After every Chinese New Year, I will always have an abundance of Mandarin Oranges. This is because as part of our tradition, we exchange these oranges to bring luck and wealth. However, my family always face a race against time to consume these oranges and you might end up getting sick of them!

As such, I always have bakes to use up these Mandarin Oranges and to give them a new lease of life. For this recipe, I will be sharing my favourite tangy and citrusy Mandarin Orange Cake Squares.

In the event that you’re looking for other recipes that use up Mandarin Oranges, I propose my Citrusy Orange Cupcakes and Orange Cheese Chiffon Cake. Both of which are sure to showcase the fragrance, aroma, and natural sweetness of Mandarin Oranges.

However, if you’re looking for something simpler yet delicious, these Mandarin Orange Cake Squares are for you.

It takes almost no time and effort at all in making these Mandarin Orange Cake Squares. The bulk of the time for preparation goes to the making of the icing and squeezing of oranges. Else, everything is pretty much simple! However, a word of caution will be to use room temperature oranges and milk. This allows the ingredients to mix together well without curdling and producing the holes-in-cake effect.

Some food (or cake) for thought is also how you would like to serve them. For my Mandarin Orange Cake Squares, I let the freshly baked cake soak up an orange juice sugar mixture before topping it off with orange icing. Some will find this to be overly orange-y (if this is a valid word), but it’s really fragrant and delicious! However, you can choose to go with just one (orange drizzle or orange icing) or even none at all. My personal recommendation will be to at least have the orange drizzle so that the citrus flavours can be further boosted.

One last note – make sure to take only the peel and not the rind (white part) of the orange. This is because the rind can be rather bitter!

Without further ado, the recipe.

Mandarin Orange Cake Squares Recipe
by Javier Tan February-17-2024

These citrusy, fragrant and fluffy Mandarin Orange Cake Squares are the most delicious way to use up all those excess oranges!

Ingredients

For Orange Cake:

  • 1/2 Cup or 115g of Unsalted Butter, Softened at Room Temperature
  • 2/3 Cup or 130g of Granulated White Sugar
  • 2 Large Eggs (each weighing 55g, weigh incl shell)
  • 1/2 Cup or 120ml of Milk
  • 2 Tablespoon or 30ml of Orange Juice
  • 1 and 1/2 Cup or 180g of All-Purpose / Plain Flour
  • 3/4 Tsp or 3g of Baking Powder
  • Orange Zest, approx 1 – 2 teaspoons (Optional)

For Orange Drizzle:

  • 1/4 Cup or 60ml of Orange Juice
  • 2 Tsps or 10g of Granulated White Sugar

For Orange Icing:

  • 1 Tbspn + 1 Tsp or 20ml of Orange Juice
  • 3/4 Cup or 90g of Powdered Sugar

Instructions

  1. Pre-heat your oven to 160C (300F) and line your 8 inch square baking tray with parchment paper.
  2. Next, cream together the butter and sugar until fluffy and light yellow, approx 2 minutes.
  3. Then, whisk in the two eggs.
  4. Whisk in the orange juice, milk and orange zest.
  5. Thereafter, whisk in the flour and baking powder before transferring to your baking tray.
  6. Tap a few times to dislodge excess air bubbles before baking for 32 – 35 minutes or until lightly orange brown at the top.
  7. Then, set aside to cool for 5 minutes. In this 5 minutes, prepare your orange drizzle by mixing both ingredients together and then pouring it over the top of the warm cake.
  8. Once the cake has cooled, prepare the orange icing and then pour over the top of the cake. Top with additional orange zest if desired.
    Note: I prefer to make the orange icing only when ready as it will harden and set 

Details

  • Prep time: 40
  • Cook time: 35
  • Total time: 1
  • Yield: 1 Fragrant and Fluffy Mandarin Orange Cake Square

Notes:

  1. If you would like to be updated for more recipes which I strive to create to perfection for sharing and for free, do check out my InstagramFacebook Page, or YouTube 🙂 Thank you so much for all of your support! Feel free to tag me or link back here!
  2. Serve at room temp (up to 4 days) or in the refrigerator for up to a week. Refrigeration is recommended especially in more humid countries.
  3. Feel free to ask if you need help!

Enjoy!
– Bakeomaniac, Javier Tan