Mandarin Orange Loaf Cake

Ingredients:

2-3 Mandarin oranges

3 Eggs

1/3 cup Vegetable oil, such as sunflower oil

1/4 cup Whole Milk

1 teaspoon Vanilla

1 3/4 cup Flour

1 cup Sugar

2 teaspoons Baking powder

1/4 teaspoon Salt

Method:

Preheat oven to 325°F. Butter interior of a standard size loaf pan. Place a piece of parchment paper on the bottom of the pan and butter the parchment paper.

Cut Mandarin oranges into quarters, remove any seeds. Add the oranges, eggs, oil, milk, and vanilla to a blender jar. Process until smooth.

Meanwhile, in a medium size mixing bowl add the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Whisk to combine.

Add the wet ingredients to the dry, and fold together with a spatula until no dry bits remain.

Transfer batter to prepared loaf pan. Bake at 325°F for 55 to 65 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean.

Cool for 10 minutes on a wire rack, then remove loaf from pan and cool completely before serving.

Optionally, serve loaf cake with a drizzle of citrus glaze or an orange liqueur soak (recipes below). Enjoy!

Variation Notes: Substitute the Mandarin oranges with a lemon. Boil one large lemon for five minutes, then continue with recipe as written above. In lieu of a loaf pan, batter can be baked in a prepared 9inch round cake pan for 30-35 min.

Citrus Glaze

1/4 cup Powdered sugar

1/2 teaspoon Fresh mandarin orange zest

Up to 1 tablespoon Fresh mandarin orange juice

In a small mixing bowl, combine powdered sugar and orange zest. Add mandarin orange juice, 1 teaspoon at a time, and stir. Continue adding more juice until desired consistency.

Orange Liqueur Soak

1/2 cup Sugar

1/4 cup Fresh mandarin orange juice

1/4 cup Orange liqueur

Add all ingredients to a small sauce pot placed over medium heat. Heat, stirring frequently, until sugar is fully dissolved.