How to Make a Delicious & Easy Mandarin Orange Cake Recipe

Mandarins, with their sweet citrus flavor, make for an especially tasty mandarin orange cake. With lots of variation available, check out an easy recipe below!

Do you have a batch of delicious, sweet mandarins and are wondering what to do with them? Aside from eating them as they are, making juice or mandarin cocktails, one tasty treat is to include them in a cake. Even for amateur bakers, baking a mandarin orange cake is much easier than you might expect.

If you are looking for a fast, easy mandarin orange recipe, continue reading below. We present fast, easy guide to baking a fantastic mandarin orange cake. 

Mandarin Orange Cake

Start by preheating the oven. This should be around 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Adjust a little if you are using a fan assisted oven.

This cake will have a double layer, so once the mix for each layer is finished, you will need two cake pans. Grease and flour them. Next, combine 2 1/2 cups of flour with 2 teaspoons of baking soda and set aside. 

In a mixing bowl, begin to churn 3/4 of a cup of butter with 2 cups of sugar. Add four eggs, one at a time, turning them so each is fully mixed in before adding the next. When complete, add around 11 ounces of sweet mandarin oranges.

Keep beating the mix and gently add in the flour a little at a time. Once they are all incorporated, you can place the mix into your cake pans. Bake them in the oven for around 35 minutes.

When they are complete, let them cool fully before placing the layers together. To cement the layers together, you can use any sweet, delicious jam or preserve you have around the home. Marmalades and lemon curds work great. 

Frosting for Mandarin Orange Cakes

If you want to apply delicious frosting to your mandarin orange dessert, then it is very simple to do. Beat two cups of whipping cream with half a cup of sugar. Then using a handheld whisk, blend in one box of pudding mix and leave the whole mixture to set in the refrigerator. 

When you apply it to your cake, make sure you do so liberally so the frosting is thick and luscious. If you like, another idea is to add some toasted coconut flakes. 

Brown Sugar Glaze

If you do not want to frost, you can also opt for a brown sugar glaze. All you do is combine one-quarter of a cup of orange juice with two tablespoons of brown sugar. Melt them together in a pan, making sure the sugar does not catch and burn. 

Once ready, pour the glaze over your cooled cake and watch it set. Not only will it make the cake delicious, but it will also give it some fantastic coloration. 

Slice and Serve

Once your mandarin orange cake is prepared, slice it into large wedges and serve. This cake is great with a crisp glass of white wine if you are eating with a meal or a fragrant afternoon tea such as Earl Grey.

Try our seasonal citrus box while its available...the Craft Citrus Club!

Our Rio box is a 15-lb curated box of our fresh-harvested citrus from South Texas. The fruit is NOT gassed, rather it is tree-ripened. Our season runs from Nov-May for oranges, grapefruit and mandarins.

Our Grande box is a 30-lb box of either fresh-harvested Rio Red Grapefruit or Sweet Oranges from South Texas.

If you want to try out our fresh-harvested Clementine Tangerine Box from South Texas, click here!