HONEY SPICE POUND CAKE WITH CLEMENTINES AND PLUMS

I believe that if you love to preserve or can foods then you love to cook and enjoy fine dining, not just eating.  For me, half the fun of putting by small batch preserves is also discovering ways to incorporate those rainbows of color and flavor into your baking, your daily meals, creating delectable dishes to share with those you love.

It is from that desire that I used a jar of my Clementines in Honey-Spice Syrup to create a Honey Spice Pound Cake.  The cake recipe is similar to a pound cake, and if you like the idea but have no preserved clementines you could use any other type of fruit instead, like blueberries, or pineapple or bing cherries.

 

Go ahead get creative, after all that is what cooking is all about.

HONEY SPICE POUND CAKE 

 

INGREDIENTS

1 3/4 Cups Raw Sugar

1/2 Cup unsalted Butter, softened

1/2 Cup low-fat fat Cream Cheese, softened

3 large Eggs (room temperature)

1 Tbs zest of Lemon

Juice of 1 lemon (about 3 Tablespoons)

2 teaspoon Vanilla

3 cups sifted All-Purpose Flour

1 cup preserved Clementine slices including ginger bits

1 cup diced dried Plums

4 teaspoon Honey Spice Syrup

1 teaspoon Baking Powder

1/2 teaspoon Baking Soda

1/2 teaspoon Salt

1-6 oz carton Fage Total 0% Greek Yogurt

1/2 Cup sifted Confectionary Sugar

Cooking spray

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Gather all ingredients.  Drain pint jar of Clementines in Honey Spice Syrup reserving liquid.

Beat the sugar, butter and cream cheese at medium speed with a mixer until well blended. 

Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.  Beat in the vanilla, lemon juice and lemon zest.

In a smaller bowl measure the 3 cups of flour.  Remove 2 Tbs and sprinkle over the fruit, gently stirring and tossing to coat.

To the remaining flour add the baking powder, baking soda and salt, stir to combine.  Add the flour mixture to the sugar mixture alternately with the yogurt, be careful not to over-mix.  Gently, fold in the Clementine slices and plum pieces.

Pour the batter into a 10-inch tube pan or bundt pan coated with cooking spray.  Sharply tap the pan once on the counter to remove air bubbles.  Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes more or less depending on your oven, or until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Cool the cake in the pan for 15 minutes on a wire rack.  Remove cake from the pan.  Allow to cool completely.

Combine the powdered sugar and honey-spice syrup in a small bowl and whisk until smooth.  Drizzle over the cake.

CLEMENTINES IN HONEY- SPICE SYRUP

Throughout the winter, when they are in season and readily available, clementines sweetly provide needed Vitamin C. Small, easy to peel, sweeter than tart, with few if any seeds they are easy to preserve.

Historians believe that the clementine was developed early in the 20th century by Father Clement Rodier, a French missionary, in the garden of his orphanage in Misserghin, Algeria. Cardamom plays an important role in Algerian sweets; paired with star anise in a gingery honey syrup this recipe produces a romantic aroma. Leftover syrup makes a creative base for fruit salads, a sweetener for smoothies, or as a saucy reduction for pork or chicken.

Usually available from December through February, canning these and other delectable citrus delicacies makes them available throughout the year.

CLEMENTINES IN HONEY- SPICE SYRUP

Variations: Substitute 1-1/2 lb. seedless thin-skinned oranges, such as Valencia or Tangerines. Blood Oranges or grapefruit with their tart flavor also blend well with this spiced syrup.

 

INGREDIENTS

½ Cup Honey

2 Cups Water

¼ cup thinly sliced peeled Ginger

4 Green Cardamom pods

1 whole Star Anise

3 whole Cloves

1 Cinnamon Stick

1 and 1/2 lbs. firm Clementines (5 to 7) or other citrus, peeled and segmented



DIRECTIONS

Tie Cloves, Cardamom Pods, Star Anise and Cinnamon Stick into a cheesecloth or muslin bag (I call this Spice Garni).

In a 4-quart saucepan, bring the water, Honey, Ginger, and Spice Garni to a boil over high heat, boil 3 minutes to concentrate the flavors. Let rest for several minutes. Remove Spice Garni from saucepan.

In the meantime, gently pack the slices into canning jars.

Ladle hot syrup (evenly distributing the ginger bits) into the jars over the slices leaving ½ inch head space; discard any excess syrup.

Process in a Hot Water bath for 10 minutes. Rest on shelf for at least one month before serving. Refrigerate after opening. 

If you would like to skip the Hot Water Bath and make a batch to keep in the refrigerator for several months bring the water, Honey, Ginger, and Spice Garni to a boil over high heat.

Remove from stove top, gently slip in Clementine segments, return to boil. Boil gently for 2 minutes.

Remove pan from stove top, using slotted spoon pack segments into jars.

Return syrup to stove top; boil 3 minutes to concentrate the flavors.

Remember that this is a small batch process so you should end up with three half-pint jars to enjoy.

Remove Spice Garni from saucepan. Ladle liquid into jars. Cap, cool, refrigerate, enjoy!

If you would like to store on the pantry shelf for up to a year, following the guidelines for safe Hot Water Bath Canning and process for 10 minutes.  Store on cool, dark shelf.

There are many ways to use these preserved Clementines.  One of my favorites is baking a Honey Spice Pound Cake.  Dense and sweet you can customize by adding other dried fruits.