Desert rose. A luscious and moist clementine cake with a rose water and vanilla bean cream cheese frosting. This sponge is charming, enticing, and fragrant. A splendid way to brighten up a pale and gloomy day. Top with silvered pistachios and pomegranate seeds for a romantic finishing touch.
INGREDIENTS
For the Cake
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, sifted
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 stick (113 gr.) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup/ 200 gr. sugar
3 large eggs, room temperature
1/2 cup (117 ml.) plain yogurt
zest of 3 clementines or 2 oranges*
2 tablespoons fresh clementine juice or orange juice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract or seeds of 1/2 a pod
For the Frosting
8 oz./226 gr./ 1 cup cream cheese, softened
1 stick (113 gr.) butter
1 1/3 cups (160 gr.) powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon rose water
seeds of half a vanilla pod or 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
METHOD
1. Preheat oven to 180 C/ 350 F and grease an 8 or 9 in. round cake pan with butter. Then, line the base with parchment paper.
2. Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into a medium bowl. Mix well to combine.
3. Cream together the butter and the sugar until light and fluffy. Mix in the eggs, one at a time until well incorporated. Pour in the yogurt and mix until smooth. Stir in the clementine zest, clementine juice, and vanilla.
4. Gently fold the flour mixture into the batter in 2 batches until the cake batter is creamy and free of lumps. This makes for a lighter cake. Pour the batter into the cake pan and bake for 27-30 minutes or until the the edges are golden and toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean. Leave in the pan for about 15 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
4. For the frosting, mix the cream cheese with a mixer until smooth. Add the butter, rose water, and vanilla, and continue mixing until well combined. Slowly add the sugar in batches until the frosting is thick and creamy. Spread over the cooled cake and decorate with pomegranate seeds and pistachios. Keep any leftover cake chilled for best results.
NOTES
*Take care not to grate the white rind of the clementine or orange as it can be very bitter in flavor.
EQUIPMENT
9-inch Round Cake Pan – Amazon
hanadykitchen.com 
What a beautiful cake. I want a slice of this soooo bad. Thank you for sharing 🙂
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Thank you for your comment, Jess! It is, indeed, tantalizingly good! Xx
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This cake is absolutely stunning and the variety of flavors sound so dreamy! I have already made your orange cake with orange blossom drizzle and everyone absolutely loved it! This will be my next project! Thank you! X
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Thank you so much for your kind words, Emilia! I am so glad to hear that you liked that recipe! It really seems to be a favorite on the blog. It is lovely having you in this space and look forward to hearing from you! Xx
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Soooo beautiful!
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Thank you, dear! X
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Definately going to try this one out looks delicious 😍
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Hi there! Thank you for your comment! I hope you love this recipe! It is absolutely divine! – Hanady Xx
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Omg – can we just sy perfection!
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Thank you for your sweet comment, Jenn! 🙂 – Hanady X
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It looks so pretty…must be very tasty.
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Thank you, Sanchari! It is, indeed, delicious! One of my favorite cake recipes thus far. I hope you’ll give this recipe a try. 🙂 – Hanady Xx
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superrrrrrrr
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Thank you! 🙂
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Amazing! You fairy!
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Thank you, dear, for your comment! 🙂 – Hanady X
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This looks great! Thanks for posting, I look forward to following you 🙂
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Thank you! I’m so glad to have you in this space. I hope you enjoy the posts and recipes. Looking forward to your feedback. 🙂 – Hanady Xx
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It looks absolutely amazing! Can’t stop looking at the photo…
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Thank you so much for your kind words, dear! So glad you liked the photos. Xx
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Can’t wait to try this.
Small question hanady, if I was to put icing on sfouf (turmeric cake) what flavouring would you suggest?
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Hi there! Thank you for asking for my opinion with regards to your cake! If you’d like to add icing to sfouf, I think a honey-lemon, lemon-thyme, or ginger-cream cheese icing would be lovely. Curious to know what you decide on! X
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gorgeous!
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