Mango Pound Cake

My mom's birthday is the day after Valentine's Day. I wanted to do something different than the traditional chocolates, cake, flower routine. Ever since I made that Mango Cheesecake a couple months back, my mom has been asking me to make it again - especially since it combined two of her favorite things, mango and cheesecake.

So I was planning to make that for her birthday, but as you know... a cheesecake takes more than an hour to bake and it needs to cool for at least 8 hours (overnight). Even though I had all the ingredients and I was planning to make it, I did run out of time. It's been a hectic few weeks! So I woke up early on Sunday to bake this delicious, moist Mango Pound Cake. 

I adapted the recipe I found to add more mango puree... I wanted a more intense mango flavor. And although my mother loved it, I felt that the mango was still too understated. The next time I make it, I'm going to have to try adjusting some more.

Ingredients

• 2-1/4 cups all purpose flour
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter (room temp)
• 1-1/4 cup sugar
• 3/4 cup mango puree (I used canned, but you can use fresh)
• 3 eggs
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 tsp salt

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease and lightly flour a bundt pan or decorative cake ring pan.
2. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, salt, baking soda and baking powder. Set aside.
3. Using an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add one egg at a time, beating after each addition. Add the mango puree and vanilla, beat until incorporated.
4. Gradually add the flour mixture and beat until fully incorporated. Do not overmix.
5. Gently pour batter into the cake pan (it will be very thick). Tap the cake pan lightly on the countertop to even out the batter. 
6. Bake in preheated oven for 35-40 minutes or until inserted toothpick comes out clean. Allow cake to cool completely after removing from the pan. 
7. Sprinkle lightly with powdered sugar. Enjoy!

Original recipe by:

Prathibha Garre

(You can find it here.)