I told you just a few weeks ago we had harvested heaps of mandarins. Now for the challenge to ensure they don’t go to waste. So far so good, and another great little recipe to add to the collection: Mandarin Yoghurt Cake.
Very light and super easy, this was a winner when it comes to speed and using pantry essentials. The Greek yoghurt make it moist and light and could be adapted of course to utilise any seasonal fruit.
My Englishman has guessed we may have around one thousand mandarins on the tree. You can imagine the weight those branches have to carry, no wonder we had one crack under the weight. We have given bags away to school, friends, workmates, strangers, and still haven’t really made a dent. I. Must. Continue. To. Preserve.
I have had some success with mandarin sauce and even mandarin essence. The latter was a positive result of an accident while experimenting with batch of cordial and lengthening the cooking time. It ended up resembling a concentrated mandarin jelly rather than a cordial but as it turns out is delicious folded through chocolate brownies or as a fish marinade/baste. It didn’t go to waste!
I have done well with my mandarin usage and still have a few more recipes to upload for you. I am buzzing with the harvest. Being satsumas they are seedless and easy peel which begs the question — how does one propagate them without seeds? I guess it must be with extensive grafting? I must look into that. One day this big satsuma will need an offspring. But big questions aside, these delightful autumn citrus make very easy ingredients. No hours of peeling or fishing about the bowl to chase stray pips. Divine.
Mandarin Yoghurt Cake
Ingredients
- 125g butter, softened
- 3/4 cup caster sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 tsp mandarin essence (or orange extract)
- 1 cup plain flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 3 Tbsp LSA (ground linseed, sesame, almond)
- 1 cup Greek yoghurt
- 3 mandarins, peeled into segments
- 1 Tbsp of raw sugar
Method
- Preheat your oven to 180°C and line a spring-form cake tin with baking paper.
- Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy then add eggs (beating in one at a time), and finally fold through essence.
- Sift in flour and baking powder, sprinkle in LSA and together, fold through with yoghurt into the butter/sugar mixture. Mix until well combined by hand until yoghurt is well distributed throughout.
- Spoon mix into prepared tin and arrange mandarin segments on top. Finally sprinkle raw sugar over the surface of the mixture.
- Bake for 40-45 minutes, testing with a skewer to ensure it’s cooked through. It should be a moist cake and nicely browned on top.
- Leave to cool slightly before transferring onto a rack. Delicious served warm with a dollop of yoghurt on the side.
