Mango Cake

Have you ever finished cutting up a mango and started eating the flesh off of the seed? For me, that's one of the ultimate joys of buying mangoes. I have the immense pleasure of enjoying the flesh around the seed.

Well, the other day, I found myself sucking on the mango seed while standing over the sink. Mango juice was dribbling down my arm and I was suddenly transported to being in India. I remember being at my Mama's house (my maternal uncle's house) when I was a child. There were a couple of mango trees literally right outside of the house. We went during mango season and were rewarded with delicious ripe mangoes right off of the tree... Who needed food when there were such delicious mangoes to eat? All of us little cousins were sitting around and slurping on mangoes with the juice dribbling down our arms without a care in the world... Somehow, time had passed, but there is little else that measures to the joy of eating a mango with the juice running down your arms. *sigh*

On the day I was mentioning, I looked into the box of mangoes and realized that a couple of them were really getting overripe. So, I thought, why not turn it into a cake? Good idea!

This cake has mango flavor, but I find that cooking mangoes can sometimes result in a less pronounced mango flavor. That being said, the cake itself is extremely moist and a real delight. The mango puree helps to keep the cake so moist. The added bonus is that the cake is also relatively lowfat.





Ingredients:

All purpose flour - 1 cup
White whole wheat flour (or all purpose) - 1 cup
Baking powder - 1 tsp
Baking soda - 1 tsp
Salt - 1/2 tsp
Cardamom powder - 1/2 tsp, or to taste
Sugar - 3/4 cup
Mango puree, fresh or canned - 1.5 cups
Butter, softened - 4 tbsp
Eggs, room temperature - 2

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 350 F.

2. Beat butter and sugar together until light and fluffy, like whipped cream. Meanwhile, sift the dry ingredients (flours, salt, baking powder, baking soda, cardamom powder) together in another bowl and keep aside.

3. Now, add the eggs and combine well.

4. Once the eggs are incorporated, add 1/2 cup of the mango puree. Combine and then add about 1/2 of the dry ingredients. Again, combine, add another 1/2 cup of the mango puree. Mix in, then add the rest of the dry ingredients and incorporate. Finally, fold in the last of the mango puree.

5. Butter and flour a 10 inch bundt or tube pan. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake at 350 F for 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

6. Remove from oven and cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Then, remove and cool completely before slicing and serving. Enjoy!

Note: If you don't have a bundt pan, you can use a standard loaf pan, but the baking time will change.



Update: I'm sending this cake to Srivalli, of Cooking 4 all Seasons, for her Mango Mela. Click here for more information.