Baked ricotta cake with caramelised mandarins

Caramelised mandarins combine so well with ricotta, currants and a splash of Grand Marnier in this baked ricotta ‘cake’ – another of my kedvenc or favourite desserts. But then I do love anything baked with ricotta or cottage cheese. And mandarins are up there with my favourite fruits too. 

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In Australia, mandarins are in season from April until October and I have it on good authority that they are in plentiful supply at local greengrocers and farmers’ markets.

The fruit is sweet and versatile, and packed with good things too! Think antioxidants, vitamin C, carotenoids, folate, potassium and dietary fibre. Mandarins also contain phytochemicals, which have anti-inflammatory and anti-tumour properties. Given this information, I’m very happy to share a mandarin recipe with you. Happy baking.

BAKED RICOTTA 'CAKE' WITH CARAMELISED MANDARINS
35g rice crumbs or fresh breadcrumbs
600g low fat ricotta, drained
55g vanilla infused caster sugar
3 free-range eggs, separated
1 tablespoon finely chopped lemon zest
75g currants

For the caramelised mandarins:
4 large seedless* mandarins, peeled
75g light brown sugar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon Grand Marnier

Grease a 20-cm round spring form cake tin and line the base and sides with baking paper. Spray a little light oil onto the parchment, or rub a little more butter onto it. Sprinkle the prepared base and sides of the tin with rice or bread crumbs.

Preheat oven to 180 degrees C. Combine the ricotta, caster sugar, egg yolks and lemon rind in a medium-sized Pyrex bowl and mix until combined, then fold in the currants.

Now, beat the egg whites in a separate bowl, until stiff peaks have formed. Gently fold the whites into the ricotta and egg yolk mixture. Pour this batter into the prepared tin and bake for around 50 minutes or until the cake is firm when lightly touched and tests clean when a skewer is inserted.

Meanwhile, in a small saucepan combine the mandarin segments with the brown sugar, Grand Marnier, brown sugar and lemon juice. Cook over a medium-high heat for 5 minutes or until the sugar caramelises. Take care not to burn the caramel.

Serve the ‘cake’ sliced into wedges and topped with the caramelised mandarin. This quantity will serve 8. Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

*If you cannot find seedless mandarins, simply remove the seeds.


Recipe adapted from Simply Lite Food by the Australian Women's Weekly, ACP Publishing 2001.

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It seems as though I've been away forever, dear friends. The jet lag took more of a toll more than I could have imagined, but then our trip was a HUGE adventure, and it was fourteen years ago that I last travelled. Of course, I'm not getting any younger either. ヅ  Slowly, slowly, I'm coming back to the land of the living. Looking forward to sharing a feast of traveller's tales and recipes with you very soon. Do tell me, what's cooking at your place.