Mango Upside-Down Cake

Helga Glaesel de BlandingMay 12, 2013

This post is also available in / Esta entrada también está disponible en ESPAÑOL (SPANISH)

Two very good friends just got married (my husband’s cousin and his girlfriend) so I made this dessert for a little “we’re happy you’re getting married” dinner party we hosted at our apartment with family and our usual suspects group. To celebrate the occasion I made roast chicken with maple glazed sweet potatoes, a green salad with rhubarb vinaigrette and I wanted to serve a flavorful, but not too rich or complicated dessert. I had no time to improvise or think about adapting the recipe, so I just used this one as it is. One of our friends is lactose intolerant, so I was happy to offer coconut whipped cream to serve with this dessert. It’s the perfect combination: mango & coconut. You can find the procedure to prepare it on our Mango Pancakes with Coconut Whipped Cream post.

For the verdict, well… I hope my guests comment on my post so you can read what they thought about it! (ehem, ehem… guys? hint, hint)

Helga

Mango Upside-Down Cake

Serves 8-10
Adapted from a recipe in the January 2002 issue of Gourmet

Ingredients for the Topping:
2 firm-ripe mangoes, peeled
4 Tablespoons unsalted butter
¼ cup packed light brown sugar

Ingredients for the Cake:
1½ cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
½ cup unsalted butter, softened
¾ cup granulated sugar
2 whole eggs + 1 egg yolk
1 teaspoon vanilla
½ cup fresh-squeezed orange juice

Preparation:

Slice mangoes lengthwise and remove flesh from the halves using a spoon. Cut into half-inch slivers. Be sure to extract any excess flesh from the pit, since that’ll be usable too.
Melt butter over med-low heat in a small saucepan. Once melted, stir in the brown sugar and simmer (stirring occasionally) until the sugar is incorporated and you’re left with a thick paste, about 2 minutes.
Butter the bottom and sides of a 9-inch cake pan and spread the butter/sugar mixture. It won’t coat the entire surface, but spread as best you can. Arrange the mango slices on top in whatever pattern you think is prettiest. Set aside.

Directions for the Cake:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the sugar and softened butter until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add the 2 whole eggs and one egg yolk one at a time, beating after each addition. Beat in the vanilla.
Reduce speed to the lowest setting and add half of the flour mixture stirring until just combined. Pour in the orange juice and stir, then add the remaining half of the flour mixture. Finish stirring by hand to avoid over mixing.
Spoon the batter over the arranged mango slices in the cake pan – being careful not to disturb your lovely arrangement – and spread the batter evenly. Bake for 47-50 minutes or until golden brown and a cake tester comes out clean.
Cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes, then run a thin knife along the edges of the pan, invert onto a platter and continue cooling. Serve at room temperature with ice cream or coconut whipped cream.

Have you made this recipe? Please let me know how it turned out for you! Leave a comment below and share a picture with the hashtag #thefoodieskitchen!

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