My first post. I must say, I'm a bit nervous.... But the fact that I am kicking off this blog with a rockingly delicious cupcake eases me a bit.
I am Indian. Indians love mangos. My family isn't into fancy stuff. Just give them a plain old yellow cake with fake vanilla frosting from the local grocery store and they will be happy. But I like to explore. I like to have an adventure when I'm baking.
Sometimes, my endeavors don't turn out so great, sometimes they end up AMAZING. Its just a luck of the draw I guess... Or my stupidity.
It's funny. I really got into baking about a year and half ago with these cupcakes. Prior to that, I THOUGHT I was into baking. I thought I was a pro.
I mean, I could take a box of Betty Crocker cake mix, jar of frosting, and make an almost successful cake. Granted it would usually break or my parents would throw it outside (when they thought I wasn't looking of course) hoping the deer will eat it, granted all that...I thought highly of my baking skills.
But you have to remember, I was about 12 years old. You can't expect much less.
But now. Now all my recipes are from scratch. I haven't touched any cake mixes. I know I'm no pro. I just want to learn.
Back to Indians and mangos. I love mangos. My family loves mangos. And this recipe was actually the recipe that kicked off my transition from a pro-cake-mix-baker to an average, learning baker. This cupcake came out so great that I started to believe that maybe I had some hope.
In fact, I got so over my head that I started planning business models, logos, catering plans, and business cards. I even started looking up bakery equipment and vacant shops....
You have to understand. I was only 16 when I made those cupcakes. I would get in over my head very often.
But now I am 18. Since the time I made these cupcakes, I think I have tried out enough recipes to share them with other aspiring, learning bakers like me. Hence this blog!
And since the time I made these cupcakes, a lot has happened. Many of the recipes I will share with you will have many funny, sad, educational, and inspiring stories attached to them. I hope that through this blog, you not only enjoy baking delicious treats, but also enjoy a good read.
The day that you see a recipe for German Chocolate Cake on this blog will signify the day I began this blog and the culmination of the story of my past.
Hopefully by then, I will have learned a great deal more to share with you all!
BTW, I really look forward to that day and you should as well, because the German Chocolate Cake was DIVINE!
But back to the past. This mango cupcake is really a pound cake. A really tasty and moist pound cake. But even better than the tropical flavor of the cupcake and filling is the light, airy, and sweet frosting. It is a perfect complement to the cake and many other cupcakes! You will fall in love....
The original recipe asked for coriander powder. But I found that you couldn't even taste it, and really, I didn't care much for it. If you want the coriander taste I would recommend bumping it up from 3 tsp. to about 4-5 tsp. However, if you simply want the mango flavor, you can skip the coriander altogether.
Another note, this recipe calls for mango pulp. This is not an ingredient commonly found in grocery stores. If you know of an Indian retail/grocery market nearby, they will most definitely carry it. If not, ask them where you could find it nearby (they should know). Finally, if you still can't find it, Amazon sells it as well. I usually go for the Kesar brand, however, any other brand should work just fine.
Nonetheless, if all of these attempts to find mango pulp fails, you can go with mango juice concentrate or reduced mango juice. However, I have not tried making these cupcakes without the pulp. Let me know how it goes if you feel adventurous!
The images in this post are from a cake I made recently using this recipe.
For the filling, make sure you continue to whisk the egg yolks in the double-boiler to prevent them from cooking. In addition, the original recipe for Food Network called for way too much filling, so I have cut this recipe down in half.
Finally, I couldn't find an Alphonso or Champagne mango at my local grocery store. However, the Indian grocery store I got the mango pulp from also had a can of Alphonso mangos, already cut and peeled! If they don't carry it, any ripe mango will do. I also bought the mango chutney from the same store as well. There was a spicy chutney and a 'sweet and spicy' chutney. I went with the latter and it worked just fine. The spicy chutney may add a nice kick to the cupcakes, so feel free to try it and let me know!
Recipe adapted from Food Network's Cupcake Wars contestant Lily Fischer, 2011
**Recipe adapted from Food Network's Cupcake Wars contestant Lily Fischer, 2011
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