On return home this afternoon, I noticed the fruitbowl which was overflowing with mandarins. My weekly veg box has been rather heavy to citrus fruit (it is seasonal, after all) and I can't quite eat the double dose of mandarins fast enough. I decided that the best solution would be to bake a cake (...isn't that the best solution to everything?) and so set about concocting a mandarin cake. I decided to base it exactly on the lemon drizzle cake I make from time to time, simply substituting the lemons or mandarins. I'm pretty pleased with the result - obviously the cake is quite a bit sweeter than the lemon variant, but it it gorgously juicy and the flavour is divine (...presuming you like mandarins, that is). Possibly, it is more of a pudding-type cake than an tea-time cake, but I'll leave that up to you to decide...
Juicy mandarin cake
4 oz butter
5 oz caster sugar
6oz self-raising flour
1 level teaspoon baking powder
2 large eggs
Grated rind and juice of 4 mandarin oranges
1 1/2 fl oz milk
1. Pre-heat the oven to 180C. Grease and line a loaf tin.
2. Place all the ingredients except the mandarin juice in a food processor and whizz until smooth. Add 2 tablespoons of the mandarin juice.
3. Pour into prepared tin and bake for 40-45 minutes, until a skewer comes out clean.
4. Whilst baking, prepare the syrup. Dissolve 3 tablespoon of sugar in the juice of the mandarins. Heat until it starts to bubble and then simmer for a few minutes until it becomes a little syrupy.
5. Once the cake is done, remove from oven and prick all over with a skewer. Pour the syrup all over the cake and then leave in the tin until cool. You may like to sprinkle with a little sugar on top.
11 comments:
Antonia, your blog is proving to be a pleasant surpise and I like typing your name, as it's also Greek!
I'll trade you Spanakopita for your Mandarin cake, deal?
If you and your girlfriend have figured out what makes men "tick" please share :)
Who would dispute turning excessive ingredients into a cake is a bad idea? Sounds delicious to me!
Ooooh, yum - lovely variation on the lemon cake version!
I adore citrus flavoured bakes Antonia and this mandarin cake sounds a treat!! Great bake :)
Rosie :)
I'll bet that this cake was sinfully good....I can imagine every orangey crumb reminding me of warmer days yet to come:D
Peter - I love spanakopita, so that sounds like a great deal! Sadly, I took the cake to work today and it was devoured by my colleagues so I don't have any left... Maybe I should bake another!
Lisarene - If only we had figured it out!! It will remain an eternal mystery!
A forkfulofspaghetti - yes, it was nice to ring the changes with this cake. Thank you for calling by!
Val - it was really sunny this weekend in London, almost springlike and this cake made me think of sunnier seasons too!
That cake does look juicy and delicious.
We had fresh mandarins in the store, a few weeks ago, but I didn't buy any. :(
Hi Antonia, what a great bake. Mandarin orange flavour sounds a real hit to me! I adore citrus flavours and must give your recipe a try! :D
Rosie x
That looks wonderful. I must get some extra mandarins this week and have a try.
Quick question - does the 3 tablespoonfuls of suger for the syrup come from the 5oz listed, or is it over and above that amount?
Emiline - I love the flavour of mandarins. Hope you get some next time they are in!
Lynn - well spotted! It is extra and above the 5oz listed in the ingredients - I shall amend, thank you for letting me know and do let me know how it turns out.
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