How Can I Cook The Clementines For Clementine Cake Without Them Splitting Open?

Our answer

Nigella's Clementine Cake (from HOW TO EAT uses a puree made from whole, cooked clementines. The clementines are cooked until soft, then pureed with the other ingredients to make the cake batter. If the clementines are splitting, it is probably because either they have been cooked for too long or have been boiled too aggressively.

The recipe gives a weight of 375g for the clementines and this should be about 4 medium-sized clementines. In the UK some of the supermarkets sell "easy peelers" that are very small and if you have to use these then the cooking time will be shorter, so you should keep an eye on them and stop cooking once a table knife can be inserted easily into the clementine. The clementines can also split if they are boiled too hard. Put the fruits in a saucepan that will fit them fairly snugly, cover with water and bring to boiling point, then immediatley turn the heat down to the barest simmer, cover and cook very gently until they are soft. We would also mention that we have recently added instructions for cooking the clementines in a microwave and in a pressure cooker, which may be easier and reduces the risk of splitting. The instructions can be found in the notes at the bottom of the recipe.