Mandarin Orange cream cheese cake

 

This is something I put together after a reader have private messaged me to see if I could make a cake she tried at a café.  The cake she had was a Tangerine cream cheese triangle, it looked simple and I was confident that I can copy it.  But after making my cake, I put the two together to compare, it looks nothing like it! Ha-ha! I think mines were a little too over decorated!

 

 

So this is the recipe you have all been waiting to try at home.  I would say it's a little complex to make but if you're feeling adventurous then this would be the one to try!

First of all, you need to bake a square sponge.

I used a 8x8 loose bottom baking tin.

Line the tin bottom and sides.

 

Ingredients:

4 eggs

120g plain flour

120g caster sugar

40g melted butter

1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

 

Method:

Whisk eggs and sugar together until ribbon stage.

Fold in flour until combined.

Add melted butter and vanilla and fold.

Pour into the baking tin and bake in a preheated oven 180c for 25 minutes.

 

Cool on wire rack and cut the sponge in half, set aside and move onto making the cream cheese filling.

 

 

Mandarin cream cheese filling:

 

300g cream cheese

100g icing sugar

2 tbsp. lemon juice

1 tins of mandarin oranges in light syrup

120g juice from the tin mandarin

200g double cream

10g gelatine soften in 50g water

 

Decorating the cake:

1 tin of mandarin oranges in light syrup

3g gelatine

100g cream

1/2 tbsp. icing sugar

 

Method:

 

Prepare the gelatine by soften in 50g water, let it soak for few minutes and then dissolve into liquid, set aside.

 

 

Weigh the mandarin juice and add the lemon juice to it, set aside.

If there isn't enough juice from 1 tin then use the juice from the second tin.

Whisk cream cheese with 50g icing sugar, in a separate bowl whisk cream and add 50g icing sugar. 

  

 

Add the glass of mandarin juice to the cream cheese can whisk until combined.

 The mixture will appear slightly runny like yoghurt.

 

 

Add in the cool gelatine liquid to the cream cheese mixture and whisk to combine.

 

Fold in the cream gently in the cream cheese mixture and mix to combine.

 



 

Prepare the same baking tin you used for baking the sponge and line with foil or cling film, the sponge will have shrunk a little so lining it the cream cheese mixture won't leak from the bottom of the tin. If you have a square mousse tin, use that instead.

*RESERVE 1/2 CUP OF CREAM CHEESE MIXTURE !
 

 

Pour half the cream cheese mixture on to the sponge.

 

 

Lay one tin of the mandarins on top.

Pour the other half of the mixture over the cake.

 



 

Lay the other half sponge on top and use half of the reserved cream cheese mixture to spread a thin layer on top of the sponge.  This will act as a barrier when you lay the mandarin and jelly topping to stop it getting wet!

 



 

 Chill the cake for at least 4 hours then remove from the tin and peel off the foil.

I added cling film for extra protection.

 

 

Trim off the 4 sides to reveal the perfect layers and pieces of mandarin, and taste the scrap! These are the best bits!!

 



 

This is your cake naked!

So now you need to dress it with cream and top with mandarins.

 



 

Whisk 100g cream add 1/2 tbsp. of icing sugar and add the remaining cream cheese mixture you have reserved, there should be 1/4 cup. mix both mixture carefully and you should have a mousse like cream.  Place into a piping bag and fit a star nozzle, I used Wilton 1M nozzle.

Pipe around the boarder of your cake, smear the inside of the piping line to seal off any gaps.

 

Lay the second tin of mandarins on top of the cake. 

 



 

To make the jelly topping:

50g mandarin juice

3g gelation plus 15g water to soften

 

Dissolve the gelatine and stir into the juice, spoon over the mandarins and chill in the fridge to set the jelly.

 

 

 

Cut to your desired size, this is for 10-12 servings.