Little clementine & cranberry syrup cakes

• 2-3 clementines

  very thinly sliced (you need 8 nice slices), plus zest 4 clementines or 1 large orange

• butter↗175g g

  softened, plus extra for greasing

• golden caster sugar↗200g g

  plus extra for sprinkling

• large eggs↗2
• plain flour↗140g g
• ground almond↗100g g
• baking powder↗2 tsp tsp
• whole milk↗100ml ml
• fresh or frozen cranberry100g g
• juice 4 clementine

  or 1 large orange (about 150ml)

• Cointreau↗150ml ml

  or other orange liqueur

• golden caster sugar↗85g g
• stem ginger cream

  see recipe, below

Step-by-step instructions

1. 1

   Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Grease 8 ovenproof dariole moulds and line the bases with a disk of baking parchment. Sprinkle each slice of clementine with a little sugar and place 1 in the bottom of each dariole, line up on a baking tray and set aside.

2. 2

   Put the butter and sugar in a large bowl. Mix with an electric hand whisk until smooth and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, whisking until well incorporated. Add the flour, almonds and baking powder, whisk until smooth, then add the zest, milk and cranberries. Give everything a good final mix with a spatula, then divide the mixture between your dariole moulds. Bake for 30 mins until risen, golden, and an inserted skewer comes out clean. Leave to cool in their tins for 10-15 mins while you make the syrup.

3. 3

   Heat the clementine juice, orange liqueur and sugar in a small pan, swirling until the sugar has dissolved. Increase the heat and boil for a few mins, until the liquid has reduced by about half. Pour into a shallow dish and leave to cool for 5 mins.

4. 4

   When cool enough to handle, turn the cakes out of their tins and peel away the parchment. Stand in the dish of syrup, spooning it over the little cakes until completely absorbed. Transfer the cakes to a baking parchment-lined tray and leave to cool completely before serving with stem ginger cream (see tip below for recipe).