This fluffy and light mousse cake is the most delicious mandarin cake ever! This elegant cake is made with a classic sponge cake, flavors of mandarin, then topped with a simple chocolate ganache and loads of mandarins. Every bite melts in your mouth. This mandarin cake can be made year-round, but we like to enjoy it mostly during the winter season for all of the holiday parties when mandarins are in season.
How to Make A Sponge Cake
The classic sponge cake base is made with just a few ingredients that are usually in my pantry. It’s one of the recipes that I use in many of my cake recipes, it’s simply a no-fail recipe. When making the sponge cake, make sure to first whisk the eggs and sugar well, until they’re almost white in color and are voluminous. Add the dry ingredients by folding gently from the bottom of the bowl. To make the sponge cake moister after it’s baked, cooled down, and sliced, I like to use a simple syrup. I make this by mixing a teaspoon of sugar and a couple of tablespoons of water, then gently pouring the syrup onto the cake, especially on the edges.
Ingredients for the cake
Sponge Cake Ingredients
- Eggs
- Sugar
- Vanilla extract
- Baking powder
- All-purpose flour: make sure it’s unbleached
Mousse Ingredients
Mandarins in juice: from a can
Jello: Lemon flavored
Heavy whipping cream: Cool whip will work too, just skip the step of whisking it
Powdered sugar: Also known as confectioners sugar
2- Ingredients Chocolate Ganache
Butter: Unsalted
Chocolate chips: Semi-sweet
Ingredients
- 5 large eggs
- 1 cup of sugar
- 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 cup all-purpose flour, unbleached
- 10 oz can mandarins in juice
- 3 oz pkg jello, lemon-flavored
- 2 cups heavy whipping cream (473 ml)
- 2 Tbsp powdered sugar
- 4 Tbsp unsalted butter
- 1/2 cup chocolate chips
- 2 fresh mandarins for decor (optional)
How to make Fresh Mandarin Mousse Cake:
- Preheat the oven to 350F. Grease a 9″ round cake form.
- On high speed in an electric mixer, beat eggs with sugar until the mix is a pale yellow color, almost white, then add in vanilla extract.
Lower the speed to the lowest, or using a spatula, add in the dry ingredients. Mix well, making sure you are getting everything from the bottom of the bowl. Transfer mixture to the ready cake form.
Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted. Let it cool down completely.
Strain a can of mandarins and put in a separate bowl from the juice.
Into the bowl with the mandarin juice, add lemon-flavored jello. Microwave for 3 minutes, stirring after each minute. Or, you could go the healthier way and bring it to a boil in a saucepan. Let it cool down. (Leave the mandarins aside to put into the mousse later.)
In a medium-sized mixing bowl, beat heavy whipping cream with powdered sugar until stiff and soft peaks form.
Combine with the jello mix.
Transfer into a form exactly the same size and shape as you made the sponge cake. Add in mandarin pieces from the can, then refrigerate until completely set. It will take about 45 minutes.
Put the Cake Together:
Slice the sponge cake horizontally in the middle. Use the simple syrup to moisten the sponge cake by mixing a teaspoon of sugar and a couple of tablespoons of water, then gently pour the syrup onto the cake, especially the edges.
Take the mandarine mousse and put it on top of the bottom slice of cake, and cover with the other half.
Making the 2- ingredient ganache: Melt 4 Tablespoons of unsalted butter, stir in 1/2 cup of chocolate chips, until smooth.
Pour over the cake.
Additional notes:
- I also leave a little of the ganache to dip fresh mandarins to decorate the cake.
You could also try a different kind of ganache.
Other Cake Recipe You Need to Try:
Layered Mascarpone Cheese and Cherry Cake
Products I used in this recipe:
Mandarin Mousse Cake
Ingredients
- 5 large eggs
- 1 cup sugar
- ¼ tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 cup all-purpose flour unbleached
- 10 oz can mandarins in juice strain, divide into separate bowls
- 3 oz package jello lemon flavored
- 2 cup heavy whipping cream 473 ml
- 2 Tbsp powdered sugar
- 4 Tbsp unsalted butter
- ½ cup chocolate chips
- 2 fresh mandarins for decor optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350. Grease a 9″ round cake form.
- On high speed, beat 5 large eggs with 1 cup of sugar until a pale yellow color. Add in 1/4 teaspoons of vanilla extract.
- Lower the speed to the lowest and add 1 teaspoon of baking powder and 1 cup of flour. Mix for one 1 minute then transfer mixture to ready cake form.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until a tooth pick comes out clean when inserted. Cool down completely.
- Strain one can of mandarines and separate the juice and mandarines into separate bowls.
- Into the bowl with the juice add 3 ounces of lemon flavored jello (1 packet). Microwave for 3 minutes, stirring after each minute. Or you could go the healthier way and bring it to a boil in a sauce pan. Let it cool down.
- In a medium sized bowl beat 2 cups of heavy whipping cream with 2 Tablespoons of powdered sugar until stiff.
- Combine with jello, on lowest speed.
- Transfer into a form exactly the same size and shape like you made the sponge cake in. Refrigerate until completely set, 45 minutes.
- Slice the sponge cake horizontally in the middle. Take the mandarine mousse and put it on top of the bottom slice of cake, cover with the other half. Refrigerate until your ganache is ready.
- Melt 4 Tablespoons of unsalted butter, stir in 1/2 cup of chocolate chips, until smooth. Pour over cake. Optional: dip fresh mandarine slices into ganache for decorating.
- Enjoy!
Nutrition
