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Mandarin Orange Cake

Mandarin orange cake is a surprising way to use this sweet fruit! This citrus fruit cake recipe uses the entire mandarin, peel and all, for a unique texture and delicious result.

mandarin orange cake slice

This mandarin orange cake is the baby sister to my Sicilian whole orange cake that many of you are already familiar with.

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I’ve made so many different versions of this super popular orange cake, starting with a whole lemon cake, apple cake, peach cake and more. In fact, when I first published my Sicilian orange cake, it was the only whole orange cake on the internet in English.

Sicilian Whole Orange cake on a plate with oranges

It’s rough seeing how many others are online now, with zero credit to anyone, not even the original Italian blogger where my mother had found the original recipe. Since there’s nothing I can do, I choose not to focus on these things, but instead, I’m sharing another citrus version of this wonderful recipe with this mandarin orange cake which also uses the whole fruit (except the seeds.)

piece of mandarin orange cake on a fork

You can see its luscious texture and can imagine the sweet flavor! It’s really a showstopper of a cake when it comes to tasting it!

Which Mandarin Oranges Should I Use?

When choosing your mandarin oranges, be sure to use organic because you’ll be ingesting the rind. You also don’t want a rind that is very hard or thick. It should be soft, fragrant, and full of moisture (dry fruit doesn’t work in this recipe.) Ojai pixie tangerines are very sweet, but sometimes their skin can be tough. Choose the right citrus, for the best results.

organic lee mandarins
Organic Lee mandarin oranges. Photo courtesy of Melissa’s Produce

According to Robert Schueller from Melissa’s Produce, all tangerines are mandarin oranges. The difference is where the species of fruit originated.

 “Mandarins and Tangerines are interchangeable words. Technically, mandarins are a tangerine from Asia           and a tangerine is a mandarin from North Africa (Tangiers). However, over time the terms have been                 muddled for merchandising distinctions more than country of origin.” – Melissa’s Produce

I hope you enjoy this cake as much as I do!

Check out this recipe for blood orange ricotta cookies, too!

Blood orange ricotta cookies on a rack

It’s perfect for pot lucks, picnics, special occasions and even for an afternoon snack.

mandarin orange cake

Mandarin Orange Cake

adapted by Christina Conte                   serves 12

FULL PRINTABLE RECIPE BELOW

Ingredients

  • eggs
  • sugar
  • flour
  • baking powder/Pane Degli Angeli powder
  • butter
  • Greek yogurt
  • mandarin oranges
  • vanilla (optional)

Glaze

  • mandarin orange juice
  • sugar

Special equipment: springform pan, or bundt pan or loaf tin

Directions

Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C)

Make the Mandarin Cake Batter

Butter and flour an 8″ springform pan

beaten sugar and eggs

Beat the sugar and eggs until thick and creamy.

adding flour to mixture

Sift the flour with the baking powder or Paneangeli, then add to the mixture in the bowl a little at a time along with the softened butter.

adding yogurt to the mixture

Continue to mix until completely blended, then stir in the yogurt.

adding kumquat puree to batter

Blend the mandarin oranges in a food processor until finely chopped into a purée, then add to the batter. Mix well.

batter in tin

Pour into prepared tin and bake for 50-60 minutes until a cake tester or skewer comes out clean. Allow to cool for about 15 minutes, then run a thin knife around the perimeter and remove the side of the springform pan.

mandarin orange cake

Glaze the cake if desired.

mandarin orange cake slice

This is truly one of the easiest cakes you’ll ever make!

Just look at that crumb!

piece of mandarin orange cake on a fork

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mandarin orange cake

Mandarin Orange Cake

Servings: 12
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 55 minutes
10 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
Mandarin orange cake is a surprising way to use this sweet fruit! This citrus fruit cake recipe uses the entire mandarin, peel and all!
4.9 from 15 votes

Special Equipment

  • 1 8" springform pan

Ingredients

  • 3 eggs free range, organic, if possible
  • 1 ⅛ c sugar
  • 1 ¾ c all purpose flour or plain flour in the UK
  • 1 pkg Pane Degli Angeli vanilla baking powder or 2 ½ tsp baking powder
  • c butter salted, softened
  • c Greek yogurt (sour cream or labne also works)
  • 4 mandarin oranges organic, sweet (3 or 4), washed, cut into pieces and seeds removed - weigh for best results
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract ONLY USE IF USING BAKING POWDER

Glaze

  • ¼ c mandarin orange juice from fresh mandarins
  • ¼ c sugar

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C)
  • Butter and flour an 8″ springform pan 
  • Beat the sugar and eggs until thick and creamy.
  • Sift the flour with the baking powder or Paneangeli, then add to the mixture in the bowl a little at a time along with the softened butter.
  • Continue to mix until completely blended, then stir in the yogurt.
  • Blend the mandarin oranges in a food processor until finely chopped into a purée, then add to the batter. Mix well.
  • Pour into prepared tin and bake for 50-60 minutes until a cake tester or skewer comes out clean. Allow to cool for about 15 minutes, then run a thin knife around the perimeter and remove the side of the springform pan. Remove the bottom of the pan and place on a cooling rack.

Glaze

  • Put the mandarin orange juice and sugar in a small pot and simmer for about 3 minutes until sugar is melted.
  • Brush the glaze over the cake.
  • Serve when cool on its own, or with some ice cream, custard or whipped cream.

Notes

  • Using a scale will give the best results.
  • It's difficult to say how many mandarin oranges are needed because they are never uniform in size and weight.

Nutrition

Serving: 1slice | Calories: 238kcal | Carbohydrates: 42g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 7g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.5g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 0.2g | Cholesterol: 55mg | Sodium: 68mg | Potassium: 103mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 27g | Vitamin A: 430IU | Vitamin C: 9mg | Calcium: 34mg | Iron: 1mg

Christina’s Cucina is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associate Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.

4.94 from 15 votes (2 ratings without comment)

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60 Comments

  1. Why are your measurements a mix of Metric and American? No equivalent for flour, baking powder and vanilla listed in the metric version but are actually American equivalent s. :(

  2. This sounds wonderful! We love eating these oranges, so I’m not sure I’ll ever have enough to try this, but it’s now on my list of things to do. And I think the FRUIT BOWL is beautiful!

  3. I would love to make this cake or even the gorgeous scones for the holidays to have with tea! It is amazing that the pretty much the whole mandarin is used!!

    The cake looks so moist and dense and yummy but I think one of the photos shows the recipe as scones???

    Can you please let me know how long do you bake the scones?

    Thanks so much!!