Flourless Mandarin Orange Cake with Chocolate Ganache
Servings: 10 slices (8-inch round)
Calories: 340kcal
This cake is moist, fragrant, and not overly sweet, it strikes a perfect balance—especially when paired with that velvety ganache.
Print Recipe
Ingredients
For the Cake (8-inch springform pan):
- 375 g whole mandarin oranges approx. 4–5 small oranges
- Zest of the mandarins avoid the bitter white pith
- 300 g large eggs from 6 large-size eggs
- 180 g sugar
- 250 g almond flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1 Tbsp Cointreau optional, for extra orange depth
For the Chocolate Ganache:
- 85 g good-quality bittersweet or dark chocolate finely chopped
- 57 g heavy cream
Instructions
Cook the Mandarins
- Place the whole mandarins in a pressure cooker, cover with water
- Cook on high pressure for 25 minutes and then natural release. Alternatively, you can simmer them on the stovetop for 1.5–2 hours until completely soft. Drain off the liquid
Make the cake batter
- Add the cooked mandarins (including the skin and everything) to a food processor and the rest of the cake ingredients. Blend or process into a smooth purée.
- Alternatively, in a large mixing bowl, whisk together eggs and sugar until well combined. Stir in the mandarin purée, reserved zest (I save about 1/2 teaspoon for decorating later), almond flour, baking powder, salt, and Cointreau. Mix until the batter is smooth and homogenous.
Bake the Cake
- Preheat your oven to 375 F (190 C) for conventional oven. For convection oven, lower the temperature by 20 F/15 C. Line the bottom of an 8-inch springform pan or regular cake pan with parchment paper. Pour in the batter and smooth the top with a spatula. Tap the pan gently on the counter to remove any air bubbles.
- Bake for 60 minutes in a middle rack, or until a cake tester comes out with just a few moist crumbs (not wet batter). Tent the cake loosely with foil after about 40 minutes if the top is browning too quickly.
- Allow the cake to cool completely in the pan before removing.
Make the Ganache and Assembling:
- The ganache is enough to cover the surface of the cake and for some drips on the side. If you want to cover the entire surface and sides, you can double the recipe
- Heat the cream in a small saucepan until just simmering. Pour it over the chopped chocolate
- Let sit for 5 minute, then stir until smooth and glossy.
- Place the cooled cake on a wire rack over a baking tray. Pour the ganache over the top of the cake, starting from the center, using an offset spatula to coax it down the sides to let it drip down a bit.
- Sprinkle with some reserved zest on top of the ganache. Let the ganache set at room temperature for 20–30 minutes. Once semi-set, run a spatula underneath the cake base to separate it from the rack (so the ganache doesn't tear when you move it). Transfer to a serving plate and refrigerate to fully set the ganache.
Serving:
- This cake truly tastes its best the next day when the flavor has its time to develop.
- You can read more details on ingredients, substitutions, variations, and other tips in my post that may answer your questions not covered in the recipe card
Notes
This recipe is adapted from Nigella's Clementine Cake
Nutrition
Serving: 1serving | Calories: 340kcal | Carbohydrates: 33g | Protein: 10g | Fat: 21g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Trans Fat: 0.01g | Cholesterol: 118mg | Sodium: 147mg | Potassium: 114mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 26g | Vitamin A: 246IU | Vitamin C: 18mg | Calcium: 108mg | Iron: 2mg
