This beautiful mango cake is made from lots of fresh mangoes. It is filled and topped with a cream cheese frosting!
Sorry, but this post is long overdue. Back in November (I know, I know), I celebrated my birthday. Chocolate has almost always been my go-to birthday cake flavor, but this year I wanted something different.
For my birthday, I was inspired by our summer trip to Hawaii. While we were there in paradise, we ate some of the freshest and juiciest mangoes that I had ever had. Each bite was sweeter than honey, and the fruit was incredibly addicting. Because they were so expensive, we had to limit ourselves to only a few mangoes per week.
Sadly, I was unable to find any good mangoes at my local grocery stores. They were harder than bricks, and they weren’t juicy or sweet at all. And yes, I let them ripen for a few days, but that did not do the trick. As a result, I was not a huge fan of this cake. I should have known better when I read the instructions for the sponge cake.
While this isn’t a recipe I would recommend to a friend, it might be something worth tweaking. I did like the mango puree and the cream cheese frosting but would recommend using a different cake recipe.
Husband’s rating: 2.5 out of 5
Addie’s rating: 3 out of 5
My rating: 3 out of 5
Mango cake
Ingredients
Cake layer
- 6 large eggs room temperature
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
Mango filling
- 1 pound fresh mangoes about 2 medium, peeled and sliced into strips
- 1 pound fresh mangoes pureed (about 1 and ½ cups)
- 1-4 Tablespoons granulated sugar as needed
Cream cheese frosting
- 2 8-ounce packages cream cheese softened
- 1 cup (2 sticks or 16 Tablespoons) unsalted butter softened
- 2 and ½ cups powdered sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Instructions
Bake the cake
- Preheat your oven to 350°F. Line two 8" cake pans with parchment paper and grease them. Set aside.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the flour and baking powder. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the eggs on high speed until they get foamy. Slowly add the sugar and continue to mix until the batter looks ribbon-like. Stop the mixer.
- Using a rubber spatula, slowly fold the flour mixture into the batter, about ⅓ at a time. Do not over mix the batter.
- Evenly distribute the batter into your prepared pans and bake in your preheated oven for 23-28 minutes or until the tops are golden. A toothpick inserted in the center of the cakes should come out clean.
- Set aside and allow the cakes to cool.
Make the mango puree
- In a high speed blender or food processor, pulse the mango until pureed. If needed, add sugar to taste. Set aside.
Make the cream cheese frosting
- In the clean bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or in a large bowl if using a handheld mixer, beat the cream cheese and butter on high speed until smooth.
- Turn the mixer to low and slowly add in the powdered sugar. Add the vanilla and continue to mix well.
- If the icing seems too soft, add more powdered sugar. Set aside.
Assemble the cake
- Split each of the cakes in half so that you have 4 total cake layers.
- Place one of the cakes, flat side down, on a cake plate or cake platter. Top with ½ cup of the mango puree.
- Place the second cake on a temporary plate or flat working surface and spread ½ cup of the frosting on the non-flat side.
- Take the frosted half and flip it on top of the mango pureed cake half so that the frosting side is sitting directly on top of the mango puree.
- Repeat with the remaining layers.
- Spread a thin layer of frosting on the tops and sides of the finished and stacked cakes. Place in the refrigerator to set, about 1 hour.
- Frost the top and sides of the cake again so that it is a thicker layer. Arrange the sliced mangoes on top of the cake. I started on the perimeter of the circle and worked my way in.
- Slice and enjoy.