MANGO CAKE—BUTTERMILK ALMOND ICING

Working with mangoes is like trying to get the last bit of mayo out of the jar with a chopstick!  Google diagrams, YouTube videos—all perfect theory.  So just get your sharpest knife, a big cutting board, and get started.  Cutting through the skin vertically all around where the pit is most likely centered, then cutting all around vertically again, will give you 4 skin sections to peel back—top to bottom.  Then carefully slice the slippery fruit off the pit—you’ll be chopping it anyway so neatness doesn’t count here!  The rest of the recipe is straightforward —with a delicious, fruit-filed tropical dessert for dinner.  Recipe is easily doubled for a 9” 2-layer cake or 13” X 9” sheet cake. 

Cake:

• 1 stick butter at room temperature
• 1 ½ cups flour
• ¼ tsp baking soda
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla
• ½ cup buttermilk (or slight ½ cup milk and 1 tblsp vinegar)
• 2 mangoes, peeled and chopped well

Whisk flour and baking soda—set aside.  Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy—add eggs one at a time and beat well after each.  Add vanilla and beat.  Add flour mixture alternately with buttermilk—beginning and ending with flour.  Mix in mangoes by hand and incorporate well.  Pour batter into buttered 9” springform pan lined with parchment paper.  Bake at 350” about 40 minutes—until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.  Cool thoroughly before icing.

Frosting:

• 1 teaspoon almond extract
• 1 stick unsalted butter, room temp
• 2 tablespoons buttermilk
• 8 ounces cream cheese, room temp
• 2 cups powdered sugar, sifted

Combine first 4 ingredients and beat until soft and fluffy—add sugar ½ cup at a time, beating well after each addition.  Top with toasted almond slices.

The Kitchen Hive