Chaozhou Mandarin Orange cakes is a traditional Chinese recipe for a lucky New Year dessert of grated, squashed, steamed and candied mandarin oranges. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic Chinese version of: Chaozhou Mandarin Orange cakes.
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The Chaozhou tangerine is one of the famous fruit products of the Chaoshan area. It is also the main ingredient in many local dishes. Chaozhou tangerines have a long cultivation history of more than 1300 years. The Chaozhou mandarin orange is characterized by its small size, very thin skin and its natural sweetness, making it almost syrupy and great tasting. Chaozhou oranges are used in a variety of cooking across the region, such as dried for sweets, deep-fried on their own, or their peels incorporated into a savory seasoning, despite growing in very isolated areas.
Despite the name, this is not really a cake, but more of a candied orange. That makes it ideal to serve for Chinese New Year (or any New Year celebration) as the orange is deemed a lucky fruit.
Begin by Preparing the oranges: Whilst mandarin oranges are the best for this recipe, juicy navel oranges can be substituted. Take your oranges and use a microplane or fine grater to remove the thin outer layer of orange skin. Be careful not to remove too much of the outer skin. You need to just remove the shiny uneven surface that has a bitter taste until you see the soft white pith layer.
Chop off the top part of the oranges which connects with the stalk.
Soak the oranges in a bowl of water for about 8-12 hours (the water needs to cover the oranges). This will help remove any polyphenols and bitter-tasting compounds in the zest. When done, take the oranges out of the water and dry them.
Using a knife, make a cut mark on the 4 sides without cutting the orange into pieces. The cut should be about 12mm deep.
Keep the oranges on a flat surface (a plate) with the cut stem end on the bottom and press using a flat object to remove the juice. You don’t need to squeeze the orange dry but at least make sure that most of the juice is removed. The juice is not needed for this recipe so you can drink it or use it in another dish.
The next stage is to steam the oranges: Take a saucepan with a steamer basket. Add about a 5cm depth of water to the pan then insert the steamer basket then add the oranges in a single layer. The surface of the water should lie below the basket; pour some water out if necessary.
Bring the water to a boil over high heat. When the water starts bubbling and steam is emerging from the pot, the cooking process has begun. Let the oranges steam for about 20 minutes.
Caramelizing the oranges: This is the final step of cooking. Take a flat-bottomed saucepan that can hold all the oranges in a single layer. The oranges should be laid flat on the bottom of the pan.
Add the granulated white sugar to the pan and turn on the heat. The recommended ratio of sugar to oranges is 200g sugar per 5 oranges. Cover the saucepan with its lid and keep the heat on high. The sugar will start to melt. When all the sugar has melted, reduce the heat to medium.
The juices from the orange will mix with the sugar syrup and the mixture will start to bubble. DO NOT add any water.
Invert oranges every 10 minutes so that the bottom layer doesn’t get burnt and the entire orange becomes uniformly caramelized.
The sugar syrup will slowly get reduced, and the oranges will start to change colour. It takes about 40-60 minutes over low heat to get the desired texture, taste, and colour of the oranges.
When the sugar syrup starts to change into a caramel colour, you will also see the oranges transform with a spongy and chewy texture. This indicates that the oranges are ready as a dessert.
You can also watch the sugar syrup level to tell when the oranges are ready. When most of the sugar syrup has reduced, the oranges are ready to be removed from the pot.
Transfer the oranges from the pot into a storage bowl. Once the oranges have cooled, you can sprinkle a thin layer of powdered sugar, also called icing (confectioners’) sugar over them. Icing sugar is a finely ground sugar that usually contains an anti-caking agent (such as cornflour) — to absorb moisture, prevent clumping, improve thickening and improve flow.
The resulting dessert is a bright and colourful 'Chaozhou orange cake'. You can eat this fruit dessert by itself or as a complement with ice-creams, cakes and use it in other desserts to add the flavour of orange.
Serve it to your guests for New Year or Chinese New Year to wish them a happy and prosperous year ahead.
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