Little Clementine Cranberry Syrup Cakes Food

CRANBERRY-CLEMENTINE TRIFLE

Steps:

• Split the vanilla bean in half lengthwise and scrape out the seeds with a small, sharp knife. Put the seeds and the vanilla pod in a medium heavy-bottomed saucepan. Add the milk and heat over medium until hot, but not boiling. Whisk the sugar, cornstarch, egg yolks and 1/2 teaspoon salt together in a medium bowl. Whisk the hot milk into the egg mixture in a slow stream, whisking constantly, then pour the custard back into the saucepan. Cook, over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until the custard has thickened and just begins to simmer, 5 to 7 minutes. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a clean bowl and stir in the butter. Cover the surface of the custard with parchment or plastic wrap and refrigerate until cold, 2 to 3 hours.
• For the cranberry compote: Combine the cranberries, juice, sugar, cinnamon stick and a pinch of salt in a medium heavy-bottomed saucepan and bring to a boil and cook stirring occasionally, until all the berries have popped and the compote is slightly thickened, about 12 minutes. Remove the cinnamon stick. Cool the compote slightly, then carefully puree in a blender until smooth. Transfer the puree to a bowl and chill until cold, about 2 hours.
• Heat the brandy, sugar and 2 tablespoons water in a small saucepan over medium heat, stirring, until the sugar dissolves. Remove from heat.
• Assemble the pound cake: Trim all the crusts from the pound cakes, then slice them lengthwise into long, 1/2-inch-wide slices. Brush the brandy syrup on both sides of the pound cake slices. Spread about 3/4 cup of the vanilla cream on the bottom of a 3- to 4-quart trifle dish. Arrange 1 layer of pound cake slices on top of the vanilla cream, breaking the pound cake in pieces to fit into 1 layer. Gently spread 1/2 the cranberry compote over the cake layer. Spread 1/2 the remaining vanilla cream over the compote layer, then top with another layer of pound cake slices. Spread the remaining compote over the pound cake layer and top with the remaining vanilla cream. Top with a final layer of pound cake. Refrigerate the trifle until cold, at least 4 hours, or up to overnight.
• Just before serving: Whip the heavy cream with the confectioners' sugar until soft peaks form. Top the trifle with the whipped cream, and garnish with clementine segments if using.
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CLEMENTINE CAKE

Steps:

• Put the clementines in a pot with cold water to cover, bring to the boil, and cook for 2 hours. Drain and, when cool, cut each clementine in half and remove the seeds. Then finely chop the skins, pith, and fruit in the processor (or by hand, of course).
• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
• Butter and line an 8-inch springform pan with parchment paper.
• Beat the eggs. Add the sugar, almonds, and baking powder. Mix well, adding the chopped clementines. I don't like using the processor for this, and frankly, you can't balk at a little light stirring.
• Pour the cake mixture into the prepared pan and bake for 1 hour, when a skewer will come out clean; you'll probably have to cover the cake with foil after about 40 minutes to stop the top from burning. Remove from the oven and leave to cool, in the pan on a rack. When the cake is cold, you can take it out of the pan. I think this is better a day after it's made, but I don't complain about eating it anytime.
• I've also made this with an equal weight of oranges and lemons, in which case I increase the sugar to 1 1/4 cups and slightly Anglicize it, too, by adding a glaze made of confectioners' sugar mixed to a paste with lemon juice and a little water.