What To Pair With Mandarin Orange Cake

Our award-winning signature dessert is a delightful mix of sweet and citrus flavors. This delectable cake is one of our most popular desserts and Orlando Magazine agrees! Our mandarin orange cake, which comes à la mode with a smooth orange sauce, was selected for the magazine’s Dining Hall of Fame. Mandarins are smaller and sweeter than regular oranges, giving the cake a citrus flavor without being too intense. As such, this tropical flavor deserves the best beverage pairings as well as a main dish that will complement its extravagant flavors.

Christner’s Main Dish Pairings

Before the dessert comes the main course and we want to be sure you’re making the most out of your Christner’s experience. A succulent, savory meal will ready your palate for the tropical sweetness of our mandarin orange cake.

USDA Prime Filet Mignon

A thick piece of prime steak is a great way to get your body ready for dessert. It’s not too filling but is salty and savory enough to make you want a tasty dessert.

Lamb

Lamb is a special type of meat that has a distinct flavor. The enriching taste will have you ready for our signature dessert.

Pork Chop

Our bone-in pork chop is made up of the best cut of pork, making this dish incredibly savory and tender. It’s the perfect way to start your evening before diving into our dessert

Christner’s Beverage Pairings

Dessert with wine is a match made in heaven. When it comes to choosing a wine to go with your dessert, you’ll want to aim for a wine that is sweeter than your dessert. If the wine isn’t sweeter than your dessert, it’ll often taste extremely bitter and unpleasant after having a bite of cake. Although wine is the typical go-to for desserts, we also offer an assortment of whiskeys that could make for a refreshing and unique pairing. For our mandarin orange cake, we have a few delightful pairing suggestions.

Prosecco

Because Prosecco is often said to have a citrus flavor, it goes well with the sweetness of the mandarin oranges. The sweetness of the Prosecco is dryer than the sweetness of the cake, making the tastes complement one another rather than clash. A sure-fire winner is our Syltbar, Il Concerto, Prosecco with its hint of different fruits such as white peach and pear as well as the delightful bubbles.

Sparkling Rosé

There are a variety of different rosé flavors, but most of them tend to be sweet and fruity. Rather than a citrus-flavored fruit, they often have hints of berries like raspberries and strawberries. It’s recommended that you stick to the sweeter, fruit-flavored rosé options as the dryer rosé options have stronger flavors like rose petals and rhubarb. We recommend our Chandon Rosé with its sweet fruit flavors of watermelon and cherry. This will perfectly balance out the citrus in the mandarin orange cake.

Moscato

Mostaco, or Muscat, wines are some of the sweetest wines. The intensity of the sweetness will complement the airy, fluffy taste of the mandarin orange cake. The flavors most commonly experienced in Moscato are fruits such as apricots and peach. To pair with our mandarin orange cake, we’d suggest our Elio Perrone, Sourgal, Moscato D’ Asti if you’re looking to dive head-first into the citrusy flavors. Or, if you wish to experience a sweeter pairing, our Michele Chiarlo, Nivole Moscato D’Asti is perfect!

Champagne

Champagne is a classic beverage to go with dessert. There are many fruity and nutty flavors mixed into one sip, leading it to be a perfect pair with almost anything. This is also a great starter beverage if you’re just getting into wine. A refined and complex champagne that will level up your pairing experience would be our Laurent-Perrier, Brut, Tours-sur-Marne. This champagne is delicate and fresh. The hints of fruit, citrus, and white flowers lead to a sophisticated pairing experience.

Bourbon

We know this is not a conventional pairing, but the uniqueness of the mixed flavors is definitely something to try! Luckily, Christner’s has an excellent custom bourbon collection. We recommend Knob Creek specifically to pair with the mandarin orange cake. Knob Creek is a high-end bourbon distilled in Kentucky and will not disappoint your taste buds.

For informational purposes only.