Cake with mandarins and white chocolate

Mandarin and White Chocolate Cake

The mandarin and white chocolate cake is a splendid choice for festive moments, anniversaries, or simply to bring a touch of joy to everyday life. This light and refined dessert combines the fruity flavors of mandarins with the sweetness of white chocolate, offering a unique tasting experience. Get ready to surprise your loved ones with this delicious recipe!

Preparation time: 1 hour
Baking time: 30 minutes
Total time: 1 hour and 30 minutes
Number of servings: 10-12 servings

Ingredients

For the base:
- 6 eggs
- 6 tablespoons sugar
- 5 tablespoons flour type 000
- 1 tablespoon cocoa
- 1 vial vanilla essence
- 2 tablespoons grated dark chocolate
- Zest of 1 lemon

For the mandarin cream:
- 2 cans of mandarins
- 3 tablespoons powdered sugar
- 200 ml liquid cream (preferably vegetable)
- ¾ of a packet of gelatin granules

For the white chocolate cream:
- 250 g white chocolate
- 200 ml liquid cream
- 3 tablespoons powdered sugar
- 250 ml liquid cream
- ¼ of a packet of gelatin granules

Preparation method

Preparing the base

1. Sifting the ingredients: Start by sifting the flour and cocoa. This step is essential to obtain a light and fluffy base, as it allows air to enter and improves the texture.

2. Separating the eggs: Separate the egg whites from the yolks. Beat the egg whites with a pinch of salt until they become frothy and firm. This step is crucial for incorporating the necessary air into the base.

3. Beating the yolks: In another bowl, whisk the yolks with the sugar until they become a light yellow and frothy cream. Add the vanilla essence, lemon zest, sifted flour with cocoa, and grated chocolate. Mix well until you obtain a homogeneous composition.

4. Incorporating the egg whites: Add one-third of the beaten egg whites to the yolk mixture and gently fold to combine. Then, add the remaining egg whites, incorporating them with a spatula using up-and-down movements.

5. Baking: Wet the baking pan with water and place baking paper at the bottom. Pour in the batter and bake in a preheated oven at 180°C for about 30 minutes. Check with a toothpick to ensure the base is baked (the toothpick should come out clean).

Preparing the mandarin cream

1. Preparing the mandarins: Drain the mandarins from the syrup and puree them with a mixer or blender until they become a fine puree.

2. Whipping the cream: Whip the liquid cream with the powdered sugar until it becomes firm. You can adjust the amount of sugar according to your preferences.

3. Gelatin: Hydrate the gelatin in cold water, then heat it in the microwave until it melts. Add the melted gelatin to the mandarin puree and mix well. Finally, fold the mandarin puree into the whipped cream.

Preparing the white chocolate cream

1. Melting the chocolate: Melt the white chocolate together with 200 ml of liquid cream over low heat, stirring continuously to prevent sticking. Let it cool.

2. Whipping the cream: In another bowl, whip the remaining 250 ml of cream with the powdered sugar until it becomes firm.

3. Incorporating the chocolate: Fold the cooled white chocolate into the whipped cream, mixing gently. Then, proceed in the same manner as with the mandarin cream with the gelatin.

Assembling the cake

1. Syrup: Prepare a syrup from the drained juice of the mandarin cans, adding 150 ml of water and 4 tablespoons of sugar. Boil the mixture, then let it cool.

2. Layering: Cut the base into slices. Place a layer of soaked base on a plate, followed by the white chocolate cream, then another soaked base, the mandarin cream, and repeat the process. It is ideal to use a cake ring to maintain the shapes, as the creams are still fluid.

3. Chilling: Refrigerate the cake for a few hours, ideally overnight, to set and combine the flavors.

4. Decorating: Decorate the cake to your liking: you can use mandarin slices, grated chocolate, or whipped cream. Let your creativity run wild!

Serving suggestions and variations

This cake can be served alongside a scoop of vanilla ice cream or a fruit compote for a pleasant contrast. You can also pair it with a glass of sparkling wine or a fragrant tea for a truly special experience.

Frequently asked questions

1. Can I use other fruits? Sure! You can replace the mandarins with oranges or pineapples, resulting in just as delicious a cake.

2. How can I make the cake less sweet? You can reduce the amount of sugar in the creams and syrup, or you can use white chocolate with a lower sugar content.

3. How long does the cake keep? The cake keeps excellently in the refrigerator for 3-4 days, but it is best in the first 2 days.

Nutritional benefits

The mandarin and white chocolate cake offers a combination of antioxidants from chocolate and vitamins from mandarins, providing a tasty dessert with decent nutritional value. Additionally, by using vegetable cream, you can create a lighter, lower-calorie option.

Now that you have all the necessary information, all that's left is to start cooking and enjoy every moment of creating this wonderful dessert! The mandarin and white chocolate cake will surely become the star of your festive table!

Preparation method for the cake base: I always sift the flour, here together with the cocoa, and it seems that the base comes out fluffier than if I simply added the flour with a spoon. I separated the egg whites from the yolks; I whipped the whites well with a pinch of salt, and I mixed the yolks with sugar until they became frothy and quite light in color. Then, over the yolks, I added the sifted flour with cocoa, grated chocolate, and lemon zest. After homogenizing them, I added a third of the egg whites to loosen the mixture a bit and to incorporate the remaining whites, which will be folded in with a spatula using up-and-down motions. I moistened the pan with water, placed parchment paper on the bottom, and put it in the oven for about 30 minutes. Now everyone knows their oven; I have a simple one without ventilation or other features, so bake until tested with a toothpick, just like I do. Preparation method for the mandarin cream: Drain the mandarins from the syrup, whip the cream well with powdered sugar, chop the mandarins until finely blended with a hand mixer or blender, then mix with the whipped cream (for those who want it sweeter, feel free to add more sugar; I prefer it fresher to complement the white chocolate cream). The gelatin is hydrated in cold water (put it in a cup or small bowl with enough water to cover it), then heated in the microwave until melted, and added to the mandarin cream. Preparation method for the chocolate cream: The white chocolate is melted over heat together with the liquid cream and left to cool (I do this a day in advance so it cools well in the fridge). The cream is whipped well with powdered sugar, then the melted white chocolate is mixed in with the whipped cream. The same procedure is followed here with the gelatin: hydrate it, melt it in the microwave, and then mix it into the cream. The syrup is made from the juice drained from the mandarin compote, to which 150 ml of water is added, boiled well with 4 tablespoons of sugar, and cooled before soaking the cake. The cake is cut into slices, and assembled on a platter in the following order: soaked chocolate base, white cream, soaked chocolate base, mandarin cream, soaked chocolate base (it would be ideal to use a cake ring since the creams are still quite fluid), after which it is refrigerated. The mandarin and white chocolate cake is decorated according to each person's taste and served cold from the fridge. The recipe for the mandarin and white chocolate cake was proposed on the recipe forum by mihamarky.

 Ingredients: Ingredients for the base: 6 eggs, 6 tablespoons of sugar, 5 tablespoons of flour (plain, I used 000), a heaped tablespoon of cocoa, a vial of vanilla essence, 2 heaped tablespoons of grated dark chocolate, zest from one lemon. Ingredients for the mandarin cream: 2 cans of mandarins, 3 tablespoons of powdered sugar, 200 ml of liquid cream (I used plant-based), three-quarters of a packet of granulated gelatin. Ingredients for the white chocolate cream: 250 g of white chocolate, 200 ml of cream, 3 tablespoons of powdered sugar, 250 ml of liquid cream, a quarter of a packet of granulated gelatin.

 Tags:  cake recipes chocolate cake cake recipes festive cakes