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Home / Cakes & Cupcakes

Tangerine Drizzle Cake

A wonderful, moist citrus cake that looks simple but has an amazing combination of zingy flavors.

Erren Hart

|

last Updated:

01/12/2021
4.71 from 62 votes
Jump to Recipe
Serves: 10 slices
Prep: 10 minutes mins
Cook: 30 minutes mins
a tangerine loaf cake with drizzle icing sliced

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This Tangerine Drizzle Cake recipe is so simple but delicious. It’s super moist, flavorful and the glaze is the perfect finishing touch.

a tangerine loaf cake with drizzle icing sliced
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When I was a kid, my mom used to make an orange cake for my brother’s birthday every year.  Back then, I hated it because it reminded me of baby aspirin.  I detested anything with even a hint of orange flavor.

Finding myself with a bowl of tangerines in danger of going bad one day, I decided to try and make a similar cake to the one my mom did all those years ago. Our tastes change over time after all, and now I love any citrus cake. So much that I have created several recipes including my Ultimate Orange Cake.

  • Why This Recipe Works
  • Ingredient Notes
  • How to Make tangerine drizzle cake
  • For the Cake
  • Other Great Citrus Recipes
  • FAQs
  • Rate This Recipe
  • Recipe

Why This Recipe Works

  • This simple one-bowl method means it’s quick and delicious!
  • Using tangerines adds a fresh sweetness without being too citrusy.
  • The crunchy glaze gives added texture to the cake.
  • Using sour cream in the cake ensures the sponge is moist.

The inspiration for the glaze came from my Lemon Drizzle Cake recipe, it adds a wonderful crunchy sugary topping, transforming this from just an ordinary cake to a decadent cake everyone will love

Ingredient Notes

four ingredients used in tangerine drizzle cake
  • Tangerine: I used tangerines for this recipe, however, if you have a similar citrus fruit going to waste feel free to experiment.
  • Butter: I like to use salted butter in my baking, however, if you have unsalted this is just fine. If you want to add a pinch of salt to season, go ahead.
  • Flour: This recipe calls for all purpose flour, but cake flour or self raising (in the UK) is fine. Just replace it like for like.
  • Sour Cream: Sour cream is fabulous in cakes, it adds moisture to the cake. If you don’t have sour cream, you can use full fat Greek yogurt as a substitute.

How to Make tangerine drizzle cake

  1. Beat together all the ingredients in one bowl.
  2. Fill a loaf tin with the batter.
  3. Bake for 30 to 45 minutes.
  4. Allow to cool.

For the Cake:

Simply mix all the ingredients together in a bowl until fully combined.

cake batter being mixed in a bowl

It’s always best to work with room temperature ingredients, this ensures they combine evenly. Especially make sure your butter is soft enough to work with.

Pour into a loaf tin

Bake for 30 to 45 minutes, or until a skewer comes out clean.

To glaze the cake

Prick the warm cake all over with a skewer or a fork.

cake straight out of the oven

Pour over the drizzle – the juice will sink into the cake and the sugar will form a lovely, crisp topping.

freshly iced cake

Serve and enjoy!

a tangerine loaf cake with drizzle icing sliced

Other Great Citrus Recipes

  • Citrus & Olive Oil Bundt Cake
  • Easy Key Lime Pie
  • Glazed Orange Cakes
  • Lemon Sponge Cake

FAQs

How long can I store this cake?

You can store this cake at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

Can I freeze Tangerine Drizzle Cake?

You can freeze this cake in a freezer-safe container for up to a month.

What is Drizzle Cake?

Drizzle cake is an English sponge cake that has syrup drizzled over it after baking to create a crunchy glaze.

Rate This Recipe

Click here to leave a star rating!

a tangerine loaf cake with drizzle icing sliced

Recipe

Tangerine Drizzle Cake

A wonderful, moist citrus cake that looks simple but has an amazing combination of zingy flavors.
4.71 from 62 votes
Print Pin
Prep Time: 10 minutes mins
Cook Time: 30 minutes mins
Total Time: 40 minutes mins
Serves 10 slices

Ingredients

  • ½ cup softened butter
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1½ cups All-Purpose Flour
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 2 tablespoons tangerine zest (finely grated)
  • ⅓ cup tangerine juice (fresh from the fruit)
  • ½ cup sour cream
  • ⅓ tsp salt ((if you use unsalted butter))
FOR THE GLAZE
  • 4 tablespoons tangerine juice (fresh from the fruit)
  • ½ cup granulated sugar

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 350ºF/180ºC
  • Prepare a loaf pan by greasing it with butter.
  • in a large mixing bowl, beat together the eggs, flour, sugar, butter, baking powder, zest, sour cream, and juice until smooth.
  • Fill the pan evenly with the batter.
  • Bake in the preheated oven for about 35-45 mins, or until golden brown and a cake tester comes out clean. (Begin testing for doneness after around 30 minutes, as all ovens vary)
  • Leave to cool 5 minutes in the pan.
  • While the cake is cooling in the pan, mix together the juice of three tangerines and 1/2 cup of sugar to make the drizzle.
  • While the cake is still warm, transfer to a wire rack and prick the warm cake all over with a skewer and then pour over the drizzle – the juice will sink into the cake and the sugar will form a lovely, crisp topping.
  • Leave to cool 5 minutes in the pan before transferring to a wire rack.

Tips

  • It’s always best to work with room temperature ingredients, this ensures they combine evenly. Especially make sure your butter is soft enough to work with.
Show Nutrition Hide Nutrition

Nutrition

Calories: 308 | Carbohydrates: 46g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 12g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Cholesterol: 63mg | Sodium: 104mg | Potassium: 154mg | Sugar: 31g | Vitamin A: 445IU | Vitamin C: 6.1mg | Calcium: 62mg | Iron: 1.1mg
Created by Erren Hart
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This recipe was originally posted in June 2014, it was updated in July 2021 with new tips and information.

4.71 from 62 votes (34 ratings without comment)

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101 responses

  1. anna Avatar
    anna
    05/08/2025

    ….I should clarify that I did blend the tangerines before adding them to the baking mixture. I blame cake brain!

    Reply
  2. anna Avatar
    anna
    05/08/2025

    Made this with almost following the recipe exactly but instead of grating the skin I cut couple of whole tangerines into pieces, microwaved them for a couple of minutes (I read somewhere that that can make them less sour) and added 100g of that into the mixture. For the glace i pureed couple of tangerines without the skin and then strained it which made a very heavy (?) and tasty juice for the purpose.

    The cake ended up very moist and flavourful. I’d say it’s almost too moist for a drizzle cake (couldn’t eat it without a spoon) but it’s incredibly moreish and I want to go have another slice right now. I will make this again – might experiment with different citrus, too. Thank you for the recipe!

    Reply
    1. Erren's Kitchen Avatar
      Erren’s Kitchen
      05/08/2025

      That sounds like a delicious variation! I love how you experimented with tangerines and adapted the recipe. Using the microwaved tangerine pieces and pureeing them for the glaze sounds like a great way to infuse even more citrus flavor. The moisture you described actually adds to the richness of the cake, and it’s great to hear how incredibly moreish it turned out. For drizzle cakes, I agree that moisture is key, but it’s nice to know that this tweak made it a bit more indulgent! Thank you for sharing your version – I’m sure it would be just as wonderful with other citrus fruits too!

      Reply
  3. Wanda Monks Avatar
    Wanda Monks
    02/22/2025

    I used tangerines. They were hard to zest as the skins were very thin so I put them in a blender with the peeled tangerines. I used a glass cake pan and adjusted the bake time. Turned out wonderful. Used a blender for the glaze as well. Yum yum. Thank you for the great recipe.

    Reply
    1. Erren's Kitchen Avatar
      Erren’s Kitchen
      02/23/2025

      That sounds great, Wanda!! So happy you loved the recipe! Thank you so much for taking the time to leave a review.

      Reply
  4. Cheyenne Avatar
    Cheyenne
    02/09/2025

    I have a time sensitive question so I hope you see this! About how many tangerines would you say you need ? I’m making this my birthday cake ( Tuesday is my birthday) but I’m trying to figure out how many I need to buy because they are quite expensive. Plus my fruit crazy little boys don’t like any type of oranges so I don’t really want to have left overs.

    Reply
    1. Erren's Kitchen Avatar
      Erren’s Kitchen
      02/10/2025

      Hi Cheyenne! Happy birthday!! Since tangerine sizes can vary, I’d grab 6 to be safe, but you might only need 5. Hope that helps a bit!

      Reply
  5. Heba Avatar
    Heba
    12/12/2024

    My in-laws fell in love with this recipe! I did make a couple of changes though.
    I didn’t have tangerine so went with mandarin. I used a homemade paleo flour (almond, coconut, tapioca and arrowroot) instead of all purpose flour, and I replaced the sugar with monk fruit (we try to go easy on the sugar so used half of the recommended amount). I also didn’t have sour cream so replaced it with cream cheese :p
    I did use a glass pan and it needed about 50 mins.

    Overall it was a GREAT recipe! I’m definitely making this again!!!

    Reply
    1. Erren's Kitchen Avatar
      Erren’s Kitchen
      12/12/2024

      I am so happy it turned out delicious with your adjustments!! Thank you so much for leaving feedback! 🥰

      Reply
  6. Anna Avatar
    Anna
    11/14/2024

    Hi! I love this recipe so much, and I use it alot, as we have a tangerine tree, and we can’t quite eat them all, so this is a great way.

    Do you think I can try this with cupcakes? Just for easier serving.

    Reply
    1. Erren's Kitchen Avatar
      Erren’s Kitchen
      11/14/2024

      That’s wonderful, Anna!! I would love having a tangerine tree. You absolutely can try them as cupcakes and that sounds like a great idea.

      Reply
  7. Lola from Nj Avatar
    Lola from Nj
    04/14/2024

    I had some tangerines left for this recipe before they’d go to waste & this recipe did not dissapoint! The tangerine cake was absolutely delicious. Tysm 😉

    Reply
    1. Erren's Kitchen Avatar
      Erren’s Kitchen
      04/15/2024

      Thank you so much, Lola! I am so happy it turned out delicious for you! 🥰

      Reply
  8. Lauren Avatar
    Lauren
    09/23/2023

    This cake is fantastic!!! It’s the perfect texture. I use mandarin instead of tangerines as you can’t get them where I live. It also converts well to lemon.

    Reply
    1. Erren Hart Avatar
      Erren Hart
      09/25/2023

      I’m so glad to hear you loved the tangerine cake and found the texture to be perfect! It’s fantastic that you were able to adapt the recipe by using mandarins instead of tangerines. The two fruits are quite similar, so it makes sense that the substitution worked well. It’s always good to know that a recipe can be flexible based on what ingredients are available.

      I agree with your note about the cake converting well to lemon. It’s is a classic flavor for cakes, and this recipe can easily be adapted to use it.

      Thanks for sharing your experience and your adjustments to the recipe. Your feedback is helpful not just for me, but also for others who might want to try different variations. Happy baking!

      Reply
  9. Suzy Avatar
    Suzy
    10/30/2022

    Hello! Was wondering if you think this recipe would still work by substituting the butter with an oil?

    Reply
    1. Erren Hart Avatar
      Erren Hart
      10/31/2022

      Hi Suzy, yes, it would just use a half cup of oil in place of the butter.

      Reply
  10. Michelle G Avatar
    Michelle G
    07/26/2022

    Can you use a glass pan same size?

    Reply
    1. Erren Hart Avatar
      Erren Hart
      08/08/2022

      Sure, but the bake time may be different so keep an eye on it.

      Reply
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