Flourless Mandarin Cake: Winter Citrus Delight

Winter is the prime season for citrus, making it the ideal time to savor Chef Kathy Tsaples’ flourless mandarin cake.

Chef Kathy advocates for the use of Clementine mandarins in her recipe, suggesting a garnish of either whipped cream or yogurt to suit your taste.

She describes the cake as having “a delightful interplay of tangy, bitter, and sweet flavors—truly a bit of everything.”

For optimal results, Kathy recommends boiling the mandarins the evening prior and allowing them to cool overnight.

This enticing recipe was initially shared on ABC Radio Melbourne’s Drive program hosted by Ali Moore.

Ingredients

1. Mandarins: 5, preferably Clementine variety
2. Eggs: 5
3. Caster Sugar: 250g
4. Almond Meal: 250g (plus extra for dusting the cake tin)
5. Baking Powder: 1 teaspoon
6. Salt: 1/4 teaspoon

For the Icing:

7. Icing Sugar: 1 cup
8. Orange Juice: 2-3 tablespoons

Method

1. Begin by boiling the mandarins in a saucepan filled with water for an hour. After draining, leave them to cool overnight.
2. Set your oven to 180°C with fan assistance.
3. Prepare a 20cm round cake tin by greasing it with butter and dusting with almond meal.
4. Puree the mandarins in a food processor until smooth. In a separate large bowl, whisk together eggs and sugar.
5. Stir in the mandarin puree, followed by almond meal, baking powder, and a pinch of salt, mixing well.
6. Let the batter sit for 10 minutes, then pour it into the cake tin. Bake for one hour or until a skewer inserted into the cake comes out clean. Allow the cake to cool in the tin.
7. For the icing, sift icing sugar and mix it with orange juice using a fork to eliminate lumps. Drizzle over the cooled cake.

_{^{Re-reported from the article originally published in ABC News}}