A few months ago, I got a huge can of Alphonso mango puree, with thoughts of savouring it with vanilla ice-cream. Turned out to be a great idea, as the combo was totally divine. However, there is only so much of it you can have, and I was left with half a (huge) can of mango puree.
So I decided to use it in a cake. The first type of cooking I ever did (way back in my early teens) was baking, and for a long time, that was the only cooking I ever attempted. Of late, however, I don’t do it nearly as much, partly because it can be time-consuming, and partly because I don’t want to end up gorging on cake!
Getting back to the point, this was how I ended up sweltering on a very hot morning over cake batter, using a recipe that I kind of improvised along the way. I love orange/lemon and poppy seed cake, so I decided to try out a mango and poppy seed cake.
The cake didn’t rise as much as I’d have liked, and the texture of it was very moist and soft, almost pudding-y… some may like it that way, and others not. Taste-wise, though, it was really yummy!
The recipe:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (sieved)
1 tspn baking soda
2/3 cups butter
1 cup white sugar
2 eggs
3/4 cup buttermilk
1 tspn lemon zest (chopped finely)
1 cup mango puree
1/4 cup poppy seeds
1. Preheat the oven to 190 degrees Celcius.
2. Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs and beat well.
3. Blend in the flour and baking soda into the mixture.
4. Fold in buttermilk, lemon zest, mango puree, and poppy seeds.
5. Pour batter into a greased cake pan, and bake for 40 to 50 minutes (or until done).