Upside Down Mango Cake

I know that it has been a while since Square Meals has posted anything; please accept our apologies. I have been self diagnosed with a cook’s block (like the writer’s block) and have not made anything new for a while. I had baked this cake earlier this month, when our friends had visited us but did not get around to posting it.

Upside down cakes sound very fancy and tough to make, but trust me they are super simple. You can substitute the mangoes with any fruit of your choice. Head out to the farmer’s market, pick the freshest seasonal fruit, and get baking. I have had upside down cakes with pineapple, have made it with apple and have seen recipes for pear, plum, orange, and cherry cakes. The possibilities are endless, and it is all up to your choice.

Ingredients

Cake Batter

• Wheat flour - 1 cup
• Baking powder – 1 tsp
• Salt – ¼ tsp
• Honey – ¼ cup
• Milk – ¾ cup
• Oil - 3 tbsps (I used olive oil)
• Nutmeg – a pinch

For Upside Down Mangoes

• Mangoes – sliced into long pieces, enough to cover the bottom of the baking dish
• Light/dark brown sugar – ½- ¾ cup
• Butter – 2-3 tbsps

Method

Preheat the oven to 350 F.

Mangoes

Heat together the butter and sugar, one low heat. Once the sugar and butter have melted completely, allow the mixture to simmer for about 3-4 minutes, while stirring occasionally.

Meanwhile grease your baking dish and keep ready.

Arrange the mango slices on the bottom of the greased baking dish. Make sure you cover the entire bottom. Take the butter-sugar mixture and pour over the mangoes.

Cake Batter

In a bowl, mix all the wet ingredients. In a different bowl, mix the dry ingredients. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix well. Pour into the prepared baking dish and make sure the batter covers the mango slices well. Bake for about 25-30 minutes. I would recommend checking after about 20 minutes. If a toothpick or knife comes out clean, then your cake is done.

Carefully remove the baking dish from the oven and allow it to cool for 15 minutes. The cake should slide out easily, because the dish has been greased but you can run a knife around the edges to loosen the cake. Take the platter onto which you wish to remove the cake, place it on the baking dish, and carefully turn it around. Bon Appétit.

There was a time when my mother used to make copious amounts of ice cream at home and our relatives would flock to our home to devour it, along with her other specialties. When mangoes were in season, she would serve vanilla ice cream with diced mangoes. In tribute to that awesome combination, I served the cake slices with a scoop of ice cream.  Bon Appètit!