Tangerine-Almond Cake

Directions

1. Place two whole unpeeled tangerines in a large saucepan or stockpot, and cover with cold water. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat, and simmer gently for about 2 hours. Drain in a colander and set tangerines aside to cool.
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter and flour a 9 or 10-inches in diameter springform pan or a cake pan with high sides; (I baked mine in a deep round glass baking dish) and set aside.
3. Halve the cooked tangerines, and remove any seeds. Place the halves in a food processor, and pulse until pureed but still a little chunky. You should have about 1 cup of the pulp; set aside.
4. Finely grind almonds with ¼ cup of sugar in food processor. In a large bowl combine egg yolks with ½ cup sugar; then using an electric mixer, beat until thick and smooth. Stir in the tangerine puree, almond mixture, cinnamon, almond extract and salt.
5. Using clean beaters, beat egg whites and salt in a large bowl until soft pick form. Gradually add ½ cup sugar and beat until stiff and shiny, but not dry.
6. Gently fold in the meringue into the tangerine and almond mixture in 3 or 4 portions. Transfer batter to the prepared pan. Bake until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 40 to 45 minutes. Cool in the pan on a rack. Turn out onto platter or a cake stand.
7. To make the topping: With a sharp vegetable peeler, take of the peel of the 2 remaining tangerines; then with a small sharp knife carefully remove all leftover white pith until the peel is translucent. Juice the tangerines and discard the seeds.
8. In a medium saucepan, combine remaining 3/4 cup sugar with 1/2 cup water and the tangerine juice. Bring mixture to a boil, stirring until sugar has dissolved.
9. Add the tangerine peel to saucepan, and reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer gently until most of the liquid has evaporated and thickened into syrup, about 15 to 20 minutes. Remove from heat, and set aside to cool completely.
10. Arrange the caramelized tangerine peel on top of the cake and then pour any remaining syrup. Cut into wedges, and serve. The cake can be stored, covered, in the refrigerator up to 2 days. I like to serve this cake with a generous dollop of whipped cream, lightly sweetened and perfumed with some Amaretti liqueur.