Vegan Mango Cake, with the Season’s Best!

Vegan Mango Cake Recipe

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Mangoes are back in season again, and its time to prepare that batter for the better 🙂

It’s a simple recipe i use for homemade vegan mango cake. The best thing about mango puree is that you don’t need oil in the cake. If the puree is a bit runny, try ragi millet flour. Or my best bet is with good old “Arrowroot” powder. Yes, i avoid maida (refined white flour) in all my desserts. What’s the point of a healthy homemade dessert if it’s got oil and maida anyway?

Have a look at the soft n spongy output – and like most things, i got it right the first time! Who would believe, all it has are arrowroot powder, mango puree, (cane sugar) and a few dry fruits roasted in cinnamon.

Who would believe, all it has are arrowroot powder, mango puree, cane sugar and a handful of dry fruits roasted in cinnamon.

What’s important here is to maintain the consistency of the batter, and ensure the right amount of sweetness. This depends entire on the variety of the mango being used.

Good mangoes are nostalgia, and i don’t let the variety ruin the experience. A bit of hands-on testing (and tasting) helps get the sugar balance right.

Here’s a handy recipe for the math freaks. Probably the shortest you’d have ever read 🙂

Vegan Mango Cake Recipe: Getting the math right!

This cake turned out fine in the first attempt. Why i’m not surprised because prior to this i already did a lot of trial and error in my basic vegan soy cake recipe, even recycling all the residual matter from the homemade soy milk.

The kitchen to me is a laboratory. Albeit a lot more disorganized one, so i like to call it a “workshop”. The pictures used for this blog post do not convey the true extent of the “mess”. But hey, give me a break, these are mangoes after all!

What i baked here is a standard 1 pound cake.

Take a note of the ingredients now. The key is to improvise a little, based on the variety and sweetness level of the mango. Keep the proportions intact and you’re good to go…

• Mango (Malda/Langra) Puree – 2 cups (room temperature)
• Arrowroot powder – 3 cups
• Crushed Cashews roasted in a pinch of cinnamon + black berries – 1/4 cup
• Powdered cane sugar – 1/4 cups (for less ripe/sweet mangoes)
• Baking soda (optional) – 1/2 tea spoon
• Vanilla essence – 4 drops per cup of mango puree

Vegan Mango Cake: The Method behind the Magic

It makes sense to prepare the puree first, and check for the sweetness. A common mixer-grinder is good enough for the job.

Put the puree in a whisking bowl. Add baking powder and vanilla essence. Add sugar (if required) and mix evenly. Introduce the flour to the batter in 1:4 portions.

Mix evenly since the arrowroot may form lumps after coming in contact with the sweet puree. Add the dry fruits and berries, and let the batter set. Pour it into a baking dish. I use a shallow square dish that i generally use for my brownies.

It will look somewhat like this:

My baking time in the default “microwave” mode was 3.5 minutes. If the batter is less runny, then keep the time as 3 minutes. For a runny batter, use 4 minutes cooking time. In a convection cooking mode, go with 10x these cook times.

Vegan Mango Cake: Doesn’t get any more vegan than this!

The idea is to get the consistency right so we don’t need to add milk or oil at any stage in the batter. That helps the vegan mango cake stay… vegan 🙂 The cashews add to the crunchy feel. The berries bring an element of sourness and balances the heaviness of the sweet mangoes. Also adds a touch of subtlety to the flavour.

Honestly, i did not expect a vegan mango cake to taste this good. Adjust the quantities of sugar/puree depending on your palate and individual taste…

Oh, and that Butler steel knife is courtesy my friend who got this from Munich as part of my wedding gift ensemble she so lovingly curated!

Hope you enjoy relishing the mango cake (and cooking it) as much as i did 🙂