Mango Cake with Vanilla Frosting and Toasted Coconut

There is an unintentional theme of recipes consisting of foods that are orange or that go with orange here on the Nomsense food blog! Today it is the glorious mango in cake form. I've been to tropical places like Jamaica, Tobago and the Bahamas where mangoes are plucked and eaten right off the tree. I am reminded of the happy people I met living mostly off the food they grow and catch from the sea.

Tobago

Since Mangoes and cake are two of my favorite things, it only made sense to turn a few very ripe mangoes in my fridge into a cake for a family gathering. I found the cake recipe on Food.com. It was a hit and a perfect summertime dessert. The mango provides for an extra moist consistency and the frosting adds a nice creamy vanilla sweetness. The shredded coconut is an added treat which I decided to add due to the extra surplus I ordered by mistake a few months back! It goes nicely with the mango. This is a very easy and quick cake to make for any occasion. You can always substitute for vegan friendly ingredients or other sweetener options instead of sugar. It tastes great alone without the frosting or try it with just the toasted coconut, whipped topping, or with a nice cream cheese frosting as recommended in the original recipe.

Ingredients

Cake
4 very ripe mangoes to make 2 1/2 Cups of puree
2 Cups of sugar
2 Eggs
1 Teaspoons vanilla
2 Teaspoons baking soda
2 Cups Flour

Mango Puree

Vegan Vanilla Frosting
4 Cups Confectionary Sugar
2 Teaspoons Vanilla
1 Cup vegan margarine (I used Earth Balance)
3 Tablespoons vegan milk
2 Cups toasted coconut

Directions

Cake
Preheat oven to 350F. Grease and flour a 13x9 cake pan or any size/shape of your choice. Mix together mango puree, sugar, eggs and vanilla in a large bowl until well combined. Next, add in flour and baking soda. Pour mixture into cake pan and bake for 35-40 minutes or until knife or toothpick comes out clean from center of cake. Cool completely before frosting.

Frosting
Note: I only had soy milk and Smart Balance on hand, so I made a vegan frosting. You can use any type of milk and margarine substitute. Earth Balance worked very well! Cream margarine, vanilla and sugar together. Add in milk until frosting reaches desired consistency. Store in refrigerator until used. If cold, bring to room temperature by mixing well. Apply a big dollop of frosting in the middle of the cake and spread out to the edges from the middle. This will help prevent crumbing. Sprinkle on the toasted coconut.

This recipe would make fabulous cupcakes or a very nice layer cake. I might try adding pineapple, shredded carrots and/or some orange zest next time around. Cinnamon would go perfectly as well. This is a recipe with many possibilities.

Enjoy!