Spiced Clementine Pound Cake

Yeah, you read that title and were like what the hell? It's okay, I promise it's good. So my friend Liz made some candied clementines and gave me some, and I thought, you know what, let's make a cake with those. I asked her to send me the link to the recipe she used, and she sent me three links and told me about the bastardization of a recipe that she did, so I'll try to give you what she did. 

For the Clementines:

12 clementines 

4 c granulated sugar

3 c water

1 cinnamon stick

1 piece candied ginger

3 - 4 cardamom pods

1. Wash the clementines well and poke with a toothpick or fork several times to pierce the skin. In a pot, combine all the ingredients above. 

2. Bring to a simmer, cover, and simmer for 1 - 2 hours (the longer, the softer the rind will be). Be careful not to boil them. Let the clementines cool in the syrup. 

3. Chop up 4 of them and reserve for the cake. The rest, you can chop and use almost like a marmalade on toast. and the simple syrup is delicious in a drink as well! 

For the Cake:

3 sticks unsalted butter, room temp

1 c granulated sugar

1/2 c brown sugar

6 large eggs

1 3/4 c all-purpose flour

1 1/2 tsp salt

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp cinnamon 

1/4 tsp ground ginger

1. Prepare bundt pan with goop and preheat oven to 325F. 

2. Cream together butter and sugars in a stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment. 

3. Slowly add in eggs, making sure to incorporate between each egg. 

4. Combine dry ingredients in a small bowl (flour, salt, baking powder, spices). Add them to the wet ingredients slowly until incorporated. 

5. Add chopped up clementines to the batter and combine. 

6. Bake for 45 - 55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. 

For the Glaze:

1/4 c clementine syrup (again, I'm sorry; I am very bad at actually measuring things for a glaze... this is an estimate)

Juice of 1 lemon

2 ish c powdered sugar (also an estimate- you want it to be thick, but also pourable)

1. Combine in a bowl until you get a fairly thick consistency. 

2. Once cake is turned out onto a tray and cooled completely, drizzle glaze over the top. Allow to harden.