So it looks like summer might finally be here! I won’t say more in case of jinxing the beautiful sunshine away, but safe to say I have had a pasty limb or four out in the rays at every possible opportunity
Earlier this evening, inspired by the fresh summer weather, I picked up some mango in the supermarket. Being Rob’s favourite, I thought it would be gone in a flash. But, he was out, I happened upon a mango yoghurt in the fridge, and a little baking plan formed in my head…
I couldn’t find a recipe that exactly matched up what I wanted to make, so with some inspiration from chocablog, I concocted these little beauties:
Mango Cupcakes (makes 8 - 10)
100g fresh mango
125g mango yoghurt (or another fruity flavour if you can’t find mango)
75g butter
75g caster or granulated sugar
1 large egg
125g self raising flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
Fruity Vanilla Buttercream
50g butter
1 tsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp vanilla bean extract
120g icing sugar
Mango Coulis Icing
100g fresh mango
1 tablespoon water
30g icing sugar
In the absence of any yellow or orange cupcake cases (seriously, and my baking cupboard is like a rainbow! I must go shopping more…), I sprung upon these amazing star foil cases from dotcomgiftshop. I bought them months ago and have been waiting for an opportunity to use them ever since – well no time like the present. They were super easy to bake with, no change in time or temperature from normal cupcakes, and didn’t require a shaped tin as the foil completely holds it’s shape.
Method
- Blend the yoghurt and chopped mango to form a paste
- Cream the butter and sugar, beat in the egg and the mango mixture
- Sieve the flour and baking powder, and fold into the mixture
- Spoon into cases, and bake for 10-15 minutes at 180 degrees C until golden, well-risen and springy to the touch
For the buttercream, I simply beat the ingredients together, and piped onto the cool cupcakes using a wide star nozzle. First I piped each point of the star, trailing the icing off as I got to the edge:
…finishing on the top with a final piped star centre:
Have a quick google and you’ll see coulis can be made in endless ways – blending the mango straight from cold, boiling for a while, cooking up with sugar, or really however you please! I chopped mine into small pieces, and simmered in the water for about 5 minutes until it was extra juicy and soft. Then, it simply went into the blender with the icing sugar, and blitzed to form a smooth paste.
Quite honestly it nearly didn’t make it to the cakes – I could have just eaten the whole lot with a spoon! Finally I conceded and poured it into a thin-nozzled piping bag, creating contrasting star shapes over the top of the buttercream.
Just look at that mango… how could you resist? I just love all the fresh juicy fruits we get in summer!
And inside is a similarly yummy story – moist, springy cake, light smooth buttercream, and that striking tangy mango topping. Mmhmmm!
As with all cake (surely?) they are best eaten straight away (no problem there!). They will keep for a day or so in the fridge but the mango coulis might get a little sticky in storage. Not the worst problem ever
