Mango Berry Cake

This is my first attempt at a naked cake and I’m kinda in love. I’ve always thought they were so rustic and beautiful so it was lots of fun trying one out myself.

For my cake I used Ataulfo mangoes that I got from Melissa’s. Melissa’s sends produce right to your doorstep, which is awesome because they picked out some perfect fruit for me (I can never tell which ones are good myself) and they carry a huge assortment of produce including things you can’t get anywhere else (like mangosteen and enoki mushrooms, which are my favvv). All that right to your house, which makes me kinda sad because I really wish I would have known about them when I was living in a middle-of-nowhere town on the border of Mexico ha. But so glad I know about them now. I ordered Murcott tangerines and the Ataulfo mangoes and they came in perfect shape; the tangerines were ready to eat when they arrived and the mangoes were nice and ripe within a few days. So yummy. And the mango flavor came through really well in my cake, which I’m so happy about because I loooove mango desserts~

Mango Berry Cake
Makes one 6-inch cake

Cake:

• 1/4 cup butter, softened
• 2 Tbsp vegetable oil
• 3/4 cups granulated sugar
• 2 eggs, room temp.
• 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• pinch salt
• 2 Tbsp milk
• 2 Tbsp buttermilk
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Mango Cream:

• 2 small mangoes, peeled and chopped
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• pinch salt
• 1-1/2 c heavy cream
• small berries (raspberries, blueberries, blackberries)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350F.
Line your cake pan with parchment paper: trace the pan to make a circle for the bottom, and cut it out slightly smaller to fit. Then (if you’re using a 6-inch pan like mine) cut a long 2×19 inch strip to fit along the pan’s side. Tip: spray the pan lightly with oil first so that the parchment paper will stick,

For the cake:

Beat together the oil and butter. Pour in the sugar in two additions, then add the eggs one at a time, incorporating well after each addition.

In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder and salt.
In another small bowl, whisk together the milk, buttermilk and vanilla.

While continuing to beat the batter, alternate between adding in the flour mixture and the milk mixture. Begin and end with the flour.

Pour the batter into your pan and bake for 35-45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Let cool for at least 5 minutes before removing from pan, then let cool completely.

For the cream:

Combine your chopped mangoes, sugar and salt in a food processor or blender and puree. Pour the puree into a small saucepan and place over medium heat. Simmer, stirring continuously, for 3-4 minutes until the mixture is thick. Remove to a clean bowl. Let it cool at room temperature for a few minutes before setting it in the fridge to cool until ready to use.

In a clean bowl, beat your heavy cream until stiff peaks. Gently fold it into your mango puree until combined.

To Assemble:

Use a sharp knife to cut the top of your cake off and make it level. Then cut the cake into two layers. On the first layer, pipe a layer of mango cream. Gently press berries into the cream (the more the better). Then pipe another layer of cream over top of them. Set your second cake layer on top and gently press it down so that the cream overflows slightly. Take a cake scraper or anything with a straight edge and run it along the outside of the cake to scrape off excess cream and make it even. To decorate the top: Pipe a layer of cream and even it out. Garnish with berries or flowers. Refrigerate leftovers.