Mango Bread - Dorie Greenspan Once More...

                             

I have a whole stack of mango recipes lined up to be posted. Come mango season and the mango mania hit me hard too and I went on a rampage collecting and trying out recipes, starring this 'king of fruits'. Some lucky ones got their place of honor on my blog and some are still sulking, waiting patiently for their turn. So, before the Mango season runs out, go ahead and catch this divine fruit with this spectacular recipe of Mango bread from Dorie Greenspan's book " Baking: From my home to yours".

The first time I read through this recipe I wasn't very convinced about it. Big chunks of mangoes in a cake batter? Mango puree definitely, but I had never heard of whole pieces of mangoes being added in a cake batter. Won't the pieces just get all mushy after being baked or sink to the bottom resulting in a thick textured, dense cake? But what a surprise!! The mangoes remained firm, tasted wonderful and looked beautiful, shining like little jewels studded in the cake.

The cake was wonderfully soft and moist - almost to the point of crumbling, so be sure to cut thick slices. I also loved the intense flavor of the ginger and cinnamon (you can't imagine how lovely my whole house smelled when the cake was baking) and the chewy sweetness from the sultanas both creating a perfect balance. Don't get intimidated by the long 11/2 hour of baking - rest assured your cake will not burn crisp. Mine didn't - but even then, if you feel the top browning too fast just cover it loosely with a tinfoil tent. I made muffins too using the same batter and my kids adored them. This my second recipe I tried from Dorie Greenspan's book, the first being Mocha Walnut Bundt cake. This time around too, Dorie did not disaapoint me. The Mango bread was as fantastically addictive as the first one.

Ingredients

3 large eggs 
3/4 cup flavorless oil, such as canola or safflower

21/2 cups all-purpose flour  

1 cup sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

11/2 teaspoons ground ginger 

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup (packed) light brown sugar 

2 cups diced mango 

3/4 cup moist golden raisins (I substituted Sultanas for raisins)

grated zest of 1/2 lime

                           

Method:

Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 180C.

Butter an 8-1/2 x 4-1/2 inch loaf pan, dust the inside with flour and tap out the excess. 

Put the pan on an insulated baking sheet or on two regular baking sheets stacked one on top of the other. (This extra insulation will keep the bottom of the bread from overbaking).

Whisk the eggs and oil together.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, spices and salt. Rub the brown sugar between your palms into the bowl, breaking up any lumps, then stir it in. Pour the wet ingredients over the dry, switch to a sturdy rubber spatula or wooden spoon and mix until blended - the batter will be very thick (really more like a dough than a batter) and not easily mixed, but persevere, it will soon come out together. 
Stir in the mango, raisins and zest. 
Scrape the batter into the pan and smooth the top with a rubber spatula.

Bake the bread for 1-1/2 hours, or until it is golden brown and a thin knife inserted into the center comes out clean. (If the bread looks as if it's getting too brown as it bakes, cover it loosely with a foil tent). 
Transfer the pan to a rack and cool for 5 minutes before running a knife around the sides of the pan and unmolding. 
Invert and cool to room temperature right side up on the rack.

Just cut the loaf into thick slices and serve with tea or coffee.

 I also made muffins using the same recipe.