chocolate-covered almond clementine cakes

part 1

• place the 3 clementines in a pot of cold water and boil for 60 minutes (the skin sometimes cracks open, that’s ok)
• drain water and let cool
• cut boiled clementines in half, remove seeds and put in food processor to create a purée (you will need 250 grams of purée for this recipe)

part 2

• fill a small pan with water and boil remove from heat
• place chocolate squares in a small pot and place inside the pan of hot water and gently stir while melting
• when fully melted and if you can, add a pinch of salt and some drops of almond and orange essential oils or some orange zest to flavour it
• using the same silicone mini-cake mould you will use for baking the cakes (or another if you have two) place the mould onto a metal cookie sheet
• drop the melted chocolate in each cavity, and spread it out evenly to create identical disks of chocolate by gently smoothing with a small spoon and tapping it onto a hard surface
• gently place 1 almond and 1 slice of candied clementine on each chocolate disk
• let the chocolate disks cool inside the moulds and let chill and set in the refrigerator for an hour or so
• after one hour (or more) carefully remove the chocolate disks from the silicone moulds and place them bottom-side up onto a sheet of waxed paper on a cool plate and put back inside the refrigerator

part 3

• preheat your oven to 180°C (355°F)
• with a hand-held mixer or by hand with a whisk, beat the 3 eggs and sugar together until smooth
• add the clementine purée and vanilla and salt and keep mixing
• add the almond powder and mix until smooth
• if you have some, add the drops of orange and/or almond essential oils and candied orange bits and mix
• add the cornstarch and baking powder
• brush some melted butter inside your mould, flour it too if you prefer
• gently pour clementine cake batter inside the moulds, filling each cavity approximately 2/3 of the way up
• bake for 30 minutes until golden at 180°C (355°F), rotate the pan once half-way through the cooking time
• let cool for 5-10 minutes before removing individual cakes from the silicone mould
• flip the cakes out of the mould, upside-down

part 4

• while still slightly warm to the touch (very slightly warmer than your hands) and with a small knife, gently place chocolate disks on each individual cake (or simply melt some chocolate and use it as a glue)

note : the residual warmth of the cakes will slightly soften the chocolate disks and bind it to the cake

• place individual cakes in refrigerator and wait until the chocolate re-solidifies and serve slightly cold…