MANGO CAKE

I

have been wanting to bake a Mango cake for the longest time and I also had a specific texture and taste in mind as well.Like how Porotta is an emotion in Kerala, the smell and taste of Mangoes evoke a lot of childhood memories in me. We used to spend quite a bit of our Summer vacations in Pallikuttumma every year. Our ancestral home was surrounded by a lot of trees and that included many,many Mango trees.

There were two mango trees on either side of the main gate which were fibrous so we used to eat them raw with salt, chili powder & coconut oil. The ones on the sides of the house were the kind you could just squish and drink the juice (with the peel intact) and the ones behind the house which we all called  Perakka Manga were the best! Amma tells me that Velliammachi planted that mango tree when she was pregnant with Amma & Daisy Mummy. Those mangoes were sweet and the flesh was like butter.

As kids, all of us would pick whole mangoes after lunch and go out to swing on the hammock tied in between the Guava tree and a Mango tree on the East side of the house. We would all squish ourselves, trying to wiggle & fit onto that old white Macramé hammock. We are 24 grandkids on Amma's side and it was usually the girls who were interested on being on the hammock. One such afternoon, the hammock decided to come crashing down when all of us were on it, literally piled up like bricks. I still clearly remember how that felt and every time I sit on our hammock in the backyard, I can't help but smile thinking about that incident which happened over 25-30 years ago.

However, that house is no longer there. It was sold when my Uncle and family moved back to Goa a few years ago. It was demolished and converted into a beautiful restaurant named 'Memories' on Alappuzha - Changanaserry highway. Their food is amazing and we always go there everytime we go to Pallikuttumma. Another Uncle's family lives next door, so that makes it even more convenient. They named that restaurant perfectly because that home still holds so many memories for all of us. It's where my Amma was born and raised, where we celebrated many family functions and where all of us spent our childhood vacations. 

MANGO CAKE

Serves 8-10

Ingredients:

3/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

3/4 cup sugar

2 eggs, room temperature

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup milk, room temperature

2 tablespoons vegetable / canola oil

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3/4 cup fresh mango puree, divided

Method:

Preheat oven to 325 F and prepare an 8 inch round cake tin. 

Sift the dry ingredients together and set aside.

In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until pale and fluffy, about 2 minutes. With mixer running on low, add the eggs one at a time and mix until it's incorporated. Add the milk, extract, oil and 1/2 cup mango puree. Mix on medium high speed for 4 minutes till it becomes fluffy and increases in volume by a bit. Add the dry ingredients in three additions and fold it in very gently with a spatula, just until the dry flour is incorporated. Fold in the remaining 1/4 cup of mango puree as well. Pour the batter into the tin and bake for 60-65 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean. Let it cool in the tin for 5 minutes and then unmold and cool completely.

Enjoy!

I followed Savita's recipe and the cake came out just like how she had described it to be. Moist & fluffy. I personally prefer cakes made with butter over cakes made with oil. However, a cake made with mostly butter and a little bit of oil brings out a good product. It's like the best of both worlds! Butter adds flavor and oil lends moisture. This cake recipe is a good example of that.

We loved this cake! Use good quality mangoes. If not, the flavor will not shine through. I used frozen mango puree that we get in Indian stores here. It was unsweetened, just like how it would be if I were to puree fresh mangoes. If you are going to use the tinned sweetened mango pulp, you will have to make adjustments with respect to sugar in this recipe. I buy our fresh mangoes from Asian/ Mexican markets and they are available in plenty these days. Just like how we enjoy a Black Forest Cake made using fresh cherries every Summer, I am sure this particular cake will make it's appearance on our table every Summer from now on! You don't need anything over the top of this wonderful cake, not even a dusting of powdered sugar. It's a simple, delicious cake!

LIME POUND CAKE for Sweet Punch - Season 2

Do you know how this cake got it's name? In the olden days the main ingredients used for baking this cake measured a  pound each in weight. So one pound flour, one pound butter,one pound eggs,one pound sugar plus the other teeny-weeny bit of leavening agents made the original cake. Amma's Marble Cake is a perfect example for the 'real' pound cake. But these days, things recipes are way too different from the original but the name remains the same.

No complaints whatsoever because this cake was a decadent one. Soft, buttery, lime-y with the perfect crumb! Our apartment was filled with the aroma of citrus when the cake was baking. I would never trade it for something else. Do you like naturally- flavoured cakes or do you like it plain? I like both depending on what mood I am in, mostly. I know one thing for sure, I love cakes, be it simple or decorated.

I had plans of making a simple lime drizzle over this cake but later chose not to. I loved the way the cake looked when it came out of the oven. It had a lovely crack on the top, perfect for a Perfect Pound Cake. I sometimes like the natural designs cakes have on top, like this Sunflower patter on my One Bowl Vanilla Cake. A lot of you thought that it was a deliberate move from my side,no, it wasn't. The oven did it :-)

Coming back to the topic, our baking group, A Sweet Punch completed a year of it's existence and we are starting the Season 2 with this beautiful,decadent cake. This recipe is chosen from The Cake Bible by Rose Levy Beranbum. The cake had the perfect tight crumb and the texture was awesome! You/ve got to try this one. You will fall in love!

LIME POUND CAKE
Makes one loaf

Ingredients:
3 tbsp milk
3 large eggs
Juice & zest  of 1 lime
13 tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature
1 1/2 c sifted cake flour
3/4 c sugar
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt

Method:
Pre-heat the oven to 350 F and prepare a loaf tin.

In a bowl, whisk together milk, eggs and lime juice. Reserve.
In another mixing bowl, whisk the dry ingredients together (which includes the lime zest).
Add the butter and half the egg-milk mixture to it and mix till the dry ingredients are moistened.Beat on medium speed for a minute. This will help in aerating and developing  the cake's structure. Scrape down the sides.
Add the remaining egg-milk mixture in 2 batches beating for 20 seconds in between each addition. Scrape down the sides again.
Pour the fluffy batter in your pan, smooth the surface and bake for 55 mins or till done. If you are using a fluted pan/bundt pan, keep a check on the baking time (from 35 mins onward).
Cool in the tin for 10 mins, turn out onto a cooling rack and let it cool completely.
Slice and devour!

Verdict: I made this over the weekend for the family who was visiting us. I cut them into thin slices and they vanished! On the Fourth of July, our friends came over and we grilled some Brats & Chicken Wings. I had saved some cake for the occasion, so this time, I served 2 slices each per person with Balsamic Roasted Strawberries, a drizzle of roasted strawberry syrup and a nice big scoop of Vanilla Ice Cream to beat the heat. It was yummy! Serve it any way you want, it will be delicious!

Later we walked along the river and watched the fireworks sitting on the stone arch bridge. It was breathtaking. I took this picture last year when we went to the Farmers Market nearby. It's a beautiful bridge with the Mississippi flowing beneath it.