There are a number of ways in which a morning might begin. It may for example begin with an alarm clock that sounds to your sleeping ears like the mighty blow of a Viking's horn; or with the ever-so-tender touch of your dog who, meaning well, erroneously assumes that licking you first thing in the morning makes you happy. Then there is the possibility that you wake up spontaneously - just to discover that you've been without cover for a while, judging from the popsicle-like quality of your body. You could also wake up with a kiss, but fairytales are démodés. There are also mornings when you don't wake up. You lie there, consciously asleep, and pretend that the world thinks that you're still sleeping even though everyone can tell that you're not. So you ignore the world and continue sleeping - awake.
And then there's what happened to Celestial Dragon. He was having the most beautiful dream: he dreamt of round fruits and sweet fruit juices, he dreamt of fruits with cream and fruits coated in chocolate, he dreamt of tutti frutti, and fruit cakes. At that precise moment, just as his divine brain was processing the very complex interplay between the image of a 'fruit cake' and the smell emanating thereof, translating everything into an extraordinarily vivid sensation akin to reality only, he woke up.
Just imagine the dismay. The disappointment. The desperation.
Yet some parts of that dream seemed to linger still. Something tangible, something important. But Celestial Dragon couldn't really put his finger on it. Or his paws. Or head. And then the blow – satori-style. Divine Cherry, gifted with divine premonition and thoughtful thoughts, had actually prepared a fruit cake. But not just any fruit cake. It was the best fruit cake in the world.
And so it was that what for Celestial Dragon had begun as a disappointingly disastrous morning, came in fact to be one of the most enjoyable of them all.
Clementine Cake
Ingredients:
-180g of soft butter
-275g of sugar
-375g of flour
-1 tsp of baking powder
-230g of egg whites
-1 glass of milk
-the grated skins & the juice of 3 clementines
Clementine marmelade
-140g of clementines
-350g of water (= x2.5 the weight of the clementines)
-140g of sugar
The cake
Whisk the butter and the flower in a large bowl until it gets light and pale. Sift the flour and the baking powder and add it to the bowl, add the glass of milk, the clementine juice and the grated zests as well. Mix well in order to amalgamate the ingredients. Meanwhile, in another bowl, beat the egg whites until stiff. Add it to the mix, a third at a time, delicately. Pour the mixture in a previously buttered and floured loaf mould. Put in the preheated oven at 180°C for 40mins.
The marmelade
While the cake is in the oven, put in a heavy bottom pan what is left of the clementines after you've squeezed them, plus a couple of fresh clementines cut into pieces (skin on). Weigh the fruits and cover with water (water weight = 2.5 times fruit weight). Cook for 30-40 minutes or until the fruits start to flake. Add the sugar (sugar weight = fruit weight) and stir to dissolve. Cook at medium heat for about 20 minutes or until the marmelade has the right consistency. Do not hesitate to taste. To check the consistency: put one teaspoon of marmelade on a cold plate, tilt the plate and if the marmelade doesn't run down easily, you know it is ready. If it is too runny, on the other hand, be a dear and cook it a while longer.
Spread the surface of the cake with some warm marmelade. It's ready!
Torta al mandarino
- 180 g burro morbido
- 275 g zucchero
- 375g farina
- 1 cucchiaino lievito
- 230 g albumi
- 1 bicchiere di latte
- buccia grattuggiata e il succo di 3 mandarini
Marmellata di mandarini per un vasetto e un bicchierino
- 140 g mandarini (bucce avanzate e mandarini interi)
- 350 g acqua (= x2.5 il peso dei mandarini)
-140 g zucchero
La torta:
In una ciotola capiente montare con le fruste elettriche il burro con lo zucchero fino ad ottenere un composto chiaro e spumoso. Aggiungere la farina settacciata con lievito, il bicchiere di latte, il succo di 3 mandarini e la buccia grattuggiata degli stessi. Mescolare bene per amalgamare gli ingredienti. A parte in una ciotola asciutta e pulita montare a neve fermissima gli albumi. Aggiungere gli albumi al composto un terzo alla volta, delicatamente. Versare il composto in uno stampo rettangolare imburrato e infarinato. Infornare in forno gia' caldo a 180°C per 40 minuti.
La marmellata:
Mentre la torta e' nel forno, mettere in un pentolino dal fondo spesso gli avanzi dei mandari spremuti insieme ad un mandarino intero tagliato a pezzetti (compresa la buccia). Pesare la frutta e coprirla con acqua fredda. Il peso dell'acqua dev'essere 2 volte e mezzo quello della frutta. Far cuocere finche la frutta non si sfalda. A questo punto aggiungere lo zucchero (pari peso al peso della frutta). Mescolare per scioglierlo. Dopo 10 minuti, frullare una parte della frutta con il frullatore ad immersione. Contiunuare a cuocere a fuoco medio fino ad ottenere una densita' marmellatosa (circa 20 minuti).
Per verificare la densita' della marmellata, prelevare un cucchiaino dal pentolino e poggiarlo su un piattino freddo, se inclinando il piattino la marmellata scende lentamente e' pronta. Se risulta ancora liquida, proseguire la cottura.
Spalmare la superficie della torta appena sfornata con un po' della marmellata preparata.
Enjoy,
And Spread the Mess
