Upside-Down Mandarin Cake

INSTRUCTIONS

• 1
  Preheat the oven to 180°C.
• 2
  Slice five mandarins into thin rounds and set aside. Grate the zest and squeeze the juice from the remaining three mandarins.
• 3
  Pour water into a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Add the sliced mandarin rounds and cook for 3 minutes. Drain and spread the slices on a paper towel to dry.
• 4
  If using parchment paper, place it on the bottom of a cake pan. Put 4 tablespoons of butter in a 23 x 5 cm pan and place it in the oven to melt the butter.
• 5
  Once the butter is melted, add 1/2 cup of sugar and 2 tablespoons of mandarin juice. Whisk to combine.
• 6
  Arrange the mandarin slices over the sugar mixture in the pan, starting from the center and working outward. Slightly overlap the slices to keep them in place. Set the pan aside.
• 7
  In a medium bowl, mix the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
• 8
  In another bowl, beat 1 tablespoon of butter with 1 cup of sugar, 1 tablespoon of mandarin zest, and vanilla extract at medium speed with an electric mixer until fluffy, about 3 minutes. At low mixer speed, add the eggs, one at a time, until fully incorporated. Then add the flour mixture in two batches, alternating with the buttermilk and 2 tablespoons of mandarin juice.
• 9
  Gently pour the batter over the mandarin slices in the pan and smooth the surface with a spatula.
• 10
  Bake until the cake is golden and fluffy, about 30 to 35 minutes. Transfer the cake to a wire rack and let it cool in the pan for 10–15 minutes.
• 11
  Carefully run a knife around the edge of the pan to loosen the cake, then invert it onto a wire rack.