Desserts made with mandarins
Chinese New Year is just around the corner and it is no secret that there will be mandarin oranges aplenty. You may be content with just eating mandarin oranges by themselves and indeed they are delicious, but why not broaden your horizons and wow your family and friends in the process by making various desserts using mandarin oranges? You'd be surprised with the sweet treats you can make with mandarin oranges!
We have compiled a few fairly easy ones that you can whip up in a jiffy below so read on to find out!
Clementine Sorbet
The recipe is from Serious Eats.
INGREDIENTS
20 chilled clementines (about 1 case, or 3 3/4 pounds), peeled and broken into segments
1 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
DIRECTIONS
In batches, purée clementine segments until smooth, about 30 seconds. Pour purée through a fine mesh strainer, pressing down on solids with a spoon, into a large measuring cup until you have 4 cups of strained juice. Reserve remaining juice for another purpose and rinse out blender. If clementines were not chilled, chill juice in refrigerator for 2 to 3 hours until very cold. Combine strained clementine juice and sugar in blender and blend on high speed until sugar is completely dissolved. Blend in salt to taste. Churn in ice cream maker according to manufacturer's instructions. Serve immediately as soft serve or transfer to an airtight container and chill in freezer for at least 4 hours for a firmer texture.
Mandarin Orange Cake
The recipe is from Food.com.
INGREDIENTS
1 (18 1/2 ounce) package yellow cake mix
4 large eggs
1 cup vegetable oil
2 (11 ounce) cans mandarin oranges
1 (8 ounce) container frozen whipped topping, thawed (Cool Whip or store brand)
1 (3 1/2 ounce) box instant vanilla pudding
DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a 9 x 13 inch pan (I use a pyrex baking pan so I can serve the cake right in the pan). In a large bowl, combine cake mix, eggs, oil and ONE can of oranges with juice. Mix by hand or with mixer until smooth (you will still see bits of oranges). Pour into prepared pan. Bake for 30-40 minutes or until thin steak knife inserted in center come out clean. Allow to cool completely on rack. In a large bowl, mix whipped topping, the other can of mandarin oranges with juice and dry pudding mix until well combined and smooth. Spread on cooled cake.
Mandarin Napoleons with Sugared Wonton Wrappers
The recipe is from Fine Cooking.
INGREDIENTS
Cooking spray
12 wonton wrappers
2 Tbs. granulated sugar
1 cup sweetened whipped cream
One 11-oz. can mandarin oranges in light syrup, drained
1 Tbs. confectioners' sugar
Preheat the oven to 400ºF. Coat a large baking sheet with cooking spray.
Arrange the wonton wrappers on the sheet and spray them with cooking spray. Sprinkle them evenly with the granulated sugar, then bake until golden brown, about 5 minutes.
Remove from the oven and arrange four of the wontons on a serving platter or individual dessert dishes. Top each one with 2 Tbs. of the whipped cream and then 1/8 of the mandarin sections. Top each with a second wonton wrapper. Repeat the layers (whipped topping, mandarin oranges, wonton wrapper). Sift the confectioners' sugar over the top layer and serve.
The sugared wonton wrappers can be prepared up to 1 week in advance. Store them in airtight containers or plastic bags at room temperature. Assemble the dessert no more than 1 hour before serving. When assembling ahead, refrigerate until ready to serve.