Mango Poundcake

When I have the time, I love watching local cooking shows.  They often have such unique recipes, and it's neat to see ideas from hosts that aren't supremely famous.  One recently showcased a lime pound cake that looked intriguing.  I love a dense, crumbly poundcake, as one slice is a delicious and filling dessert.  I had just grabbed a mango with no specific intention in mind, and figured mixing some bits in a cake could make for a sweet and unique dessert.  Mangos are a delicious fruit by themselves, but in an ice cream or with whipped cream they can be a perfect dessert.

The mango was pretty huge, and I decided to slice up the whole thing to use in the cake.

I sliced the mango in half, then sliced the halves inside into smaller bits.

To make the batter for the pound cake, I beat together the butter and sugars. 

I added the eggs and vanilla and almond extracts.  In a smaller bowl, I mixed the flour, baking powder, and salt, then gradually mixed it into the batter.  I tossed the mangos in a little bit of flour to coat them, then stirred them in.

The finished batter was lookin good!  Nice and creamy.

I poured the batter into a loaf pan, then put it in the oven.

I let it bake for nearly an hour.  It rose up quite a bit, resulting in some overflow onto the bottom of the oven.  So make sure you leave enough space in the pan.

It took longer than expected to cook through, since this was a dense brick or a cake rather than a typical cake size that is thin and wide.

So the top turned out a bit cookie like, and the cake itself had a really great flavor.  It was dense as expected, and the brown sugar gave a really good taste; I always find that it enhances desserts nicely.  The mango texture was honestly a little confusing.  The flavor was good but the large chunks of fruit didn't disintegrate or soften much in the batter (a peach likely would have), so they made for a more solid texture in an otherwise soft slice of cake. I would dice the mango up much smaller next time around.  Though I have to say, the next time I get a mango it will likely not be used in baking but instead on a fruit salsa.  That's one I've been itching to try!

Mango Poundcake Recipe

Ingredients:

1 cup butter1 cup sugar1 cup brown sugar 4 eggs1 teaspoon vanilla extract1/2 teaspoon almond extract3 cups flour1 teaspoon baking powder1/2 teaspoon salt2 cups sliced mango
Instructions: 

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.  Cream butter and sugars together.  Add eggs one at a time, beating between each addition.  Add vanilla and almond extracts.  In a separate bowl, use a whisk to mix flour, baking powder, and salt.  Mix dry ingredients into butter mixture gradually, the stir in chopped mangos.  Bake for 60-70 minutes, until cooked throughout.

Adapted from: peach poundcake