Life is wacky, let's all eat more cake
People, it's been a wild week in these parts! My book is out there in the world, on bookstore tables and at Target and in airports, which I know because many friends of mine have texted or tweeted me pictures when they see it (keep going, I love every single one). THE WEDDING DATE hit the USA Today best seller list, which I can hardly believe! It got this lovely review from NPR, and this great one in The Riveter (where it's next to some books I cannot wait to read, and cannot believe I'm on the same list as), and it was in the March issue of Cosmo! This all feels very surreal, especially since when I wrote this book, I had no idea if anyone but me and a handful of my friends would ever read it, and I didn't even know if my friends would like it! Tomorrow night I'm reading (along with some very cool writers) at Writers With Drinks at the Make-Out Room in San Francisco, so please come! It starts at 7:30, get there early to get a seat (the last time I went to this, I got there at like 7:20 and we sat on the floor, so fair warning).
In non book news, this is the time of year that I'm very happy I discovered this miracle product: Nivea In Shower Body Lotion. As I've previously talked about here, I hate putting lotion on after showers (I think this is mostly because I'm usually in a huge rush in the morning and like to shower and immediately jump into my clothes, and if you put on lotion you're all sticky all over for a while and have to wait for it to sink in and it takes way longer), but this stuff you put on during a shower, right after you rinse from the soap, and it's moisturizing and smells good without being overpowering, and I love it.
A book I've been thinking a lot about in the past few weeks is The Warmth of Other Suns, one of the best books I've ever read. It's about the Great Migration of Black Americans who left the South for the North and West, and it taught me so much about America and so much about myself. I read it over six years ago, and I think about it at least on a weekly basis. I need to reread it soon, I'm sure there's so much I missed or don't remember.
It's citrus season, and I love baking with citrus as much as, and sometimes more than, I love baking with berries. This clementine cake by my girl Nigella is a great everyday kind of cake -- the kind I think of as perfect to have with a cup of tea on a Saturday afternoon, or that goes along with coffee on a weekend morning (the cup you have before you go meet your friends for brunch). And it's gluten free (if you use gluten free baking powder), so it's perfect to make for your friends who can't eat gluten. Make it for yourself if you're hanging out at home this weekend, eat a slice while you read on the couch that afternoon, and nibble at it all week. I've always wanted to try this cake with Meyer lemons, but I haven't done it, maybe sometime this winter I will.
Clementine Cake
4-5 clementines or tangerines (about 1 pound)
6 eggs
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar (225 grams)
2 1/3 cups ground almonds (250 grams)
1 heaping teaspoon baking powder
Glaze (not necessary, but fun)
1/2 cup powdered sugar
Juice of a half a clementine (you may or may not need it all)
Put the clementines in a large pot with plenty of cold water, bring it all to a boil, and cook for two hours (keep checking the water to make sure it doesn't simmer off, but it usually doesn't). Drain and let the clementines cool; when they're cool enough, cut them in half and take out the seeds, then throw them in a food processor and blend them all up.
Preheat the oven to 375 F. Butter an 8 inch springform pan. Beat the eggs (you can use a stand mixer for this, but I do this all by hand), and add the sugar, almonds, and baking powder. Mix well, then add the chopped up clementines. Pour into the pan and bake for about 50 minutes to an hour (start checking at 45 minutes, it's ready when a toothpick comes out clean).
Toward the end of baking, make the glaze: mix about a tablespoon of the clementine juice into the powdered sugar until it's thin enough for your taste. Let the cake cool in the pan on a rack until it's just warm, take it out of the pan and drizzle it with the glaze. Eat it all by yourself or share with friends.
Have a good weekend!
Jasmine
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