A short post today. I was planning on something more elaborate for this post but, I am busy. See I am in the midst of packing!
Tomorrow morning we'll be heading towards Austria for a long awaited family vacation. It's been long since we all had some time together, without work, school and family issues everyday. A much needed R&R!
Before I go I did want to leave you something to nibble on though. It would be bad if you came here in my absence and found nothing to indulge in. What can I say? I'm crazy about you all. ;-)
How does this wonderful moist loaf look to you? It's filled with juicy and sweet mango chunks, plump yellow Iranian raisins I brought back from Dubai, spiced with ginger and cinnamon.
When my son says "Mum, we have not baked together for ages!" I know this is his way of saying he needs some one on one time with me. So we put on our aprons and look for the perfect recipe. This time we found the ideal cake in the ever resourceful cookbook from Dorie Greenspan's Baking: From My Home To Yours. The book is our bible and this time Soeren actually walked into the room with the book tucked under his arms. "Mum we need to bake a cake together!" he said. Yes we do!
A luscious mango ginger bread for the Monthly Mingle this month. We're celebrating Mango Mania. Hope you will be joining us too. To everyone who have sent in their entries - I have been slacking behind with my replies. Please do forgive me. But when I return I will catch up on that and then post the roundup.
You can easily keep track of the Monthly Mingle by visiting the MM Calendar. Next stop is Sig from Live to Eat. Watch out for the announcement on the weekend of 19/20 July.
In the meantime have a great week. Check back next week as I've scheduled a serious post regarding the Times of India!
Ingredients
(adapted from Dorie Greenspan's Baking: From My Home To Yours)
Printable version of recipe here.
250g all purpose flour
190g fine sugar
3 eggs
180ml canola oil
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
100g brown sugar
1 large ripe mango, cubed
115g plump golden raisins
Optional
Icing/confectioner's sugar
Method
Preparation
Center a rack in the oven and preheat to 180 degrees C. Butter and flour a loaf pan (21.6 cm x 11.4 cm), tapping out the excess flour. Place the pan on an insulated baking sheet. You can alternatively us two normal baking sheets or simply wrap the loaf pan with thick aluminum foil. This keeps the bottom of the bread from overbaking.
In a clean mixing bowl whisk the eggs and oil together.
In separate, larger bowl, whisk flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, spices and salt. Add the brown sugar, breaking up any lumps with your fingers.
Pour in the wet ingredients over the dry, then using a rubber spatula or a wooden spoon mix until incorporated. The batter is very thick so do not be alarmed. The texture is more like a dough rather than a batter, which might take some time to mix. Keep at it and it will all come together.
Stir in the mangoes and raisins. Finally scrape out the batter into the pan and smooth the top with a rubber spatula.
Bake the bread for 1 1/2 hours or until golden brown and a knife inserted into the center comes out clean. If you find the bread is getting too dark, simply cover the top with a sheet of baking paper or loosely with a foil tent.
Transfer the pan to a rack and allow the bread to cool for 5 minutes. Run a knife around the sides of the pan and unmold. Invert and cool to room temperature right side up on the rack.
Sieve some of the icing sugar on top and serve!
- This bread tastes even better the next day. A night to allow the flavors of the fruit and spices to infuse gives the bread more aroma and body.
Storing: Wrapped in plastic wrap or stored in a air-tight container the bread will keep for 4-5 days at room temperature (and taste better each day!).
Verdict
Nothing could be better than fruity and sweet mangoes paired with aromatic spices and then mixed in a heavenly batter and baked. Wow! This was too good - so good that it simply was all gone far too fast. This has become a regular loaf in my baking repertoire. I've experimented with substituting cardamom for the cinnamon or even apricots for the mangoes. All work great - however I am partial to mangoes ;-)
A little bring along for Sia who is hosting this month's Weekend Breakfast Blogging, brainchild of the lovely Nandita of Saffron Trail. Sia's theme is summer perfect as she calls us to celebrate a Summer Feast. Feast on this!
You might enjoy these summer feasts too:
 | Coco Mango Soup |
 | Peas and Lettuce Salad |
 | Figs in Cherry Caramel |
 | Grilled Peach with Eucalyptus Honey Yogurt and Roasted Almonds |
Summer food from around the blogs:
Alpineberry's fruity Summer Fruit Torte
Coffee & Vanilla's hot Summer Fruit Muffins
Passionate about Baking's sensational Peach Mango ice Cream
Kalyn's Kitchen's spectacular Mango Salsa
All photographs and written content on What's For Lunch, Honey? © 2006-2008 Meeta Khurana unless otherwise indicated. | All rights reserved | Please Ask First
Am drooling over this bread..
ReplyDeleteCant stop looking at those pictures....
ReplyDeleteI love anything mango, Meeta, and this is a beautiful bread!
ReplyDeleteHave fun in Austria, sweetie!
That looks delicious! Have a wonderful holiday!
ReplyDeleteWhat a delicious flavor combination. I'm greatly looking forward to the mango roundup!
ReplyDeleteLooks lovely, Meeta. What can I susbtitute for the eggs in it?
ReplyDeleteThanks and enjoy your week in Austria..It's a place I've always wanted to go :-)
Revathi
Delicious meeta...
ReplyDeletenjoy your holiday in Aus
Awesome picture. Your picture says how it should have tasted. Wanna have a bite.
ReplyDeleteI made this cake about a year ago and loved it. I know I have a couple ripe mangoes in the kitchen, I'm definitely making this again!
ReplyDeleteIt looks absolutely fab. Will it work with dried mangos?
ReplyDeleteEnjoy Austria, will be heading there the end of the month to celebrate my father's 80th birthday :-)
Meeta, I just baked this minus the ginger with the raisins.... isnt it great ?? I was thinking of posting it for monthly mingle.. slightly different from yours
ReplyDeleteWhat a perfect bread! The flavors sound amazing. Have a great vacation!
ReplyDeleteThanks for leaving such a delectable bread! Looks very yum. My son does a similar thing - he searches blogs or my recipe books for the yummiest snaps, reads the recipe and says - Mummy no eggs, it is obviously tasty and you could substitute the milk, isn't it perfect for us? - Which means I have to make it!
ReplyDeleteEnjoy your vacation!
I love the combination of mangoes and ginger! Wonderful bread!
ReplyDeleteThat bread looks pretty elaborate to me!! :0) Yum!! Have a safe trip!!
ReplyDeleteI love the idea of a mango bread and I love how your son loves to bake with his mom. Have a happy vacation!
ReplyDeletePaz
I'm here through Tastespotting today, and knew immediately who had baked this fantastic-looking cake.
ReplyDeleteIf ever Meeta needed a signiture sweet, this is it. Great job.
That mango bread looks and sounds really good! Have a great vacation!
ReplyDeleteYour pictures are amazing. And mango AND ginger... *sigh* great favourites of mine. I'd love to dive in to the bread.
ReplyDeleteHave a nice vacation. I hope the weather is nice for you.
Oh wow this bread sounds amazing. I can imagine the mango pairing so well with the spices.
ReplyDeletehave a wonderful holiday meeta!
ReplyDeleteCoffee, I need a pot of coffee and this ginger mango bread in the morning!! Looks excellent Meeta.
ReplyDeleteHave a wonderful time with everybody in Austria!!
Drooling here, Meeta... That bread is totally awesome!! :)
ReplyDeleteWhat a clever recipe - I can see that ginger and mango would compliment each other really well.
ReplyDeletehave a nice vacation meeta.
ReplyDeleteIm gonna try this tempting bread.
You and the family have a great time hon and I love the combination of this moist loaf!
ReplyDeleteWow, what a fantastic way to start a holiday! I hope you have a lovely time. While you are away, I will be making this bread :)
ReplyDeleteThe bread looks so yum! Have a wondeful vacation:-)
ReplyDeleteI baked mango cake with streusel topping, so i can imagine how heavenly this must have been! enjoy your vacation sweetie:)
ReplyDeletethe bread looks amazing... also drooling over your studio Meeta :) looks fantastic!
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteWhen I saw this recipe I thought I was soo doing it. And I did. And it's delicious! Thanks for the idea.
ReplyDeleteI love any cakes with ginger in them and this one with mango sounds heavenly. Have a wonderful holiday.
ReplyDeleteMango and ginger? It's like this cake was calling me to make it! Although I was wary of the impossibly long baking time, it was a cinch to make and I could just leave it in the oven. I found that when I made a well in the dry ingredients, poured in the wet and folded together with a wooden spoon, they came together in less than a minute! The result is a moist spicy cake with the actual texture of a bread, and not too sweet as well. Unfortunately, the mango flavour is not as pronounced but maybe that will appear tomorrow.
ReplyDeleteI would love to try this with some cardamom substituting in for the cinnamon.