Easy Mango Cake

Is there such a thing as 'too easy'?

One of my grandfather's friends has a small mango canning and preservation enterprise. They live in the middle of the best mango producing regions in India, and use some of the finest local mangoes in their products. They sell a lot of their products in their store locally, but also send it out to several cities in India, and perhaps abroad too.

If I or some of my relatives ever get a chance to get there, we stop by their house, which is right next to the store (or is it the other way around?) and usually buy a few things from them, especially their jars of mango pulp. These are glass jars, unlike the tin cans one sees commonly, and I prefer those for two reasons. One is that one can see what is inside, and secondly, I think there is a much lesser chance of any kind of strange stuff happening, such as something that could happen if the acid in the mango reacts with metal.

Other than those few jars, I rarely buy canned mango pulp. The jars are by and large savored by themselves as Aamras, particularly when pooris are on the menu. Hence I went back and forth over whether I should use up almost half of a precious jar just to try out something new. I can say now for sure that it was worth it. This cake is superb, in taste as well as texture. I have also yet to meet a cake recipe that was easier to whip up; it is literally "dump and stir". It is a complete keeper that I would definitely try again, and perhaps even buy some cans of mango pulp if needed!

Adapted from here.




Rava Mango Cake

Ingredients

1 cup fine rava (or semolina flour)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup sugar
2 pods of green cardamom
1 cup canned mango pulp
1/4 cup oil
1 Tablespoon golden raisins (optional)
1 Tablespoon chopped almonds (optional)

Method

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

In a medium bowl, mix the rava, baking powder, and sugar. Using a flexible spatula, stir in the mango pulp, and the oil, until the rava absorbs the liquids completely to form a batter.

Powder the seeds of the cardamom in a mortar and pestle and add it to the batter.

Lightly grease a small loaf pan (8 X 4 inches would be fine, mine is 9 X 5).

Pour the batter into the pan. Sprinkle the raisins and almonds on top. Bake for 25 minutes. Insert a toothpick to check if done.

Notes

1. I actually forgot to add the cardamom powder, but it was not missed. I am eager to try it with it next time.

2. Most likely, the quantities can be increased by 1.5 times to fit a loaf pan better.

3. It can be made just as well with melted butter in place of oil, I think.

4. The dried fruit and nuts are optional, and can be played around with. Mix into the batter, or add on top like I did.

Entry Update

I recently made this cake again, with increased quantities, and baked it in a bundt pan. It took me 35 minutes to bake it. Since the mango pulp was quite sweet, I decreased the overall sugar quantity as well, and did not use any dried fruit or nuts. It was enough for 12-16 people. The process remains the same as above, but here is an update on the quantities.

2.5 cups fine rava (or semolina flour)
2.5 teaspoons baking powder
1 cup sugar
4-5 pods of green cardamom
2.5 cups canned mango pulp
1/2 cup + 2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
a few drops of oil for greasing pan