One bowl Mandarin and Hazelnut cake. Easy to make, moist, nutty and delicious.
It is the last day of winter here in Australia! Am I sad? No way, I’m too excited for Spring. The roads near my house are a treat to the eyes with cherry and apple blossoms trees plus huge magnolia flowers in full bloom. The end of winter in Australia is also a great time for some beautiful citrus fruits like the giant Sumo Mandarins that could give the navel oranges serious competition by it’s sheer size. I love cooking with these mandarins because not only are they way easier to peel and very flavorful, they are 100% seedless. Slicing them through the middle horizontally, makes them look like bright little flowers. So an effortless fruit needed an equally effortless recipe to go with it.
If you’re a fan of Mandarins like me, feel free to add small and big chunks of flesh in the batter before pouring into the pan. And of course, you don’t have to stick to hazelnuts, use any nut of your choice. It tastes delicious with almonds and pistachios as well.
Mandarin and Hazelnut Cake
Makes an 8 inch round cake
125 g unsalted butter, roughly chopped
1 cup castor sugar
2 eggs, lightly whisked
2 cups self raising flour
2/3 cup hazelnut meal (ground hazelnuts)
1 tbsp finely grated mandarin zest
1/2 cup mandarin juice
3/4 cup milk
Orange marmalade, home made or store
2 large mandarins sliced horizontally, to serve
Preheat oven to 180 degrees C (160 degrees C for fan forced ovens). Grease the base and sides of an 8 inch round cake pan and line the base with baking paper. In a large saucepan, over low heat melt the butter. Remove from heat and leave aside for 10 minutes. Add the sugar and eggs and whisk till blended. Add the self raising flour, hazelnut meal, zest, juice and milk and mix to combine.
Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake for 55 minutes to an hour or until fully cooked (a skewer inserted into the middle should come out clean). Remove from oven. Leave aside for 5 minutes. Gently, turn onto a wire rack. Poke holes all over the top and spread with orange marmalade. When ready to serve, decorate with sliced mandarins. Best served warm with ice cream or whipped cream.
This is marvelous. Not only is your recipe exciting, but with today’s ways of keeping all of us on the planet connected, we here in the north don’t have to worry about being too far away from the months that inspire outdoor fun and warm temperatures! YOU are going to keep bringing us spring and summer loveliness as we put on our sweaters and coats as the embrace of winter comes. GORGEOUS as ever, Sonali!
It looks so good and yummy, I wonder how these two create a great taste. Anyhow, I’m a fan of mandarin too and I’m pretty sure this recipe smells so nice. Thumbs up!