Can I Make The Clementine Cake With Less Sugar?

Our answer

Nigella's Clementine Cake (from HOW TO EAT) is a gluten-free cake that is made with whole clementines that are cooked until soft. The whole clementines are then blitzed to a cake batter with eggs, sugar and ground almonds (almond meal/flour).

Unfortunately we would not recommend making the cake without sugar. Sugar adds not only sweetness but also helps the cake to brown in the oven. In addition, the cake contains whole clementines. This means that the cake batter includes the pith, and the pith tends to be slightly bitter, so without sugar the cake would be pale and slightly bitter. Finally, sugar is hygroscopic, so attracts moisture, and without sugar the cake would also be slightly dry and would not keep well. Unfortunately we have not tried the sugar with other ingredients, such as honey. You can't directly substitute sugar in crystal form with liquid sugars as they affect the liquid proportions in the cake and can brown more quickly. Honey also tends to have quite a dominant taste in baked goods, so you would not taste the clementines as much. The cake does freeze well, so you could always freeze it in portions if you can't eat all of the cake within a week. Individual slices can be wrapped in food wrap and put in an airtight container to freeze. They should keep for a month in the freezer. To thaw a slice, unwrap it and leave it on a plate at room temperature for about 2 hours.