The other night we had a lot to celebrate. I got a new job, my boyfriend got into an awesome graduate program and a bottle of cava had somehow managed to survive in the fridge since New Years. We opened it to toast our accomplishments but the next morning we realized it had been left out overnight and had gone flat. I hate to let anything go to waste, even flat champagne, but what to do with it? I googled Mimosa Cake and didn’t find what I was looking for, so I came up with this new recipe. (By the way it’s free of dairy, refined sugar & gluten.)

Clementine Mimosa Cake

6 Clementine oranges (or 2 navel oranges)

4 eggs

1/2 cup agave nectar

2 cups almond flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

2/3 cup flat sparkling white wine (champagne, cava, prosecco, or whatever)

Another 1/2 cup agave

Wash and remove any stems from the clementines then boil them for about half an hour or until a knife slides easily to the center. (Navel oranges will take about an hour or more. This isn’t an exact science and the oranges don’t need to be totally cooked.) Puree the oranges in a food processor and allow them to cool. Preheat the oven to 375 F. Add the eggs, agave, almond flour, and baking soda to the orange puree. Pour the mixture into a round cake pan. (Don’t overfill. The cake will rise a little.) Bake for about 40 minutes to an hour, until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. (cooking time varies with your oven and your cake pan.) The center of the cake will be faintly orange and the sides will be darker.  Allow the cake to cool in the pan for an hour and a half.

While the cake is baking, combine the other 1/2 cup of agave and the champagne in a sauce pan and simmer for about 10 minutes. Slice the cake into wedges, then pour 1/4th-2/3ths a cup of the champagne syrup over the cake, depending on how sweet you want it to be.  (I made it a little less sweet since it was served for breakfast. There will be leftover syrup, which can be used just like simple syrup.)

Enjoy!

One of my New Year’s resolutions was to start baking bread. Particularly sourdough. I got a starter from a family friend who has had his going for about seven years. And then some amazing 3B guests in January, Jacqueline and Dado from Chicago, revealed that they are card carrying bread geeks. Check out their bread forum, The Fresh Loaf. They pointed me in the right direction. I’ve been feeding my starter for a few weeks, but I finally made the plunge this weekend. A successful sourdough pizza crust on Friday got things off to a good start. Then today I baked two loaves – my first loaves of bread ever. My goal was edible. But wow! They turned out amazing! Almost ideal consistency: crusty with a chewy/spongy interior. I’d like to get a bit more complex flavor, but I can’t believe this is where I’m starting out. This is good news for 3B mornings! I’m excited for bread explorations to come.

Catherine is doing a reading on January 9th with Sam Lipsyte & Gary Lutz at Franklin Park for the Franklin Park Reading Series (8 pm). On January 12th she’ll be reading in honor of Chiara Barzini’s new book, Sister Stop Breathing, along with writer Joseph Salvatore. That’s at Pacific Standard in Brooklyn at 7 pm.

Matt’s band Sunshowers has just finished a stint in the studio recording their debut album. He’ll be playing with his old band, Cheese on Bread, on January 7th at Public Assembly and upcoming Sunshowers shows will be announced so very soon. Follow them on Twitter if you like!

You can download their last album, Tubular, on bandcamp for the unbelievable steal of five dollars and I guarantee you’ll soon have it on repeat. Even better, they’re in the process of recording a new album that will be out in the spring. Can’t wait.

Skinny laMinx’s etsy is full of awesome stuff, by the way…