It's the week leading up to Chinese New Year! Chances are, you're already seeing markets overflowing with brightly coloured tangerines (or Mandarin oranges). These sweet, zesty fruits are a central feature in Chinese culture as they symbolize 'Gold', and are often given as gifts or offered to guests during the visiting that goes on in the festive season.
Today's recipe features this bright and flavourful fruit in an unconventional way...we swirled it into a cake! Like a traditional marble cake, the end product is beautiful to look at. But unlike a traditional marble cake, this recipe uses only whole wheat flour and does not contain butter, refined sugar, or artificial flavourings!
Perfect for delighting your guests or giving as a unique gift while still honouring traditional Chinese culture.
Chocolate Tangerine Marble Cake
Recipe by Keikei Yip
Ingredients
Chocolate Filling:
1⁄2 Cup Soy Milk
1⁄2 Tsp Apple Cider Vinegar
1⁄2 Cup Whole Wheat Flour
21⁄2 Tbsp Cacao Powder
1⁄4 Tsp Baking Soda
1⁄4 Tsp Baking Powder
1/8 Tsp Pink Himalayan Salt
1⁄4 Cup Coconut Sugar
2 Tbsp Light Olive Oil
1⁄2 Tsp Vanilla Extract
2 Drops Liquid Chocolate Stevia (Optional)
Orange Filling:
1/2 Cup + 2 Tbsp Whole Wheat Flour
1⁄4 Tsp Baking Soda
1⁄4 Tsp Baking Powder
1/8 Tsp Pink Himalayan Salt
2 Tbsp Light (Golden) Coconut Sugar
2 Tbsp Stevia Sugar
2 Tbsp Light Olive Oil
1⁄2 Tsp Vanilla Extract
2 Tbsp Fresh Tangerine Juice
1⁄2 Cup Tangerine Puree
Zest of 1 large tangerine
Instructions:
Chocolate Filling:
1. Preheat the oven to 175°C. Line the bottom of a 6” cake tin with parchment paper, or lightly oil the sides of the cake tin with olive oil.
2. In a bowl, mix together soy milk and apple cider vinegar, set it aside to curd.
3. In a large bowl, whisk together whole wheat flour, cacao powder, baking soda, baking powder, and Himalayan salt.
4. Add the coconut sugar, light olive oil, and vanilla extract into the soy milk mixture. Mix them together until all the sugar has dissolved.
5. Make a well in the middle of the dry ingredients, and add in the wet ingredients. Whisk until well incorporated and set aside.
Orange Filling:
1. In a large bowl, whisk together whole wheat flour, cacao powder, baking soda, baking powder, and Himalayan salt.
2. In another bowl, mix together the orange puree, coconut sugar, stevia sugar, light olive oil, and vanilla extract. Mix until all the sugar has dissolved.
3. Make a well in the middle of the dry ingredients, and add in the wet ingredients. Whisk until well incorporated.
4. The consistency should be similar to that of the chocolate filling, if it looks too dry, add a tbsp of fresh orange juice at a time until desired consistency is reached.
5. Finally, add in the tangerine zest and mix until just incorporated.
Assembling the cake:
In the lined/oiled cake tin, add 2 Tbsp of orange filling into the middle of the tin, followed by 2 Tbsp of Chocolate filling. Keep alternating between the two fillings until they are used up.
Bake in the middle of the oven for 30-40 minutes. The cake is ready when a toothpick comes out clean.
And that's it! Easy, delicious, and a super fun twist on traditional Chinese tangerines this Chinese New Year. Gong Xi Fa Cai to all Grazers, and have a Happy New Year!
Don't forget to order your healthy treats for Chinese New Year from our Amazin' CNY page! They won't be around for much longer!