Mango Hearts and Mango Muffins for the Anniversary

This anniversary I wanted to make something with Mango for S. I was not sure what to make and I was generally looking into my kitchen accessories which I was yet to use, and I landed upon this hearts plate which I had picked during my trip to Nepal. I was genuinely happy looking at those hearts and thought ‘nothing can be better than giving a heart shaped cake’.

S had gone out for an hour and with the kids in school I had an hour in hand. I picked up a simple recipe which I had noted down from recipezaar sometime back. I made the cake batter ready in a jiffy and put it in my “Hearts’ and realized I was left with a lot more batter…panic …panic. As it is I was short of time and now this problem, somehow my brain worked and I picked up the muffin cups and poured the batter in them. And boy, I was grinning at myself, now I had hearts and muffins to offer (blessing in disguise). I patted myself on the shoulder and pushed the moulds in the oven and then waited impatiently for my Hearts to get baked. The smell of mangoes was getting filled in my kitchen and I was admiring the hearts ‘swelling up’ in the oven …as if they were getting filled with all my love!

After baking and cooling the Hearts I dusted them with some icing sugar and they just looked lovely on the dish, ready to be gifted, just before S was back home.

Ingredients for the Cake

1/2 cup mango pureed

1 cup milk

1 cup sugar

1 egg/ 1 tsp egg replacer mixed in 3tbsp water

1/4 cup oil

1 tsp mango essence

2 cups APF

4 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

Method

Sift the flour with baking pwd and salt.

Grind the sugar.

Beat together all liquids- oil, egg/ egg replacer,essence and the milk.

Fold in the dry ingredients gradually and then mix in with light hands the mango puree.

Grease the moulds and bake the cake at 190 C for 25 mins and the muffins at 180 C for an hour.

Insert a tooth pick, and if it comes out clean the cake is done. But, I have observed in all fruit cakes involving purees, a light moistness of the puree will come on the tooth pick even after the cake’s done. Only after cooling it does not stick.

Bake the cake and muffins till you get a nice golden brown colour.

Cool the cake and then unmould after running a knife through the edges. Dust with icing sugar and serve with ‘loads of love’.

The cake turned out very soft and moist. It simply melted in the mouth. It was worth all the stress and panic that I went through in that hour.

Sending this as my entry for Cooking for Kids- evening snacks hosted by Divya of Dil Se and is the brain child of Sharmi of Naivedyam. These muffins are very healthy as they are made with fresh fruits and filling too.