mango cupcakes

The other day someone gave me a bowl of a very delicious mango ice cream, made from a simple combination of mango puree, coconut milk and cream, simply blended and frozen with a bit of stirring every now and then.  It tasted a little like a solero, only much more fabulous.  That experience got me thinking about mango puree (I have time on my hands).  A trip to a large Sainsbury’s yielded a 900g tin for less than £1.50 and I was off.

 

This recipe will make either 12 large (muffin case-sized) cupcakes, or one large round cake, which will take a little longer in the oven.

For the cakes:

• 75g butter
• 75g sugar
• 2 eggs
• 450g mango puree
• grated rind of 1/2 lemon
• 200g self-raising flour
• 1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

For the icing:

• 150g (5oz) mascarpone
• 4 tablespoons icing sugar (confectioners sugar)
• juice of half a lemon

Preheat the oven to 180C (350F) and line a muffin tin with paper cases.

Next, beat the butter and sugar until it becomes light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time and beat well, then add the lemon rind and mango and beat until the mixture is smooth.

Stir in the sifted flour and bicarbonate of soda, then fill your cake cases to about 3/4 full.

Place in the oven and bake for about 15 minutes or until cooked. To test if they are cooked press in the centre and if they spring back they are done.  Remove from the tin and leave to cool on a wire rack.

For the icing, simply add the mascarpone and icing sugar to the lemon juice and mix well, then spread over the cupcakes.  I finished mine off with a sprinkle of coconut and some white chocolate chips for a little extra oomph.