My son recently had to submit a simple dessert recipe as part of his class project – since two heads are always better than one, we came up with this tasty recipe. My Mango Jam Cake combines the lovely sweet flavor of mango with subtle spices and moist delicious cake all in one heavenly little bite. Best of all though, was the fun we had together in the kitchen ☺.

You can always use your favorite flavor of jam or what ever flavor of jam you happen to have on hand. But since my son just loves mangoes, we decided to use mango jam. Really any flavor will work such as strawberry, peach, blackberry, pineapple, raspberry, fig, strawberry, guava, date, cherry, apricot or any mixed fruit jam of your choice.


MANGO JAM CAKE:

Ingredients:

1½ cups cake flour (or you can use all-purpose flour)
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
½ allspice
¼ tsp ground cardamom powder
¼ tsp ground cloves
pinch of salt
1 cup brown sugar
6 tbsp butter
2 eggs
¼ cup sour cream
1 tsp vanilla extract (or almond extract)
1½ cups of mango jam
¼ cup toasted almond slices

9” springform baking pan or round baking tin (lightly buttered)

METHOD:

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. In a large mixing bowl, sift the cake flour together with the baking powder and baking soda. Then add the spices (allspice, ground cardamom powder, ground cloves and salt). Mix well and set aside until needed.

Then using an electric mixer (or hand held electric beaters and another large mixing bowl), cream the sugar and butter together until smooth and well combined. Next, slowly add the eggs (one at a time) and the sour cream. Now slowly add in the dry ingredients (cake flour, baking powder, baking soda and spices) and then using a hand held rubber spatula, gently fold into the wet ingredients (sugar, butter, eggs and sour cream). Lastly, add in the vanilla extract. Mix the batter until all the ingredients are well combined.

Now pour the batter into the lightly buttered springform baking pan. Gently tap the springform baking pan on the counter a few times in order to release any trapped air. Next, take 1 cup of the mango jam and add spoonfuls to the top of the cake batter. Then using a butter knife, make swirling cuts through the jam running it through the batter and making a random pattern. Alternatively, you can simply add the mango jam to batter along with the vanilla extract and skip this entire step if you wish.

Bake the cake for 25-30 minutes or until done. You can test the cake by simply inserting a toothpick in the center, if it comes out clean – the cake is done. Let the cake cool completely, then spread a thin layer of the remaining mango jam on top of the cake & sprinkle with the toasted almond slices. Serve with a dollop of whipped cream or your favorite ice cream. If you have fresh mango slices, garnish with a few of those as well :-)