Chocolate Clementine and Almond Cake

One of my favorite new cookbooks is Jerusalem, by Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi. As you can probably infer by the title, Jerusalem focuses on the food cooked by the Israelis, and Arabs that live in Jerusalem. Most of these recipes are amazing and bring me back to my year living in Israel. One of my favorite recipes found in the book is for a Clementine and Almond Cake topped with chocolate sauce. The cake itself is extremely flavorful and decadent without being heavy. The citrus cuts through the . This cake is a must try if you are a fan of citrus based desserts. It also helps that it is covered in chocolate.

Recipe is from Jerusalem, written by Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi

Ingredients:
3/4 cup and 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 cup sugar
zest and juice of 4 clementines
zest and juice of lemon
2 1/2 cups ground almonds
5 large beaten eggs
3/4 cup and 1 tablespoon all purpose flour
pinch of salt

Chocolate topping:
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
5 ounces good quality dark chocolate
2 1/2 teaspoons honey
1 1/2 teaspoons cognac

Method:
Preheat your oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a 9 1/2 inch springform pan with butter and the line the pan with parchment paper. Using a stand mixer, combine butter, 1 1/2 cups sugar, and the lemon and clementine zest. Beat on a low speed until combined. Be sure to not work the mixture too much as it will effect the finished product. Add half the ground almonds and mix until combined. Gradually add the eggs while the machine is running. Scrape the sides of the bowl to make sure that all of the ingredients are incorporated. You might need to do this a few times. Add the remaining ground almonds, flour, and salt. Beat the mixture until the batter is smooth. Pour the mixture into the pan and level the top with a spatula. Bake the cake for 50 to 60 minutes at 350°F. To check if the cake is done, stick a wooden skewer into the cake. The cake is ready when the skewer is slightly moist.

While the cake is baking, combine 1/3 cup of sugar and the citrus juice in a small sauce pot. Bring the sugar and citrus juice mixture to a boil. Once at a boil, remove from the heat. When the cake comes out of the oven, brush the cake with the citrus syrup until the cake has soaked up all the syrup. Leave the cake to cool completely before removing from the pan.

As the cake is cooling, it is time to prepare the chocolate topping. Place the chocolate, butter, and honey in a double boiler. Stir the mixture until everything has melted. Remove from the heat and fold in the cognac. Pour the chocolate sauce over the top of the cake. Let the chocolate topping set up. Once the topping has set up you are ready to serve.