Bakeathon 2016, Day 5 

I am the official cake baker in our circle of friends. This group of friends is more of family than friends, so its a delight to bake for them. Additional benefits is that I get the blogging as  well as the bragging rights ;-). Since last year, I have been bold enough to ask for their preference when it comes to their birthday cakes. So when one of them asked for a mango cake, I started the hunt for a good recipe.

I baked at least 4 cakes before I zeroed on the one I liked. Don’t worry, each of the trials went to good homes where they were praised and relished with joy.  This was the first of my trials. This cake was good in taste and texture front, but my go-to mango cake is a lot more easier to put together. So this recipe is more of a documentation here than for multiple repeats.

Read on for the recipe and the pictorial!

Ingredients:

• 2 sticks butter (1 cup)
• 1 1/4 cups sugar*
• 2 eggs
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
• 1 1/2 cups mango puree
• 1/2 cups milk
• 3 cups flour

*Sugar needs to be adjusted based on the tartness of the mango puree used. Use 1/4 cup or more if the mangoes are tart.

For mango glaze on top:

• 1/2 cup mango puree
• 1-2 tablespoons sugar
• 2 teaspoons corn flour

For frosting the cake:

• 2 cups heavy whipping cream
• 1/4 cup powdered sugar

 

Beat 2 sticks of butter (~200gms)at room temparature in a stand or hand mixer. Add 1 1/4 cups sugar and beat that in. Once its soft and fluffy, add two eggs, one at a time. Beat it in.

Add 2 teaspoons baking powder, 1/2 teaspoon baking soda and 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom. Blend that in well. Now tip in 1 1/2 cups of mango puree(I used canned puree). Add 1/2 cup milk and blend it in.

Add three cups of flour in 3-4 batches. Folding it in carefully without any lumps. The batter will be enough for two 8″ cakes. Bake it in a preheated oven @ 350F/ 180C for about 35-45 minutes or  until a skewer comes free of crumbs when inserted in the middle of the cake. I baked it in two 6″ pans and made cupcakes with the rest.

Once the cakes are out of the oven, let it sit undisturbed for about ten minutes. Then place clingwrap on the countertop and flip the cake over it. Cover the cake two times with cling wrap and return it to the pan. This prevents the cake from drying out. Let it sit overnight. Whip 2 cups of heavy cream with 1/4 cup sugar. Level the cakes and decorate with the prepared whipped cream. Cook about 1/2 cup of mango puree with a little bit of sugar (1-2 tablespoon) and corn flour (2 teaspoons) until its thick and coats the back of a spoon. Once the puree is cooled completely, it can be used as a glaze on top. Decorate with sprinkles, chocolate or as you like.

 

This is part of the Bake-a-thon 2016