Mandarinen Sahnetorte (German Mandarin Cream Torte)

What a way to celebrate spring - or summer, or a birthday, a graduation, Mother's Day, Easter, or just a special Sunday! Mandarinen Sahnetorte is a German cream torte dotted with juicy mandarin orange segments. It's light and creamy and fluffy, melting on your tongue in a divine cloud of bright citrus tanginess.

Is food your love language? Is preparing a meal for your loved ones how you show how much you care about them? Do you enjoy spending time making something special to put a smile on the faces of your friends and family.

Taking the little bit of extra time to make this heavenly German Cream Torte will surely bring joy to whomever you make it for. German torten are always special cakes, made with layers of light or nutty sponges, mousses, and creams. This Mandarinen Sahne Torte is a version of a Käsesahnetorte, an unbaked cake with a lightly set filling, usually made with a mild, fresh cheese called Quark. In this version full-fat Greek yogurt provides the same tangy flavour profile (however, if you can find true German-style Quark, go ahead and use that instead of the yogurt). The torte base is a light, delicate baked sponge cake (Biscuitboden), providing a textural foil to the creamy filling which is dotted with juicy mandarin orange segments.

If you're looking for some other lovey German Torten, you might love these:

• Eierlikörtorte (Egg Liqueur Torte)
• Feuerwehrkuchen (Fire Brigade Cake)
• Baumkuchen (German Tree Ring Cake)
• Bayrischer Apfelkuchen (Bavarian Apple Cake)
• Lebkuchen Bûche De Noël
• German Chocolate Cake (not actually German, but like a German torte)

What You'll Need for your Mandarin Cream Torte

You don't need a lot of special ingredients to make this luscious torte, and if you follow the easy, detailed instructions below, you will have success every time making this special cake for your friends and family.

This recipe was given me by my German friend Ruth (I first tasted it and loved it at her home), and I've adapted it to work with our more easily accessible North American ingredients. You can use German Quark (a fresh cheese) as in the original recipe, if you can find it. Greek yogurt makes a very delicious substitute that is quite similar.

The base for this cream torte turns out equally well with regular all-purpose flour or a good gluten-free flour blend. The sponge cake base layer is meant to be slightly dry, rather than moist, as it will support the filling better and it will soften up as it chills with the filling added.

Ingredient tip: It's best to use canned mandarin oranges in light syrup. The segments in the ones canned in their own juice are usually more broken up, and the juice will colour the cake more orange rather than a nice snowy white.

Guide for Making a Mandarin Sahnetorte (Cream Torte)

First thing you'll need to do is drain the two cans of mandarin oranges so you can collect the juice, which you'll need for the base and filling. You will need 1 cup of juice, so if you have less, top it up with water. If you have more, discard the extra. And pick out 12 perfect segments to decorate the cake later (cover them and stick them in the fridge).

Grease a springform pan and preheat the oven.

Then make the Biscuitboden (the sponge base layer). Whip up a whole egg with a bit of water until it's become a big fluffy bowlful of foam (beat it for 3 to 4 minutes). Then add a bit of sugar, some vanilla, orange zest, and a couple tablespoons of the drained mandarin liquid.

Now sift the flour over the batter and fold it in gently. Pour it into the greased springform pan. Spread it around quickly as the baking powder will make the batter foam up. Don't worry if you can't get it perfectly smooth - just do the best you can and don't fuss with it too much.

Bake the base layer and let it cool in the pan. Then remove the sides of the pan and run a thin spatula under the cake to loosen it from the bottom to make it easier to remove later. Cut two long strips of parchment paper and slide them down into the pan around the cake, overlapping by an inch or two. They will stay in place if the pan was greased. The strips will keep the filling edges nice and smooth.

Now Make the Mandarin Cream Torte Filling

Pour some of the drained mandarin juice into a small saucepan and sprinkle the powdered gelatin over it. Let it thicken, then heat it gently until the gelatin dissolves. Add in some more cool mandarin juice, sugar, and the Greek yogurt. Stir it all into a smooth liquid.

Whip up the cream, then pour that luscious gelatin/yogurt cream over it. Fold it into the whipped cream, then remove about a half cup of the moussy mixture and put it into a small piping bag fitted with a star tip or put it into a ziptop plastic sandwich bag. To keep the mouse from coming out of the piping bag, twist the tip before filling the bag and set it into a cup. Tie or clip the end shut and keep the piping bag in the fridge. It will stay soft enough to pipe onto the cake once it is set.

Fold the drained mandarin orange segments into the yogurt cream. Pour the fluffy mandarin mousse on top of the cooled sponge base in the springform pan and smooth the top. Set it into the fridge to chill for 3 or 4 hours.

When the cream torte is set, remove the springform sides and carefully peel off the parchment paper strips, then add the finishing touches. Pipe the reserved mousse into 12 little rosettes around the cake. If you have put the mousse into a plastic bag, snip off one corner and make little swirled mounds instead. Add the reserved orange segments onto each mound.

Ta-da! Your beautiful German Mandarin Cream Torte (Mandarinen Sahnetorte) is ready to enjoy. 🧡

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Guten Appetit!