Mandarin poppy seed cake

Ingredients for 12 servings:

• 125 g butter, room temperature
• 125 g sugar
• 2 lemons, grated peel (organic)
• 3 eggs
• 150 g flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 6 sheets of gelatin
• 2 can/n mandarin oranges (314 ml each)
• 250 g cream
• 1 packet of vanilla sugar
• 300 g mascarpone
• 150 g sour cream
• 4 tbsp orange juice
• 100 g sugar
• ½ pack poppy seeds – baking
• 1 pack of cake glaze, clear
• 25 g sugar
• some cream, whipped stiffly for the cream dots

Instructions

Working time approx. 1 hour; Rest time approx. 1 hour; Total time approx. 2 hours

Preheat the oven to 175°C (150°C fan-assisted oven). For the base, cream the butter with sugar and lemon zest until creamy. Beat in the eggs one at a time. Mix the flour with the baking powder and stir in. Pour the batter into a greased springform pan, level the surface slightly, and bake for about 20 minutes. Let it cool slightly, then turn it out of the pan and let it cool. For the filling, soak the gelatin in cold water. Drain the mandarins well, reserving 1/4 liter of juice. Whip the cream with the vanilla sugar. Mix the mascarpone with the sour cream, sugar, and orange juice until smooth. Mix 2 tablespoons of the mascarpone cream with the poppy seed mixture and set aside. Squeeze out the gelatin and dissolve it, then stir it into the remaining mascarpone cream. Fold in the cream and half of the mandarins (preferably the ones that aren’t as pretty). Cover the base with a cake ring. Spread half of the mascarpone cream on top. Spread the poppy seed mixture in dollops (1 teaspoon each), fill the gaps with the remaining cream, and lightly spiral it all through with a fork. Smooth the surface and refrigerate the cake for 1 hour. Arrange the remaining mandarins in the shape of a flower on the cake. Mix the cake glaze powder with the sugar, pour in the mandarin orange juice, and bring the glaze to a boil while stirring. Once cooled slightly, pour over the fruit. Refrigerate the cake and decorate with dollops of cream before serving.