Whole Mandarin Cake

Since I teased you with pictures of delicious mandarin cake in that last post, and since I'm currently enjoying making more mandarin cakes in the middle of spring thanks to my canned whole mandarins, I thought I'd share the actual recipe I've been using. It's dairy and gluten free which is helpful if you have people in your life with these dietary restrictions.

The original recipe was posted by a nutrition writer named Jordan Pie, whose website features recipes for (and very beautiful photographs of) delicious healthy food. This was from her Instagram, and was called Whole Orange Cake, so the basic recipe is the same, with the exception that Jordan's version uses two whole oranges in place of the mandarins.

Whole Mandarin Cake

Ingredients:

~4-6 mandarins

~6 eggs

~1/2 cup sweetener of choice - Jordan recommends rapadura or coconut sugar, or monk fruit sweetener.

~2 and 3/4 - 3 cups almond meal

~1tsp baking soda

~1tsp vanilla extract

For optional flavour you can add for the spiced version:

~1tsp cinnamon

~1-2tbsp ginger powder

Or for a delicious jaffa vibe:

~1/3 cup cocoa or cacao powder

~additional 1/4 cup of sweetener (or to taste).

Instructions:

1. Add whole unpeeled mandarins to a saucepan and cover with water. Boil for around 15 mins or until soft.

2. Strain the water from the mandarins and allow to cool slightly, then roughly chop and remove any seeds. The cooked mandarins should weigh around 500g.

3. Preheat oven to 160 degrees Celsius. Grease and line a cake tin - I use a 9 1/2 inch springform pan.

4. Add all ingredients to a blender (I use a mixing bowl and stick blender). Taste and add more sweetener if needed.

5. Pour batter into lined cake tin and place in the oven. Bake for 50 - 60 mins or until cooked through.

6. Serve spiced version cold with whipped cream or vanilla icecream. The jaffa version is nice while still a little warm.