candied hazelnut and clementine cake

torta di nocciole e clementini

This is a traditional chocolate cake from Florence.

for 8–10

150 g shelled hazelnuts

500 g crystallised clementines

150 g unsalted butter, softened, plus extra for the tin

500 ml Vecchio Romagna brandy

100 g sultanas

600 g shelled whole blanched almonds

50 g caster sugar

100 g plain flour

3 large, organic free-range eggs

100 g soft dark brown sugar

150 g bitter-sweet chocolate, roughly chopped

peel of 2 lemons, pith removed, peel finely chopped

marzipan

250 g shelled whole blanched almonds

150 g caster sugar

150 ml Vecchio Romagna brandy

Preheat the oven to 150°C/300°F/Gas 2. Butter a 25 cm round cake tin and line the bottom with parchment paper.

Chop the clementines into 1 cm pieces and marinate in 400 ml of the brandy. In a separate bowl, marinate the sultanas in the remaining brandy.

Roast the hazelnuts for 6–8 minutes until the skin is loose and the nuts are brown. Remove the skins and chop the nuts. Roast 200 g of the almonds for 6–8 minutes, then pulse-chop in the food processor to coarse. Pulse-chop another 200 g of the almonds to coarse. Finely chop the remaining 200 g almonds to flour.

Cream the butter and caster sugar together in a food processor until pale. Sift in the plain flour and half the almond flour. Add the eggs one by one, beating all the time. Remove to a bowl. Stir in the brown sugar, the chopped nuts and remaining almond flour.

Drain the brandy from the clementines and the sultanas. Mix the brandy into the cake mixture to liquefy it and make it easier to combine. Finally stir in the clementines, chocolate, chopped peels and the sultanas. Spoon into the prepared cake tin and bake for 1½ hours or until cooked. Cool on a wire rack.

To make the marzipan, put the almonds into the food processor and process until finely ground. Add the sugar and brandy and pulse-chop to combine for 2–3 minutes. It should become a very thick, sticky paste. Spoon this on to the top of the cake in a layer about 1 cm thick. Rough up the surface with a fork. Place under a hot grill to brown.