Mandarin-Almond Flour Cake

I can’t even begin to tell you how much citrus-flavored pancakes I’ve been eating in the last few months. It might be the long-awaited spring weather, but all I’ve been wanting is that tangy taste with my fluffy carbs. On Mother’s Day, I had an incredible pistachio almond cake that was also gluten-free; I couldn’t believe how far gluten-free choices have come. I was inspired to do something similar for my niece’s 8th birthday, but with that subtle citrus taste.

Did you know that tangerines belong in the mandarin sub-group? Therefore, all tangerines are classified as a type of mandarin orange, but not all mandarin oranges are tangerines. Got that? The tangerines in the supermarket were a little too wrinkled for my taste, so I opted for a bag of mandarins instead. Their peel is smoother and tighter and lends to easier zesting.

And that’s really the only work you’ll do here. Once you zest all your mandarins and lemon, everything else is a matter of using your mixer and getting everything throughly combined. I burned mine a bit at 50 minutes, so I’m reducing the time here to 40. Feel free to add sliced blanched almonds to your batter. I had them on hand, but totally forgot to use them!

Ingredients:
5 mandarins, throughly washed and wiped dry
1 lemon, throughly washed and wiped dry
4 eggs
1 cup sugar
3 cups almond flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 small knob of butter, room temperature
confectioner’s sugar for dusting

1. Using a fine grater, grate all the mandarins for their zest. Do the same for the lemon. Set aside.
2. Using an electric mixer, beat the eggs and sugar until light and creamy. Fold in the almond meal, both zests, baking powder. Mix until well combined.
3. Coat the bottom and sides of a 9″ spring form pan. Pour the batter and try to even out with a spatula.
4. Preheat oven at 350º. Bake for 40 minutes, or until lightly golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. If the cake is browning too fast, cover loosely with a sheet of foil. Cool on a rack for 10 minutes, then remove from the pan to finish cooling. Dust with confectioner’s sugar.

Related post/s:
The Microplane Classic Zester and Grater is one of my most used tools in my kitchen