Mango & Lime Cake

Mango and lime is a flavour combination I have been wanting to transfer to a cake for a very long time. At first I couldn’t decide if I wanted lime or mango flavoured cake, then what sort of icing, whether or not it should have a filling etc. In the end I went for a fresh mango cake with lime icing. My next problem was making a cake batter that could handle the addition of a pureed mango without going sloppy. I was surprised to find that there are very few cake recipes that use more than just a few tablespoons of pureed mango in them. After reading many recipes I went with one from an Australian Women’s Weekly magazine that used peaches and adapted it to my needs.

I intended the icing to be an Italian buttercream but after adding the juice from two limes it went (unsurprisingly) sloppy and although it tasted lovely it was no good for icing. I added some double cream, as I know this naturally thickens in the presence of acid, and it became the perfect consistency for piping. I was actually really pleased with the icing as it was zesty and creamy, yet a lot lighter than if I had used just cream thanks to the airy meringue base. The cake itself was quite dense in texture but not heavy and stayed wonderfully moist from the mango puree. I think it’s important to ensure your mango is sweet and ripe before you use it as the flavour is quite delicate. I took it into work for the Monday Munchers where it received great feedback. One girl had three slices within about 4 hours and said it was her favourite to date.

Mango & Lime Cake
(Recipe adapted from Australian Women’s Weekly Magazine)
For the Cake
170g mango puree – flesh of 1 large mango
280g caster sugar
250g butter
4 eggs
275g self raising flour

For the Icing
1 egg white
85g caster sugar
Juice of 2 limes
Zest of 2 limes
165ml double cream

Method
Preheat the oven to 175C. Grease an 8inch/20cm deep round cake tin and line the base with greaseproof paper.
Prepare the mango by cutting off the ‘cheeks’ and then scoring the flesh in a square checked pattern down to the skin. Push the flesh up and cut the cubes of flesh from the skin.
Place the mango into a food processor or liquidiser and process until smooth. Then set to one side.
Cream and butter and sugar together until lift and fluffy. Add the eggs, beating well between each one.
Stir in the mango puree and then scatter the flour over the surface of the batter. Fold the flour in using a large spoon or spatula until no clumps remain.
Pour the batter into the cake tin and bake for 1hour 25 minutes. (After the first 40 minutes, cover the cake with foil to prevent it from over browning and bake for a further 45 minutes.)
Remove from the oven and check if a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean.
Allow to cool for 15 minutes before removing from the tin and placing on a wire wrack until cold.
Meanwhile, prepare the icing. Place the egg white and sugar into a large glass bowl suspended over a pan of gently simmering water.
Beat the egg white and sugar continuously for around 5-8 minutes until it becomes thick, white and doubled in volume.
Remove the bowl from the pan and slowly beat in the butter in small cubes. Then continue to whisk until cool.
Grate the rind off the two limes and set to one side. Then add the juice of both limes and half the zest to the icing. It will deflate slightly and go soft as this point but this is ok.
Pour in the double cream and whisk until thickened and at soft peak stage.
Pipe or spread the icing over the top of the cooled cake and scatter the remaining half of the lime zest over the top. Store in the fridge until required.
Serves 10-12