Super moist-licious kumquat and almond cakes

I'm such a "duh" sometimes.. being chinese, asian and all, you'd expect that I would know what kumquat is ^^||

But I've been ignorant. I've heard about it many times but never really took notice of how it looks or taste. In fact, aunt had one growing right in front of her garden for years, so she says ^^||!

I finally tried some 2 nights ago (after a tip-off from mel ^^), and the taste was so very familiar.. like some sort of "kert" or lime! It's a little tart (though not as tart as I'd imagined ^^!), but yet it's a little sweet too (it's no sweet tangerine!). And there's barely any juice in it.. lots of seeds though. I wasn't even sure if I should eat it whole or have the skin peeled off.. I chose the latter, but that didn't quite seem right either ^^||

Kumquat and almond teacakes (recipe shared by mel@melspantrykitchen, also in tartelette)

60g butter
50g sugar
2 eggs
60g kumquat puree
35g all purpose flour, sifted
1/2 tsp baking powder, sifted
50g ground almond
18 pcs poached kumquat halves

1. Cream butter and sugar till light and fluffy.

2. Add eggs one by one, beating well after each addition. Don't panic like I did ^^ if the batter looks watery and weird after the addition of eggs.. it's like that ^^ 

3. Mix in sifted flours and almond meal till well combined.

4. Add in kumquat puree.

5. Divide batter into 18 2-inch tart tins (use these mini tins, or you'll have too much leftover kumquat halves for this bake! I used 3-inch tins and only managed to fill 10 tins!). Fill moulds about 2/3 full as cake will rise. Top batter with a kumquat half (do not press the kumquats in as it will naturally sink later!) 

6. Preheat oven to 170C and bake for 15-25 minutes or till golden, depending on tin used.

Kumquat compote
20 kumquats
Water
Sugar

1. Weigh kumquats. Then weigh the same amount for water and half the amount for sugar. ie. kumquats:water:sugar ~ 200g:200g:100g

2. Slice kumquats in half. Boil kumquat halves, water and sugar till kumquats turn soft and glossy.

3. Remove 18 halves, for cake topping.

4. Puree the rest of the kumquats with some syrup, and reserve 60g of puree. Leftover puree can be used as jam or topping ^^ it's delish! 

luscious kumquat compote

And what a yummy-licious bake this turned out to be! Beautiful citrus-y scent and color! Oh-so soft and moist, almost melt-in-the- mouth texture.. and hints of almond meal.. it's DEELICIOUS!!! ^^ If I wasn't the one baking this, I wouldn't think this was possible with kumquats! And all this is thanks to mel ^^ check out her blog for yummy pictures and better details of this recipe ^^

the only (and smushed) cake that made it to the next morning.. and gorgeous weather, finally ^^

I can totally understand the ravings by mel and all those who have tried the recipe now! It's really GOOOOOOOD!!! ^^ Thanks so much for sharing one of your favorite cakes, mel! It's GORGEOUS! (^^)

p.s. since I have so much kumquat halves and puree left, I can make this again! yay! personally I enjoyed these cakes even more after it's rested and cooled properly, as the citrus-y flavors bloomed! Well, that's if you can resist eating them fresh out of the oven ^^!