Oh, my Darlin' Clementine (for a Breakfast Olive Oil Cake)

My son and I are on a Clementine kick.  You've never had them?  To be honest, neither had we, until this season.  Where we live, the brand Cuties are easily spotted at our local grocery store and at Costco.

They're a blend of two kinds of mandarins: Clementine and Murcott.  I keep them in my purse, for  a quick snack that satisfies my craving for sweets. They peel so easily!

I buy them in 3 pound and 5 pound bags, and they disappear really fast!  My Blogger Buddy, Stacey ("Stacey Snacks") posted her recipe of a Clementine Olive Oil cake in early March.  I remembered it, as I was enjoying a juice "Cutie" and pondering what I could make with some of them.  This cake is super easy to make:

First, I zested the four of the clementines, and then peeled them. (The zest will be added to the batter.) In a food processor, I whizzed the peeled fruit to make about ⅔ cup of fresh pulpy juice.  You'll need flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Just whisk those together.  You also need 2 eggs, room temperature. Next..

 Instead of butter, we're using olive oil-- NOT vegetable oil, or canola oil... I'm using Extra-Virgin Olive Oil.  I have expensive stuff, but that's more of a finishing oil.  I buy my EVOO at Trader Joe's...it's a staple in my pantry.  You only need 3/4 of a cup, which is added with the eggs and sugar until it's well blended and light.

Next, you add the pulpy juice...then the dry ingredients...and the batter is done. Quick!

Parchment paper is a good thing to use, but I use Baker's Joy.  Stacey says to bake it at 375F for 50-55 minutes, but I always set the timer for 10-15  minutes less when I am trying a new recipe. It's a good thing that I did, because the loaf was finished at 40 minutes!  NOTE: You could easily turn these into muffins.

I let the baked loaf cool for 20 minutes, and then put it on a cooling rack.  Stace says to wait a day to taste the cake, because it tastes even better. Uh-huh.

It is my duty to slice the cake, once it cooled down-- purely for quality control purposes. I'm liking those bits of Clementine pulp, Stacey!

VERDICT:  The cake was moist, and slightly dense.  It's not too sweet -- so, if you have a sweet tooth for traditional American Cakes... you might be disappointed.  I felt the taste of the Clementine was very subtle... I almost wanted more of it to come through.  My husband didn't like the cake that much-- he ate two slices and that was it..  I think he just couldn't fathom the idea of olive oil, instead of butter. I shouldn't have told him, in advance!  Me?  I was raised by a German mom, so I like cakes that aren't super sweet with a lot of frosting. I liked the cake, and I ate a slice or two each morning with my coffee.    I bet that if I made a glaze for this, with some tangy lemon juice, that he would like the cake better. Oh, I'd also have to fool him by calling it Clementine Butter Cake. 

I am linking this recipe to the Saturday Blog Showcase, hosted by Lori at "All  That Splatters" and Ann at "Thibeault's Table".   It's a great way to give a shout out to fellow bloggers and a fun way to discover new food blogs.  I would love to have more of you participate, so please link a recipe you've recently made from a fellow Food Blogger. Thanks Stacey!

I hope you find Clementines, before the season is over!