Cakes layer cakes

Mango cake

“Where there is cake, there is hope. And there is always cake.”- Dean Koontz


Although the rains are here , mangoes are still around everywhere. Wanting to make the most of it while it lasts ,it made perfect sense to me to slice up that hot milk sponge cake I made and pair it with mangoes in some way.

So I whipped up a quick one pot mango curd with egg yolks , sugar , butter and fresh Alphonso mango puree . I put the whites to good use too ( because who likes to store excess whites and yolks ? ) and made some swiss meringue buttercream . In went a little bit of the finished curd to flavour the buttercream . But you could some fresh mango puree too.

Well, the cake was fluffy and light , the curd was smooth and sweet and the buttercream was luscious and buttery . The mango flavour in the curd was intense , that in the buttercream milder – perfect harmony of textures and flavours !

You’ll need to make this Hot sponge cake , baked in an 6, 7 or 8 inch pan. I made it in a 6 inch pan and sliced it into four layers. The same amount of curd and buttercream should suffice if you want to fill three layers of a 7 inch cake or 2 layers of a 8 inch cake!

PS Long post alert!

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For the mango curd:

Ingredients

1/2 cup mango puree (from 1 medium mango)
1/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon lime juice
1/4 tsp salt
2 yolks
1/4 cup unsalted butter

Steps

  1. Whisk together the egg yolks and sugar in a thick bottomed saucepan.
  2. Add in the mango puree , lime juice and salt and whisk until smooth.
  3. Add the butter (cut into cubes) and heat on a medium flame while stirring continuously.
  4. Once the butter melts , keep heating until it thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon. That is, if you dip a spoon , the curd covers the back and you can run a finger through it.
  5. Pass it through a sieve to remove any cooked yolk bits.
  6. Cover with cling wrap touching the surface and chill for 2 hours or more.

Step by step Tutorial:

Also:

  • The curd can be stored in the refrigerator for 4-5 days.
  • Adjust the sugar according to taste and the ripeness of your fruit.

For the mango swiss meringue buttercream:

Ingredients:

2 egg whites , at room temperature

75 grams or 6 tablespoons granulated sugar

112 grams or 1/2 cups unsalted butter

1 – 2 tablespoons of the mango curd

Steps

  1. In a stainless steel bowl, measure out the egg whites and sugar.
  2. Heat about an inch of water in a saucepan and place the bowl on top(double boiler). Keep whisking the whites and sugar until its frothy and you don’t feel any sugar granules if you rub it.
  3. Take the bowl off the saucepan and whip the mixture until you have soft to firm glossy peaks. The outside of the bowl will be cool.
  4. Add the butter, about one tablespoon at a time and beat until incorporated.
  5. Keep beating until desired consistency .
  6. Add the the curd, one tablespoon first . Beat it in and add more a teaspoon (upto 2 tablespoon total) at a time until you have a desired flavour.

Step by step Tutorial:

Also:

  • The buttercream can be kept in the refrigerator for up to a week and frozen for two months.
  • Do not add too much curd or too much at once or you might lose the consistency of your buttercream.
  • While adding the curd / puree , go by flavour and not colour. Do get a bright yellow colour , you can add food colouring. This is a pale yellow buttercream.
  • You can use an equal amount of mango puree instead of the curd.
  • For more info on swiss meringue buttercream , do give this a read!

So once the cake is ready and chilled , the curd has set and the buttercream has come together , you can assemble the cake!

For the assembly :

Ingredients

1 hot milk sponge cake , chilled
1 cup mango curd
1 cup mango swiss meringue buttercream
1/4 cup Soaking syrup (optional)

Steps

  1. Fill about 1/4 cup of your buttercream into a piping bag with a small nozzle or just snip the end of.
  2. Slice the chilled cake horizontally into the number of layers you want . I sliced my 6 inch cake into 4 layers.
  3. Place the top layer on a cake board or plate. Brush on soaking syrup if using.
  4. Pipe a ring of buttercream along the edge. This acts as your dam.
  5. Spread lemon curd inside the buttercream dam. I used about 3 tablespoons per layer.
  6. Place another layer on top , adjust the edges and press down gently. Repeat the steps with the syrup, buttercream and curd until you reach your last layer.
  7. Place the last layer on top ( preferably your bottom layer) . Spread about 1/4 cup buttercream on top and smooth it with a palate knife or spatula.
  8. Spread the buttercream on the sides to crumb coat or cover the sides so that there are no loose crumbs. Chill or freeze for 15 minutes.
  9. Apply the remaining buttercream on the sides and smoothen . Decorate as you wish . I just used a fork to make vertical lines along the sides and top!

Step by step Tutorial :

Also:

  • This cake will store well in the refrigerator for upto 5 days .
  • Keep chilled and bring to room temperature about an hour before serving.
  • The amount of buttercream is just enough here for the dam and frosting the cake. If you want to do piping , you will need to increase the amount.
  • A simple soaking syrup can be made by boiling 2 tablespoons sugar in 1/2 cup water . Once the sugar dissolves, simmer for couple minutes. Take off heat , mix in 1/2 tsp vanilla or any other extract. Use when cool.
  • The dam makes sure that the softer curd does not ooze out onto the outside of your cake and ruin the frosting.

I was so stoked by how this cake turned out. The sponge itself was so soft . The curd was just sweet enough , creamy and bursting with fresh mango flavour . The mango buttercream was the perfect icing on the cake ( pun so intended!) ! All in all … what a celebration of mangoes and cakes!

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12 thoughts on “Mango cake”

  1. I had this idea of making a mango cake stuck in my head since the start of this season. Had been looking through recipes and posts. Wasn’t sure how to go about it. I just stumbled upon your blog by accident. Must tell you it turned out just about perfect and now I know how to make a Swiss meringue buttercream too!!
    Will soon try more of your recipes.
    I topped the cake with some mango slices and it looked even better. Wish I could share a picture but I don’t see that option.
    Agree with Anita on the “no leftovers” part. I’m an amateur too and wouldn’t know what to do with the leftovers since I get little time to bake these days.
    Baked the cake for my dad in law’s birthday. Everyone loved it! The sponge was more than perfect. Thank you!!

    1. Hi Priyanka …Sorry for the late response- was travelling for a bit ! Thanks for trying the cake and taking the time to leave such a generous feedback ! Greatly appreciate !you can mail me the pic at flours.frostings@gmail.com and i would love to share on my page..

  2. Hi Akshata, Tried this cake yesterday. Came out amazing – thanks !
    The Hot sponge base is so easy to cut into layers – and easy to make too..the star of the cake was the delicious mango curd though . I used whipped cream frosting, just because I had it prepared already, and wanted to use it up. Finished it with the mango drip from one of the other cakes on your blog- all in all, great outcome.
    The best part was that there was absolutely no left-overs of filling, drip etc (I’m not great at this as I’m only an occasional hobby baker). Thank you for sharing all your expertise through this wonderful blog!! Keep them coming!! Way to go!!

    1. Thank you so much Anita … not only for trying the cake but for taking the time to leave such a generous comment. Really glad you enjoyed the cake and the filling. Thank you for the encouraging words!

    1. Hi Rama.. I have a recipe of eggless lemon curd on the blog.you could try making mango curd in a similar manner ☺

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