Mandarin cake is a delicious way to show off the lovely mandarin. A great way to use up this fruit when it’s in season.

Serves: 20
Prep: 45 mins    Cook: 35 mins

Ingredients

• 4 mandarins
• 4 eggs
• ½ cup caster sugar
• 1½ cups plain flour
• ½ cup chia seeds
• ¼ cup olive oil

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 180ºC and line a cake tin with baking paper
2. Wash mandarins well and peel
3. Put the peel in a food processor and blitz on high until they are tiny pieces
4. Separate the eggs into 2 separate bowls (one for yolks and one for the whites)
5. With your hands squeeze the mandarins and collect ¼ cup juice
6. Bowl 1: Add in 2 tablespoons of sugar and beat with the egg whites until soft peaks form, using an electric mixer
7. Bowl 2 (large bowl): Use an electric mixer to beat mandarin peel, egg yolks and sugar together (combine on low, then beat on high until mixture is creamy and doubled in size)
8. Bowl 3: Mix olive oil and mandarin juice
9. Bowl 4: Mix flour and chia seeds
10. Pour half of the flour mixture into the egg yolk mixture and beat on low
11. Continue to beat and slowly pour in the olive oil mixture
12. Add the remaining flour mixture
13. Mix on medium until combined
14. Take half the egg white mixture and fold into mixture using a large spoon
15. Fold in remaining egg whites (be careful not to over mix)
16. Pour mixture into cake tin
17. Bake for 35 mins or until cooked (check by inserting a skewer into cake, if it comes out clean then its done)

Notes

You can use almond meal instead of plain flour, and any seeds in place of chia seeds.