Mini Clementine Cakes

Because I have a few people with dietary restrictions at church, I started incorporating some fruit into my coffee cart, and Clementines find their way onto the coffee cart quite often. But just like all fruits, they have a limited shelf life, so I have to find other ways of using them too. I had a few Clementines left and I wanted to put them to good use. You all know how I love to repurpose just about everything as much as I can. I just hate it when good food goes to waste. So I had my thinking cap on and was thinking and thinking of a good way to use them up, when lo and behold, I came across a great new idea and recipe. I made mini Clementine cakes with them. We will see how they turn out, and what the reaction is later. 🙂

I know a lot of you out there are asking what are Clementines. Well ….. Clementines are small little oranges that are a hybrid of tangerines and mandarin oranges. They’re the second largest cultivated group of citrus fruit after sweet oranges, which include larger sized varieties like navel and blood oranges. They share many of the same characteristics as other mandarins, such as a smaller size compared with navel oranges, few to no seeds, a sweet flavor, and a thin, soft skin that’s very easy to peel. Tangerines are thought to have originated in Southeast Asia, and were named because they came by way of Tangier, Morocco.

In the United States, tangerines are often called mandarins. However, while all tangerines are mandarins, not all mandarins are tangerines. They are easy to confuse with each other since they are so similar, though they do have subtle differences. I love their sweet, but slightly tangy taste. Clementines are in season right now, so I have been buying them up and using them in as many ways as I can. Clementines also go by the name of Cuties too.

Mini Clementine Cakes

I made these in my mini muffin pans because I am trying to make them stretch as much as possible to feed a lot of people, but you can also use a regular cake pan too.

1 lb of peeled Clementines, either chopped or sliced

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

1/2 cup melted butter

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 cup of Clementine juice

3 cups cake flour

1 tsp baking powder

dash of salt

1/2 cup brown sugar

Preheat oven to 350* F or 190* C.

Spray you cake pan or muffin pans with cooking spray. Sprinkle the bottom of the pan with brown sugar. If you are using a larger cake pan, slice the oranges horizontally and line the bottom and sides of the pan with the orange slices, laying them in top of the brown sugar. I used my mini muffin pan, so I chopped the Clementines.

Combine the flour, salt and baking powder thoroughly and set aside.

Beat the eggs and sugar together with a mixer until they are light and fluffy. Slowly add the melted butter and vanilla and continue to beat until everything is combined well. Pour in the reserved Clementine juice and mix again. Then fold in the flour mixture.

Spoon or pour the batter over the Clementines and brown sugar.

Bake for about 30 minute or until the cakes are fluffy and golden brown.

Allow to cool before removing from the pan and top with your favorite toppings. I had some leftover icing, and you all know how much I love using up those leftovers, so I spread it on top of my little cakes If I was thinking properly, I would have made them real pretty and fancy and piped them on, but I don’t think I had enough icing leftover for that, so I just spread it out with a butter knife instead. 🙂

Play with your food and always have fun in the kitchen. Stay safe and stay well Everyone. ‘Til next time.