Easy Mandarin Orange Bundt Cake

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.

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?

Jump to:

• Recipes with fresh mandarin oranges
• Cake Ingredients
• Bundt pan tips and tricks 
• Gold Nugget Satsuma Mandarin Oranges
• What are Mandarins?
• Let's bake a cake
• Cake FAQs
• Bake this cake with canned mandarins
• Baking essentials
• More Favorites To Make
• Recipe

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

Gold Nugget Satsuma Mandarin Oranges

Grown in Northern California

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 ¼ to  1 ½ 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

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 ¼ 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.

More Favorites To Make

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Recipe

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.