on to another. Put the slices in a small saucepan and pour in enough hot water to just cover them (roughly 100-150ml). Put a lid on the pan and set it to simmer gently for 10-15 minutes, by which point the peel should be soft and translucent, but still holding their shape.
Heat the oven to 150C (140C fan)/325F/gas 3 and line the base of a 20cm cake tin with greaseproof paper, then brush the base and sides with melted butter. Scatter with 30g sugar, then carefully remove the slices of peel from the saucepan with a slotted spoon and arrange over the base. Scatter over another 30g sugar.
To make the cake batter, beat together the butter and caster sugar with an electric whisk until pale and fluffy. Stir in the eggs, cream, citrus zest, bulgur wheat, ground almonds and baking powder. Carefully spread the batter into the cake tin, taking care not to disturb your tessellation of citrus. Bake for 30-35 minutes – a skewer poked into the centre should emerge clean with no batter on.
Meanwhile, prepare the citrus syrup: add the juice from the remaining fruit to the saucepan of poaching water, along with 100g sugar. Bring to a boil and simmer for 10 minutes, until reduced and thickened slightly.
Once the cake is ready, poke holes all over with a skewer and pour over three-quarters of the syrup. Leave to absorb the syrup, then and it from the sides of the tin by running a knife along its edge. Put a large plate over the cake then, holding the plate tightly to the top of the tin, flip the whole thing over on to a plate. Remove the cake tin and brush the revealed citrus top with the rest of the syrup.
