This Simple Mandarin Cake started out life as a lemon cake. Around Christmastime, I had an overabundance of mandarins hanging about the kitchen and I got the idea to swap out the lemons for mandarins. A new favourite was born! It truly is one of the best mandarin cake recipes I’ve tried.
This cake is one of the lightest and fluffiest cakes you will ever meet. The airiness is thanks, in part, to four whole eggs being added to the batter. The additions of sour cream and oil add a moistness to the cake as well, yet neither weigh the cake down in any way. Flecks of mandarin zest are sprinkled throughout the cake giving it a subtle hint of flavour. Coupled with the syrupy mandarin glaze that soaks into the cake after it has baked, this cake is a simple stunner.
Looking for more easy cake recipes? Try my Lemon Blueberry Sheet Cake or my Biscoff Cake.
Julianne’s Notes
What equipment will I need?
You won’t need anything specific in the way of equipment for this recipe. Just a couple of bowls and a wooden spoon will do the trick. I recommend a loose bottom/springform pan to bake the cake in, as I like the ease of removing the golden cake completely from the pan once it has baked. If you don’t have a loose bottomed pan, simply use any 8” cake pan you have.
How does sour cream affect this mandarin cake recipe?
Using sour cream in a cake adds more richness to the batter due to its fat content. Your crumb will be moist and springy, which is exactly what you’re looking for here!
What if I don’t have mandarins?
You can certainly swap out the mandarins for another juicy fruit of your choice. As I mentioned, I started to make this cake with lemons. The only difference would be that you would want to add 2 tablespoon more of sugar to the syrup as the lemon is more tart than mandarins.
Although I haven’t tried any of these alternatives, I imagine lime, grapefruit, or orange would also be good substitutions.
How should I serve this cake?
A slice of this cake is delicious served just on its own, especially if it is fresh from the oven. If you want to dress it up a bit, you can serve it with some whipped cream, or stewed fruit, or both!
How do I store this cake?
This is a very moist mandarin cake and will stay fresh in an airtight container on your kitchen counter for 3 – 4 days.
If you make this recipe, I’d love to see it! Share it on Instagram: #bakersbookshelf
Easy Mandarin Cake
Ingredients
- 1 ¾ cup all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 4 large eggs
- ⅔ cup sour cream
- 1 tablespoon grated zest of mandarin
- 4 tablespoon mandarin juice, about 4 mandarins
- ⅔ cup oil, sunflower, canola
- 4 tablespoon mandarin juice, about 4 mandarins
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350 F/180 C.
- Spray an 8 inch round loose bottom/springform cake pan with non-stick spray. Alternatively, grease with butter. Line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper.
- Mix together the flour, baking powder and 1 cup granulated sugar.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, sour cream, mandarin zest, mandarin juice and oil.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the flour mix and mix well until everything is evenly combined.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 45 – 60 minutes. Keep an eye on the cake. It is ready once it has risen and is golden brown.
- While the cake is baking, get on with making the mandarin syrup. Heat the mandarin juice and 1 tablespoon of sugar over low heat in a small pot. Continue to stir until the syrup has just begun to bubble. It will have thickened and appear syrupy.
- Once it has baked, remove the cake from the oven and immediately prick it all over with a toothpick. Brush the mandarin syrup over the top.
- Leave the cake in the pan to cool completely before serving.
Rachel says
This looks amazing! I will have to make it! Thank you! =)
Julianne Simpson says
Thanks, Rachel!
Sema from New zealand says
I bake it to day it was wonderful thank you.
Julianne says
I’m glad you enjoyed it!
Carolyn says
Holy smokes this looks good! I love a sweet and simple cake recipe. Will definitely be trying this out. Thanks!
Julianne Simpson says
Thanks, Carolyn! I hope you like it. 🙂
Gina says
This looks Amazing! I will have to try it soon. I just need to locate some mandarin.
Julianne Simpson says
Thanks, Gina! You could also try making the cake with lemon or orange. Just plain would be nice also 🙂
Heather | The Blessed Mama of 4 says
This looks delicious! I will have to give it a try. Thanks for sharing.
Julianne Simpson says
Thanks, Heather! Let me know if you give it a go. 🙂
Maureen says
This cake sounds lovely! I love the idea of using mandarins–yummy!
Julianne Simpson says
Thanks, Maureen! It’s also great with any other citrus fruit you may have on hand 🙂
Shani Dee says
It looks delicious and so easy to make, which is great for me since I am not much of a baker.
Julianne Simpson says
Aww thanks, Shani! I prefer easy and approachable recipes too 🙂
Kasia says
Tried and is PERFECT! I added a bit of grated ginger for some taste and melted some white chocolate for the top – highly recommended!!
Fantastic recipe 💕
Julianne says
Kasia, I’m so happy to hear that you tried the recipe! I love your additions of grated ginger and melted white chocolate. I will definitely give those a go the next time I make it 🙂
Lisa Johnson says
Can’t wait to try this! Sorry if this is a silly question, but how did you juice the mandarins?
Julianne says
Hi Lisa! I juice the mandarins by hand, meaning I roll them on the counter first to loosen them up, cut them in half and then squeeze them with my hand over a bowl. It’s messy, but it works for me!
You could also use a citrus reamer or press, like the ones in the pictures, if you have one.
I hope you like the cake!
Gerda Waalder says
I baked this cake 4 times , every time it turned out beautiful, I used Greek yoghurt in stead of sour cream for the last one , turned out fine .
Julianne says
I’m so happy to hear you are enjoying the recipe, Gerda! That’s a great tip about substituting Greek yogurt for the sour cream. Thanks for sharing!
Jane says
Hi would the cake work if I reduced the sugar
Julianne says
Hi Jane,
I haven’t tried reducing the sugar in this recipe, but after doing a little bit of research, I think you can probably cut the sugar by up to 50% without it affecting the texture of the cake. Here’s a great article I found that might help https://www.kingarthurbaking.com/blog/2017/04/26/reduce-sugar-in-cake .
Let me know if you try the cake with less sugar. I’d love to know how it turns out.
Smiler Davies says
Made this cake love the simplicity of the recipe, combined mandarin juice with juice of 1/2 a lime and the rind of the lime about 1/2 of the lime and with syrup(didn’t have mandarins arinds added a little more sugar. Beautiful cake and was absolutely delicious
Joy says
Hi! I can’t wait to try this recipe. Can I check if I can replace the canola oil with melted butter?
Julianne says
I haven’t tried using melted butter instead of oil and I’m not sure the cake would end up quite as moist. One of the benefits of using oil is that it doesn’t solidify at room temperature like butter does, ensuring a moist and tender crumb.
Joanne says
The Mandarin cake was a big hit in my family. This cake turned out beautifully. My family all wanted a copy of the recipe and I told them about your site. Thank you
Betsy Powell says
Very moist. Will try it as an orange cake as well and add a bit more zest.
Bridge says
I want to give this a go but don’t like how the cooking time is 45-60 min I feel I will either undercook or over cook haha. Does anyone have a more specific time?
Julianne says
Hiya – it really depends on your oven and the type of cake pan you’re baking it in. My suggestion is to start checking the cake for doneness at 45 minutes (I like to insert a toothpick or skewer into the centre of the cake – I look for a couple of moist crumbs. You don’t want to see any wet cake batter). If it’s not ready at 45 minutes, then check again in 5 minutes. 1 hour is probably the maximum of time it may take. Hope that helps!
Lisa Barger says
Cake looks so delicious! Could you add me to your newsletter please? Thank you!
Debra says
This looked so good, but was weirdly “eggy” tasting, and really probably could have used more sweetness? It got way too tall for the 8″ pan, leading to a longer bake time. Sorry, but not my fav!