Mandarin Cake with Yogurt Icing

Have you ever used the entire lemon or orange in a recipe? There seem to be quite a few recipes around doing just that, using both rind and juice. It's not something I've ever done until recently, but I've been pleased with the results, so expect more posts coming your way using the whole fruit, not just juice.

However. this particular recipe was by far the most scrumptious to date. Whole mandarins are actually simmered until tender and then the entire thing puréed. Donna Hay of course, so what else but yummy? Moist, bright with a strong orange flavor and the yogurt frosting is to die for. If you don't have that European style cake pan (which is a tad larger and slightly deeper than ours), use your regular cake pan and then make a few muffins with the leftover batter, that's what I did. But do make this recipe. It's a dream.
Note: read directions through before making....it takes 24 hours. (Why do we never learn that lesson? LOL)

Mandarin Cake with Yogurt Icing
Donna Hay, issue 77

Ingredients:
4 medium mandarins (360 g) (I used tangerines, clementines would be even better, weigh them for accuracy.)
175 g unsalted butter, softened
1 and 1/2 cups superfine sugar
3 eggs, room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3/4 cup almond meal/flour
1 and 1/2 cups all purpose flour, sifted
2 teaspoons baking powder, sifted

For the icing:
3 cups Greek yogurt
1 cup confectioners sugar, sifted
1 cup mascarpone

Method:
Place the yogurt in a large sieve wrapped in muslin. Set the sieve over a large bowl, cover and refrigerate overnight.
Preheat oven to 320 degrees. Grease a cake pan, line the bottom with parchment, and grease lightly again. Set aside.
Place the (washed) unpeeled mandarins in a saucepan, cover with water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cut a round piece of parchment to fit the pan and lay it over the mandarins, placing a plate on top to hold the mandarins under water. Simmer for 20 minutes or until tender. Remove the mandarins from the water, cool slightly, then purée them in your food processor. Set aside.
Place the butter and sugar in the bowl of your mixer and beat until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating after each addition. Then add the vanilla, almond flour, regular flour and baking powder. Beat until just mixed. Add the puréed mandarins, mix.
Pour into your prepared baking pan, level off and bake for 50 minutes or until a tester comes out clean. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.


Method for the icing:
Place the prepared yogurt in a bowl, add the mascarpone and then the sifted confectioners sugar. Mix well and using a palette knife, frost the cake. Serves 8-10.

(I refrigerated mine until ready to serve, but for some reason, that was not mentioned in the recipe.)