Name: Mandarin and ginger syrup cake
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 110 min
Total time: 135 min
Yield: 6 - 8
Ingredients: 3 mandarins (about 95gm each), washed, unpeeled; 4 eggs; 270 gm caster sugar (1¼ cups); 90 gm melted butter; 400 gm hazelnut meal; 75 gm plain flour (½ cup); 2 tsp finely grated ginger; ⅓ tsp baking powder; Mandarin and ginger syrup; 220 gm caster sugar (1 cup); 125 ml mandarin juice (½ cup); 1 tbsp julienne ginger; 4 mandarins, peeled and thickly sliced crossways; Juice of ½ lemon

Mandarin and ginger syrup cake

It's the whole boiled mandarins that make this a go-to cake for the winter season.

Serves 6 - 8

Prep

25M

Cook

1H 50M

Total

2H 15M

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This riff on Claudia Roden’s Middle Eastern orange cake gets its gorgeous moist texture from boiled and puréed mandarins folded into the ginger-scented batter. It’s beautiful served warm from the oven, but equally enjoyable for a couple of days.

Ingredients

3 mandarins (about 95gm each), washed, unpeeled

4 eggs

270 gm caster sugar (1¼ cups)

90 gm melted butter

400 gm hazelnut meal

75 gm plain flour (½ cup)

2 tsp finely grated ginger

⅓ tsp baking powder

Mandarin and ginger syrup

220 gm caster sugar (1 cup)

125 ml mandarin juice (½ cup)

1 tbsp julienne ginger

4 mandarins, peeled and thickly sliced crossways

Juice of ½ lemon

Method

Main

1.Preheat oven to 160C and butter and flour a 12cm x 20cm loaf tin (we used a fluted loaf tin). Place mandarins in a saucepan, cover with plenty of water, bring to the boil and cook until soft (20-25 minutes). Drain, cool and chop (discard seeds), then purée in a blender or food processor.

2.Whisk eggs and sugar in an electric mixer until pale and fluffy (3-4 minutes). Fold in mandarin purée and butter, then fold in hazelnut meal, flour, ginger, baking powder and a pinch of salt. Spoon into prepared tin, smooth top and bake until golden brown and a skewer inserted withdraws clean (1-1¼ hours). Turn out onto a wire rack to cool.

3.For mandarin and ginger syrup, combine sugar, mandarin juice and 125ml water in a saucepan over medium-high heat and bring to the boil, stirring to dissolve sugar, then add the ginger and simmer until translucent and a light syrup forms (6-8 minutes). Stir in mandarin slices and lemon juice, remove from heat and leave to cool.

4.Serve cake with mandarin and ginger syrup spooned on top. Cake will keep stored in an airtight container for 3 days.

Styling by Emma Knowles

Styling by Geraldine Muñoz