The first thing you should know about this vegan clementine cake is that it really looks as orange inside as in the picture.

The second thing you should know is that it’s one of the best things I’ve ever made. I do not say that lightly.

While I was sick with the flu, I ordered groceries online and got a big bag of clementines. I ate a bunch while I was in bed, but I still had about half a bag leftover. I wasn’t necessarily intending to make a cake with the leftovers, but then I had the idea of making it into a loaf cake that I could slice and eat for breakfast.

This cake could not be easier to make. You mix a bunch of ingredients together, pour it into a pre-lined loaf pan, bake it for a little, and then let it cool before you top it with the clementine glaze.

I added the glaze while my neighbor was over for tea. We both ooh’ed and aah’d as I cut into the cake and it revealed a bright orange color. Then we each tried a piece. “This is really, really good,” she said. “Wow,” I said. “It really is.”

So good, in fact, that I hoarded most of it for myself and only gave a few pieces away: some to my neighbor and her roommate because that was the polite thing to do, and one to my boyfriend.

I know that cake isn’t synonymous with health, but this cake actually has a lot going for it in the health department. It’s filled with citrus, which we all need more of at this time of year, and it’s vegan, so you do without some of the heavier ingredients found in normal cake.

Don’t get me wrong: I love normal cake as much as the next person. But this is the perfect thing to make when you’re recovering from being sick and you want something bright, healthful, and light.

Here’s a song to get you started on your clementine cake journey.

Vegan Clementine Cake

Ingredients

for the cake:
1 cup almond milk
2 Tbsp chia seeds
4 Tbsp clementine zest and juice of 3 small clementines
1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup sugar
1 1/3 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup almond flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
pinch of salt

for the glaze:
2/3 cup powdered sugar
2 Tbsp clementine juice

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a loaf pan with parchment paper and set aside.

In one bowl, mix the almond milk, chia seeds, clementine zest, clementine juice, and apple cider vinegar. In another bowl, whisk together the sugar, all purpose flour, almond flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until just combined.

Scrape the batter into the prepared loaf pan. Bake for 35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the cake comes out clean and the top springs back when you touch it.

Let the cake cool.

Once the cake is cool, whisk together the icing sugar and clementine juice, and pour the mixture over the cake. Store leftovers tightly wrapped at room temperature.

Enjoy!