Hairy Bakers St Clement's cake recipe

'Oranges and lemons, rang the bells of St Clement's'. Straight from The Hairy Bakers, this St Clement's cake recipe is by Dave Myers and Simon King

Ingredients

The cake

• 2 x 23cm Spring Form Cake Tins
• 500g Unsalted Butter (Softened)
• 400g Caster Sugar
• 8 Eggs
• 1 Tsp Vanilla Paste
• 2 Heaped Tsp Baking Powder
• 100g Ground Almonds
• 560g Plain Flour
• Juice of a Lemon
• Zest of Two Lemons
• 3 Tbls Orange Juice
• Zest of an Orange
• 1 Tsp Orange Extract

The topping

• 250g Unsalted Butter (Softened)
• 500g Icing Sugar
• 1/2 Tsp Vanilla Paste
• 1 Dessert Spoon Hot Water
• Zest of a Lemon
• 2 Tsp Lemon Juice
• Zest of an Orange
• 1 Tsp Orange Extract
• The Crystallised Oranges and Lemons
• 10 Finely Sliced Slithers of Clementines
• 4 Finely Sliced Slithers of Lemon
• 50g Caster Sugar

Method

1. Cream together the butter and the sugar until it goes white (Very Important top tip). Beat in the eggs one by one
2. In a separate bowl blend together the flour, almonds, salt and baking powder then fold into the butter and sugar mixture. This is the basic cake mix.
3. Divide the cake mixture evenly into two bowls.
4. In the first bowl - let's make the Lemon Cake. To the cake mix add the juice of one lemon and the zest of two lemons.
5. In the second bowl - let's make the Orange Cake. To the cake mix add the Orange Juice, Orange extract and the zest of an orange.
6. Butter the two cake tins and line with silicon baking parchment. Pour the cake mixtures into the two cake tins.
7. Bake in a pre heated oven at 180°C for 40 minutes. To test whether the cake is cooked test by pushing a metal skewer into the centre of the cake and if the skewer comes out clean then the cake is cooked.
8. Leave to cool in the tins.
9. Meanwhile make the toppings and the crystallised fruits.
10. Lay the thin slices of oranges and lemons onto a baking tray and cover with a sprinkling of caster sugar.
11. Allow to caramelise in a hot oven approx 180°C for about 10 - 15 mins. But keep an eye on them as they burn quickly.
12. Remove from the oven when brown flecks appear on the fruit. Remove from the oven and carefully place on a buttered plate and set aside for decoration of your cake. They should be brittle and glossy when cooled.
13. Cream together the butter Icing sugar and hot water and fold in the vanilla paste.
14. Divide the mixture equally into two separate bowls.
15. To the first bowl add the lemon zest and the lemon juice mix thoroughly and this makes the lemon butter icing.
16. To the other bowl add the orange zest and the orange extract and stir thoroughly and this is the orange butter icing.
17. Cut the top off the lemon cake until it is level then spread generously with the lemon butter icing.
18. Sandwich the orange sponge cake on top of this. Coat the top of the cake with the orange butter icing.
19. Then arrange your crystallised fruits artistically onto the top of your cake.