I have been happily harvesting mandarins from my uncle’s tree that I ended up with way too many mandarins. Since there was no way that I could possibly finish all of them, I’ve decided to make mandarin cupcakes. I’ve learnt a couple of lessons when baking with mandarin. Firstly, they are best to be boiled till soft. I’ve tried juicing them (didn’t feel very smart doing that), zesting them (they were way too soft to be zested). However boiling it till it is soft and then blending it using food processor retains the flavour of the mandarin. But before blending it, remember to remove the seeds from the mandarin if not the cakes will have a bitter after taste – trust me, I’ve learnt this the hard way. Ingredients for the cake  3 large mandarins (or 4 small ones) 200g self raising flour 150g brown sugar 2 large eggs 100ml olive oil 1 tbsp poppy seeds 3 tbsp maple syrup 1 tsp vanilla essence Ingredients for the cream cheese frosting 250g cream cheese 30g butter 40g icing …