I have been baking for a few years now, but it wasn't until recently when I ate a gorgeous buttercake made by a neighbour that i realized the importance of using good quality, no skimping, golden wholesome butter. For health reasons and out of sheer laziness, I have been using margarine or spreads that call themselves butter, just so that I can start baking at the drop of a hat and not have to wait to soften the butter for the recipe. Yes, the cakes always turn out light and fluffy and yes, they are always cooked to perfection, but there is something missing. It is the rich homemade buttery taste that comes from using real butter. So, I decided to make a butter cake using real butter, but I wanted to try out something different from the same old boring butter cakes of the past. Browsing through the fridge I came across the mango puree left over from the mango and toasted coconut semifreddo and instantly made up my mind to make a mango butter cake. I googled it and didn't come across anything good, has no one out there ever tried out this delightful combination I wondered? So I settled on the sofa with my ever trusted copy of Donna Hay's "Modern Classics 2" and studied her butter cake recipe. After tweaking it mentally, I started assembling the ingredients. It was important to have the amount of liquid right, so I halved the milk and substituted it with mango puree. I also replaced vanilla essence with lemon and skipped the bicarbonate of soda, using more baking powder instead. I was quite happy with the result, finally a butter cake that was pure mango in the most basic sense ... no mango fillings, no mango toppings ... just plain buttery, mango flavour through each gorgeous browned crumb. [Note : I might substitute milk for buttermilk next time to try to enhance the sour tangy flavour of mango.]
MANGO BUTTER CAKE
[Serves: 8-10/Preparation Time: 15 mins/Cooking Time: 1 hour 10 mins]
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups plain flour, sifted
1 cup caster sugar
125g butter, softened
3 eggs
1/4 cup mango puree
1/4 cup milk
1/2 tsp lemon essence
1 tsp baking powder
pinch of salt
[Serves: 8-10/Preparation Time: 15 mins/Cooking Time: 1 hour 10 mins]
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups plain flour, sifted
1 cup caster sugar
125g butter, softened
3 eggs
1/4 cup mango puree
1/4 cup milk
1/2 tsp lemon essence
1 tsp baking powder
pinch of salt
Method
Preheat oven to 150oC. Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and whisk with a hand blender for 8 minutes until light and fluffy. Pour in an 8 inch square tin lined with non-stick baking paper. Bake for 1 hour and 10 minutes. Cool in the tin for 5-10 minutes before turning out and cooling completely on a wire rack.
More Notes : Go crazy with toppings and fillings if you may before serving but this cake deserves to be eaten as is and warm from the oven. I would even slice it, toast it and butter it some more for an extra kick.
This was absolutely delicious! I decided to use all mango puree instead of the milk, and sprinkled some coconut flakes on top before baking it. Will definitely be making this again. Thanks for the recipe Sneh!
Jus tried this cake. It turned out perfectly well... Heavenly. I followed one of the comments above and omitted milk and replaced it with mango puree Added fresh lemon juice instead of essence. Thank you for this recipe. This will be a must bake for festive seasons.
Lovely cake. Baked it today. I baked 1 1/2 times the quantity suggested and omitted the milk and replaced it with more mango pulp. The batter filled an 8x8 inch pan -- love that size seems to bake very evenly. Took about an hour at 350F. I added chopped cranberries, pecans, and slivers of dried mango. So so pretty. Next time, I'm going to replace the pecans with pistachios for a beautiful burst of color. Result: Fantastic
I am glad it turned out great. I have been thinking of making this butter cake for a while, ever since I found an unopened can of mango pulp in my pantry ... soon!
Delicious! I love mangoes and don't see them nearly enough in baking.