Oh my darling Clementine (Cake)!

Last week was Chinese New Year, and I decided to bring home a little something this year. I wanted to bring dessert, but the problem is my parents don't like anything too sweet. Asian parents I tell you. They are the only two people in the world that I know that do not like chocolate (BIZARRE, I know.) So I thought whatever I make, it has to be something flavorful but not too sweet. That's when I remembered while watching Walter Mitty, one of the characters made a clementine cake.

Clementine cake! It's actually quite perfect for the occasion since clementines are considered to be good luck in Chinese culture. So I quickly googled a recipe (here) and turns out it only requires five ingredients! That's right, FIVE.

• 6-7 small clementines (think golf-balls)
• 6 eggs
• 2 1/4 cup of almond meal (I heard you can also use almond flour if you can't find almond meal but I have not tried it)
• 1/2 cup of sugar (half of what was called in the original recipe)
• 1 tsp of baking powder

Be warned you DO need about 3.5 hours to make this. Two-thirds of that time though is just boiling the clementines (which you don't even have to be there for.) Just make sure you set a timer!

So let's get to work. How does one make a clementine cake?

1.  Rinse the clementines and place them in a pot of water (skin and all) and wait for it to boil. Once boiling, reduce to low heat and simmer for 2 hours.

2. When the clementines are almost done, mix together almond meal, sugar, eggs, and baking powder.

3. Once clementines are done, drain and rinse them gently in cool water.
Be careful, they are hot and delicate!

4. Once cooled, rip the clementines in half and remove any seeds. Place them in a bowl and mash with a fork or hand. You may also use a food processor but I found it quite easy to do with hands.

5. Finally, mix all the ingredients together into a cake pan (greased with butter for easy removal later).

6. Lastly, bake in oven at 375 deg. Fahrenheit or 190 deg. Celsius for 40 minutes, or until knife or toothpick comes out clean when inserted. Once that's the case, cover the cake with foil and bake for another 20 minutes. The foil will help prevent the cake from burning. The result should have a nice brown, golden color on top.

Soft, flavorful, and delicious!

Asian parents approved.