mandarin olive oil & chocolate cake with candied mandarin

Directions

Mandarin Cake

1. Preheat your oven to 170°C, fan-forced.

2. Grease (with Mount Zero Extra Virgin Olive Oil), and line (with baking paper) a 22cm springform cake tin.

3. In a medium sized bowl, sift the cocoa powder, add the vanilla extract or paste. Pour in the boiling water and whisk until all combined and there are no lumps. Put aside to cool.

4. In a separate medium-sized bowl, combine the almond meal, bicarb soda and salt. Ensure there are no lumps.

5. In a separate large mixing bowl, pour in the Mandarin Extra Virgin Olive Oil, caster sugar and crack in the three eggs. Use a handheld electric beater to beat together on high, until the mixture replicates the texture of thickened/aerated cream (approx. 3- 4mins of vigorous beating).

6. Turn the electric beater down to a lower setting and pour in the cocoa/water/vanilla mixture- ensure you scrape down the sides of the bowl to get all the mixture! Beat until combined.

7. Add in the almond meal/salt/bi-carb mixture and stir with a spatula until all combined. The finished mixture/cake batter will be quite dark and runny in consistency.

8. Pour the cake batter into the prepared cake tin and bake in the oven for 40- 45mins, or until the cake is set. When testing with a skewer, it should come out clean with only a few sticky crumbs.

9. Cool in the cake tin for 10 minutes, or until it has cooled enough to handle. Ease the cake out of the springform tin and transfer onto a cooling rack.

Candied Mandarin

1. To make the candied mandarin, combine the water and sugar in a fry pan over the stove and bring to the boil, stirring occasionally.

2. Thinly slice one of the mandarins. Peel and segment the other, as well as thinly slicing the peel of the second mandarin. 

3. Once the water and sugar is bubbling away (creating a simple syrup), place the thinly sliced mandarin, mandarin segments and peel into the frying pan. Simmer for 10 minutes.

4. Using tongs or a slotted spoon, remove the mandarin and peel and place on a rack to cool.

5. Return the syrup to a medium/high heat and reduce for a further 3 minutes. Leave to cool. 

To Assemble

1. Dust the cake with icing sugar, arrange the candied mandarin slices, segments and peel over the cake and drizzle with syrup. Serve with dollop cream, crème fraîche or dairy-free alternative.