Don’t you just love them, the sweet little mandarins you see piled high in the store’s produce bins? They are so good! Not only are mandarins good for snacking on but they are perfect for adding to desserts like this Easy Mandarin Orange Bundt Cake.
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This orange bundt cake recipe bakes up moist and deliciously rich, dense, and buttery, similar to a pound cake. The best part of this cake is the bits of fresh mandarins baked in the batter for a delightful citrusy flavor.
But, we all know fresh mandarins are not available everywhere, and maybe you want a delicious orange citrus cake in the summer, so I’ve included a canned mandarin orange cake recipe, that is just as tasty.
Bundt cakes—oh how we love these simple, made-from-scratch cakes with decorative flutes and icing dripping down the sides. Bundts are easy to make, no messing with layers and loads of icing. Sometimes, a simple dusting of powdered sugar is all that is needed for decoration. After all, why cover up such a pretty molded cake?
Recipes with fresh mandarin oranges
- For a rich and creamy dessert, this Mandarin Orange Creme Caramel is easy to make, it’s a bit elegant, and best of all the taste is amazing.
- Sweet Mandarin Orange Scones are a family favorite, along with Satsuma mandarins baked right in.
Cake Ingredients
- Cake flour for a tender crumb
- Baking soda and salt
- Satsuma Mandarin Oranges, zest, and juice for a wonderful mandarin flavor
- Sugar – white sugar brings out the citrus flavor of the mandarins
- Butter and Sour cream – both add flavor and moistness
- Eggs – I always use large eggs
- Powdered sugar for the icing drizzle
Bundt pan tips and tricks
- It is best to use a good quality bundt pan.
- Bundt cake pans have a lot of nooks and crannies plus the center tube so make sure you thoroughly grease and flour the pan, otherwise, your cake may get stuck. Use either cooking spray or vegetable shortening for the best results. After you dust the pan with flour if there are any areas not covered with flour simply redo these areas.
- Instead of flour, you can dust the pan with sugar which leaves a nice flavor and crunch on the crust of the cake. I always use sugar.
- Bundt pans come in many sizes; this recipe is for a 10-cup bundt pan.
- After you fill the bundt pan with the batter, make sure to tap it several times against the countertop to get rid of any air pockets in the batter.
- Bundt cakes have a long baking time and this cake takes 1 hour 15 to 1 hour 30 minutes to bake. Test the cake with a cake tester and when it comes out clean it is done.
- Once your cake is baked let it sit for 15 minutes then flip it over onto a cooling rack. You want the cake to remain warm when you flip it since it will release better. If you let the cake cool completely in the pan, it just might get completely stuck.
- Before flipping your cake over jiggle the pan a little to loosen the cake, and if necessary slide a knife down the sides to coax it loose and jiggle the pan. Let the pan sit on the cake upside down for about 5 minutes before removing again until the cake releases.
Gold Nugget Satsuma Mandarin Oranges
Grown in Northern California
What are Mandarins?
Mandarins are a smaller type of orange with thin skins that are easily peeled. The inside fruits are segments that are usually seedless.
There are over 200 varieties of Mandarins.
The Mandarine flavor is sweeter and less acidic than an orange.
These three types of Mandarins are the most popular and easy to find in stores.
Ever wonder about the names of winter fruits, you can read about that in the guide and our favorite Mandarins are one of those fruits.
- Satsumas (a personal favorite) These are the juiciest of the Mandarins and usually the fruit that you find canned. The thin, leathery skin is easy to peel. These fruits are in season from October – February and are grown in Northern California and Southeastern U.S. With their sweet flavor and juiciness, Satsumas are not only perfect for snacking but can be added to both sweet and savory baked goods, dishes and drinks. Satsumas bruise easily, so they don’t travel well. They are really found in more local growing areas.
- Clementines—Known by their brand names as Cuties or Smarties, they are the smallest and sweetest of the Mandarins. These tiny seedless fruits can be found in bags in the markets and make a great snack.
- Tangerines—Honey Tangerines are the most popular. They are in season from January through April. This super juicy fruit contains some seeds and has a thicker, bright orange-colored peel that is less sweet and a bit more tart.
Let’s bake a cake
Step 1. Start by zesting the mandarins over the sugar with a Microplane citrus zester, then mix the zest and sugar together. Mixing the zest in the sugar brings out the oils in the mandarin zest and flavors the sugar in a glorious way.
Trust me, this orange-scented sugar is a game changer, and I do this when I make this Lemon Bundt Cake, it just adds more citrus flavor.
Step 2. Next, separate the segments and cut them into small slices using a serrated knife. I suggest doing this on a rimmed plate to catch all the juice.
Baking tip – Another way to cut the mandarins, because it can be a bit tricky, is to cut the slices with scissors. You will have less juice, but you can also cut the slices into pretty small pieces.
Step 3. Make the cake batter by beating the butter, adding the sugar/zest mixture then the eggs one at a time.
Step 4. Mix in the dry ingredients, followed by the sour cream.
Step 5. The last step is mixing in the mandarin slices and the juice, stirring in with a spatula.
Step 6. Pour the batter into the greased and sugared bundt pan, tap it on the counter to remove any air bubbles, and bake for 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 hours. Always test with a toothpick, and in the case of a bundt cake, you may want to use a skewer because it’s longer.
Step 7. Let the cake cool in the pan for about 15 minutes, then remove it from the bundt pan and place on a cooling rack. See above for my Tip on removing the cake from the pan.
You have options for finishing your cake because options are always good. You can give your cake a light dusting of powdered sugar or add a little bling to your cake with a little drizzle of icing or a glaze. I’m going for the icing drizzle today because I like icing!!
Step 8. Mix the powdered sugar and orange juice to make a smooth consistency, then spoon the icing over the cooled cake.
You can add a little or a lot of icing; it’s up to you.
Here is a tip when icing a bundt cake, to keep your cake plate clean tuck some wax paper underneath, and simply remove it when the icing is set.
Bundt cakes are simply elegant and perfect for parties, they are easy to slice and serve. Set on a pedestal cake plate for a lovely presentation. However, if you have a family like mine, they just start slicing the cake on the cooling rack.
Cake FAQs
You can however the taste will not be as fresh as using fresh mandarins and you will not have the added benefit of the orange zest.
Because a bundt cake pan is so large and the batter for the cakes are usually very dense it will take at least an hour to bake.
Yes, bundt pans vary in size. The standard size is a 10-inch pan that holds 10 to 12 cups of batter. Some more decorative bundt pans are smaller and hold 6 cups of batter.
Bake this cake with canned mandarins
A couple of notes on using canned mandarins in this recipe:
- Because you will not have zested mandarins, use plain granulated sugar. And because of this, your cake will not have as much mandarin flavor as using fresh mandarins.
- You will not use all the drained syrup; the rest can be discarded
- You will have some leftover mandarins since you only need 6 ounces or 1 cup. Keep the rest to decorate the cake.
Step 1. To make this cake, use a 15-ounce can of mandarins. I used Dole Mandarin Oranges in Light Syrup.
Step 2. Drain the mandarins, and keep the juice from the can.
Step 3. Dice the mandarins into smaller pieces. It’s really easy to do with a pair of scissors. Keep out some of the mandarins to decorate the top of the cake. I used one cup, about 7 ounces.
Step 4. Mix 1/4 cup of mandarin juice and the diced mandarins. Once the cake batter is made, you will stir this into the batter and bake.
Step 5. Now that the mandarins are ready, prepare the cake as instructed above.
Baking essentials
When it comes to pans I have found a good anodized aluminum heavy bundt pan that will bake the best cake and a nonstick surface helps the cake release with ease. Perfect for pound cakes too!
This Nordic Ware Stained Glass Bundt Pan is my favorite. It holds 6 cups of batter and looks so pretty with a light icing.
This microplane citrus zester is my favorite tool and makes zesting so easy.
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Mandarin Orange Bundt Cake
Equipment
Ingredients
Cake Ingredients
- 4 Tangerines Satsumas washed and dried. About 8 ounces, and 6 ounces peeled.
- 3 cups Cake flour
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup butter softened, 2 sticks
- 1 ½ cups granulated sugar
- 6 eggs
- 1 cup sour cream
Mandarin Orange Icing
- 1 ½ cups powdered sugar
- 2 tablespoons milk
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325° F. Thoroughly grease and sugar the bundt pan.
- Zest the four mandarins over a piece of waxed paper or a small plate, using a microplane grater.
- Remove the peel from the zested mandarins and clean off most of the white pith. Separate the sections. Using a rimmed plate to catch the juices, cut each section into small slices with scissors. You should have about 1 ¼ cups of slices and juice.Try to make the mandarin pieces pretty small to avoid large wet spots in the baked cake.
- In a small bowl combine the sugar and the mandarin zest. With your fingers mix the sugar and zest until well combined and the sugar has turned orange.
- In a large mixing bowl beat the softened butter for two minutes. Add in half the sugar/zest mixture, beat again for two minutes then add the remaining sugar/zest mixture and beat for four minutes. Scrape the bowl occasionally.
- Add the eggs one at a time, beating each until just combined.
- On the lowest mixer setting beat in the cake flour, baking soda, and salt, then scrape the bowl.
- Beat in the sour cream and scrape the bowl again.
- With a rubber spatula, fold in the mandarin segments and the juice.
- Pour the batter into the prepared bundt pan. Tap the pan on the counter to remove any air bubbles.
- Bake about 1 ¼ to 1 ½ hours until a cake tester at the center of the cake comes out clean. Let cool for 15 minutes then turn out the cake on a cooling rack to cool.See the tips below for removing the cake from the pan.
Icing the Cake
- Mix the powdered sugar and milk together until smooth. Spoon the icing over the cooled cake
Keeping the Cake
- This cake can be kept covered on the counter for 3 days.
Notes
Making the cake with canned mandarins
- For this method, use a 15-ounce can of mandarins.
- You will be using just granulated sugar, unless you have an orange to zest into the sugar as directed above.
- Drain the mandarins and then measure out a heaping 1 cup (7 ounces), you will have a few mandarins left.
- Cut the mandarin segments into smaller pieces.
- Add 1/4 cup of the drained mandarin juice and the diced mandarins together. This is what you will add in the last step after the batter is mixed.
- Once your cake is baked let it sit for 15 minutes then flip it over onto a cooling rack. You want the cake to still be warm when you flip it since it will release better. If you let the cake completely cool in the pan it just might get completely stuck.
- Before flipping your cake over jiggle the pan a little to loosen the cake, and if necessary slide a knife down the sides to coax it loose and jiggle the pan. Let the pan sit on the cake upside down for about 5 minutes before removing again until the cake releases.
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Nutrition
First published: Dec. 18, 2019. Last updated: Dec 17, 2022, for better readability.
About Jere’
From learning to cook on a farm in Indiana to culinary school in California, my passion for food is never-ending. Turning on my oven to bake something for friends and family is my happy place, and I am glad to be here at One Hot Oven sharing both sweet and savory recipes with all my baking friends.
This is such a beautiful cake. I bet the flavour of the madarin oranges adds such a fresh burst of flavour!
Love the addition of mandarin oranges, this cake is simply perfect.
Thank you so much. I think this cake is perfect too.
Looks amazing! I love mandarins and they are so underrated. Love how easy it is to make. Perfect for the holidays baking. thank you for sharing
Hii, somehow the parts of the cake surrounding the mandarin orange seemed a bit undercooked – though the toothpick came out clean. Issit a matter of just baking it for longer? I baked for abt close to 1.5hrs. Any tips?
Hi Yg, Sorry the cake didn’t turn out like it should. It does take a long time for this cake to bake. I do think the mandarin pieces need to be fairly small and I will update the post to reflect that. If the mandarin pieces are too big the juice in them could be causing the problem.
Hi! Can I change the Sour creme for yogurt? When you tell cake flour, do you mean all purpose? Thank you
Hi Rafaela, you can definitely use yogurt instead of sour cream in this cake. Aa cake flour and all-purpose are two different types of flour. I like to use cake flour in recipes like this one which makes the cake more tender and not as dense or chewy as using all-purpose flour. But by all means you can substitute all-purpose flour if you can’t find the cake flour.
Citrus cakes are so good, we made it yesterday, used APP instead of cake flour and made the cake in a pan, cake was so yum, thank you for sharing this recipe.