St Clements cakes

These little cakes are not your 'typical' St Clements cakes, they are basically a lemon & poppy seed sponge, but with a little orange zest and juice added to the batter.  

I topped my cakes with an orange & lemon syrup, a swirl of buttercream. orange dust AND a white chocolate & poppyseed heart!! For something easier you could make a simple icing from the juice of a few oranges &/or lemons mixed with icing sugar.

Sponge recipe

175g butter, softened

200g caster sugar

2 whole eggs plus 1 yolk, beaten

225g plain flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda

125 ml buttermilk

zest of 3 lemons

zest of 3 oranges, plus juice from one

2 tbsp of poppy seeds

Preheat and oven to 180oC

Cream together the softened butter and caster sugar until pale and fluffy.

Add the eggs one at a time and beat well.

Add the zests and orange juice.

Sift half the flour with the baking powder and bicarbonate of soda into the butter, sugar and egg mix and fold in gently.  

Add half the buttermilk and fold in gently.

Repeat this process with the rest of the flour and buttermilk.

Add the poppy seeds.

Bake at 180oC until a firm to touch and when a knife inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.

Syrup recipe

50g caster sugar

75 ml orange juice

1 tbsp lemon juice

Add all the ingredients into a pan.

Warm over a low heat until the sugar dissolves.

Continue to heat until the mixture has thickened slightly.  

Brush over the cakes.  

Repeat this process until you have used up all the syrup.

Orange Dust

Taken from Unwrapped - Green & Blacks Chocolate Recipes

4 oranges

300g granulated sugar

120 ml water

oil for greasing

Scrub the oranges and pat them dry.

Using a vegetable peeler, remove the top layer of the peel, but ensure you don't remove the pith.

Bring the sugar and water to the boil and, without stirring, boil for about 10 minutes or until it begins to form a syrup.

Add the orange peel and continue to boil without stirring for another 10 minutes.

Brush some oil onto a baking sheet and, using a pair of togs, transfer the caramelised peel to the baking sheet.

Leave to cool and dry completely before pulverising in a food processor.