Mandarin Orange Cake

Name: Mandarin Orange Cake
Prep time: 90 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 115 min
Ingredients: 8 eggs (separated, room temperature); 1 cup granulated sugar (divided); 1/2 cup milk; 1 teaspoon vanilla extract; 1/2-1 teaspoon mandarin or orange zest; 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour; 2 teaspoons baking powder; 1/4 teaspoon salt; 3 8 0z. packages cream cheese, room temperature; 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar (more or less to taste); 2 Tablespoons orange or mandarin liqueur; 1 teaspoon orange or mandarin zest; 1 teaspoon vanilla extract; 1 1/2 cups heavy cream (chilled); 2-3 15 oz each cans mandarin oranges (1 cup syrup saved); 4 Tablespoons orange or mandarin liqueur; 1/2 Tablespoon orange or mandarin zest

36 comments
December 22, 2014

This Mandarin Orange Cake is a festive and flavorful dessert, featuring tender sponge cake layers soaked in mandarin syrup and topped with citrus-infused cream cheese frosting. Perfect for holiday celebrations, it’s a bright, elegant treat that captures the essence of the season.

This Mandarin Orange Cake captures the essence of those festive flavors in a beautiful, delicious dessert. Imagine layers of tender, moist sponge cake filled with mandarin zest, soaked in a sweet mandarin syrup, and topped with a creamy frosting flavored with both mandarin and orange liqueur (mandarin liqueur, if you can find it, is ideal!). Between the layers of cake, you’ll find plump, juicy mandarin oranges, adding a burst of freshness with every bite.

Mandarin oranges have always been a cherished part of the holiday season. Growing up in Belarus, my family would always have mandarins on hand for Christmas and New Year’s—a tradition that was just as essential as the Christmas tree and presents. Even now, years later, mandarins still bring that nostalgic holiday feeling, especially as citrus fruits come into season during the winter months.

Not only does this cake have an incredibly refreshing citrus flavor, but it also has a stunning, elegant look that makes it the perfect centerpiece for any holiday gathering. Whether you’re celebrating Christmas, New Year’s, or simply enjoying a special treat, this cake is sure to brighten your table and bring a little taste of nostalgia to your holiday festivities.

Ingredients:

Cake:

8 eggs, separated, room temperature

1 cup granulated sugar, divided

1/2 cup milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2-1 teaspoon mandarin or orange zest

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

Frosting:

3 (8 0z.) packages cream cheese, room temperature

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar (more or less to taste)

2 Tablespoons orange or mandarin liqueur

1 teaspoon orange or mandarin zest

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups heavy cream, chilled

Syrup:

2-3 (15 oz each) cans mandarin oranges (1 cup syrup saved)

4 Tablespoons orange or mandarin liqueur

1/2 Tablespoon orange or mandarin zest

How To Make Mandarin Orange Cake:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line the bottom of 2 round (9 inch) springform pans with parchment paper and spray the sides and the bottom with oil or baking spray.

Separate the eggs, putting the whites in one bowl and the yolks in another.

Beat the whites using a whisk attachment on a standing mixer or a hand held mixer until foamy. Gradually pour in 1/4 cup of sugar. Mix the whites on high speed until stiff peaks form. Set aside. In the other bowl with the yolks, add the remaining 3/4 cup sugar and use the same whisk attachment to beat the yolks until they are pale and fluffy. Bonus Tip: Whenever I do a recipe that includes beating the egg yolks separately from the egg whites, I always mix the egg whites FIRST and then use the same whisk attachment to mix the egg yolks. Egg whites will not whip properly if there is a speck of yolk in the mixture, so you have to start with a clean bowl and clean whisk attachment. Egg yolks, on the other hand, are not that fussy and will whip up with no problem if you use the whisk attachment with egg whites on it. This way, I save myself from having to wash the whisk attachment.Add the milk, vanilla extract and orange or mandarin zest, mixing just until combined.

Adding mandarin zest will perfume the cake with incredible flavor. I love to use orange or lemon zest in all kinds of cakes, pastries and desserts.

Sift the flour, baking powder and salt into the egg yolk mixture and fold gently to combine.

Add 1/4 of the whipped egg whites into the cake batter, folding it gently to combine. Add the remaining egg whites and continue folding gently to combine, being careful not to deflate the batter as much as you can. Divide the cake batter into the two prepared baking pans. Bake in the preheated oven until they are golden and a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean, 20-25 minutes. Cool the cakes 5-10 minutes. Run a thin knife or spatula around the edges of the cake layers, then take them out of the cake pans, remove the parchment paper and cool completely. When the cake layers have cooled, cut each cake in half horizontally.

Frosting:

In a large bowl of a standing mixer with a whisk attachment, or using a hand mixer, mix the cream cheese, powdered sugar, liqueur, zest and vanilla extract until smooth and evenly combined. Add the chilled heavy cream and mix, starting on low speed and then increasing to high speed until the frosting is thick and fluffy.

Syrup:

Drain the canned mandarins from the syrup and save 1 cup of the syrup. Set aside the drained mandarins to be used in between the cake layers.

You can use as much or as little of the canned mandarins as you like. I used 2 cans in this cake, which is a balanced amount, I think. However, if you like A LOT of mandarins and wants to taste mandarins in every bite, you will need to use 3 cans. (Which I actually would:), but I know for most people that would be too much.)

Combine the reserved mandarin syrup, the liqueur and zest in a bowl.

Assembling the Cake:

You can make this cake it all year long, since you’re using canned mandarin oranges in between the cake layers, and you can use orange zest when mandarins are hard to find, or even lemon zest when oranges aren’t available.

Line the edges of your serving plate with aluminum foil. This will keep the sides of the plate clean while you’re working with drippy frosting.

Place a dollop of frosting onto the center of the plate and put the first cake layer on top of it. This helps to “glue” the cake to the plate and prevents it from sliding around the plate.

Brush the top and bottom of each cake layer with the syrup. Generously spread each cake layer with frosting, all the way to the edges.

Place the mandarin orange slices on top of the frosting.

Place each cake layer on top of the frosting and mandarin oranges. Spread the frosting on the top and sides of the cake, smoothing it out. You may need to let the cake stand in the refrigerator for a little while, so that it’s easier to decorate.

Using the palms of your hands, a stiff piece of paper or a bench scraper, coat the sides of the cake with crumbs, nuts or coconut flakes. (I happened to have some extra scraps from another cake I was making, and used those to make crumbs. You can make crumbs from vanilla wafers or other cookies. Coconut flakes or nuts work really well for this cake too.

Carefully pull out the aluminum foil from underneath the edges of the cake and discard. To decorate the top of the cake, I thinly sliced some mandarin oranges and arranged them slightly overlapping on top of the cake, placing them around the edge of the cake. Then, I put a few slices of mandarin in the center of the cake and sprinkled the center of the cake with coconut flakes. The cake should be chilled in the refrigerator for at least 2-4 hours before serving, or overnight. The cake can be made 2 days in advance, completely assembled and stored in the refrigerator, covered.