Mango Cake

June: National Mango Month

“I love you like a mango…” go the lyrics in a popular Hawaiian song, “Drop, Baby, Drop,” performed by local artists, Sean Na’auao, Kapena and Mana’o Company. Although the words seem silly, those who are mad about mangos might understand how the singer compares his sweetheart with a sweet fruit!

Summer is mango season in Hawaii, and Islander’s family always hopes that their neighbor’s mango tree would drop some ripe fruit so we could pick them up for our enjoyment—with the neighbor’s permission, of course (and a trade for our tangerines when the trees are ripe in our yard).

When Highlander came to visit Hawaii for the first time many summers ago (and to declare his intent to the ‘ohana/family that he planned to marry Islander), he fell in love with mangos, too. But if Islander shares any of that golden goodness with him, he must serenade her with a few lines of that silly song!

For National Mango Month, we are featuring a mango cake. Even if you are not inspired by the loony lyrics, we still hope you love the fruit chunks and nectar in this recipe.

Recipe

(Adapted from HEB)

For the mango cake

• 1 cup mango chunks, roughly chopped
• 1 box plain yellow cake mix (we used Duncan Hines brand)
• 3 eggs
• ¼ cup light olive oil
• 1 ¼ cup mango nectar

 Directions

Chop the mango chunks into small pieces. Set aside. In a large mixing bowl, combine the cake mix, eggs, oil and mango nectar. Blend until smooth.

Add the chopped mango into the batter. Pour into a greased cake pan. Bake in a preheated oven at 350 degrees F for 35-40 minutes, testing with a toothpick for doneness. Remove from the oven. Cool completely before frosting.

For the mango glaze

• 1 cup mango nectar
• 2 tablespoons water
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch

Directions

In a saucepan, pour in the mango nectar and bring to a slow boil. In a small bowl or cup, make a paste with the water and cornstarch. Stir the paste into the mango nectar. Mix well until smooth and thick. Remove from heat. Cool completely.

For the whipped cream frosting

• 2 cups (1 pint) heavy whipping cream
• ¼ cup sugar

 Directions

In a large mixing bowl, whip the cream until peaks form. Gradually add the sugar. Continue to beat until stiff and fluffy. Spread the frosting on the cake and sides.

Fill a pastry bag with the frosting. Using a round or star tip, outline the top edge of the cake to create a dam. Spread the mango glaze evenly over the frosting. Pipe criss-cross lines over the mango glaze. Change tips, if desired, and add decorative borders on the top and bottom edges of the cake. Refrigerate to set. Bring to room temperature before slicing and serving.

Notes

• Click to see the lyrics and ‘ukulele chord progressions of “Drop, Baby, Drop.“
• Click to see Islander’s brother, Kahuna, (right) and “her royal date” Bruddah Brandon A. (left) jam to a “mango medley” on Malianika.com.
• Thanks to Islander’s Mommy for taking pictures of the neighbor’s mango tree and its fresh fruits from Hawaii.

Papaya Macarons

June: National Papaya Month

Islander’s Daddy is like “Princess Pupule,” the muse of the tacky tourist Hawaiian song of the same title, when his papaya trees bear a lot of fruit. Listen to the first few lines of the lyrics:

Princess Pupule has plenty papayas

She loves to give them away

And all of the neighbors they say


Oh me-ya oh my-ya you really should try-ya

A little piece of the Princess Pupule’s papayas…..

Yes, the sensually suggestive song sounds so  pupule (crazy)!

Daddy had planted two papaya trees in the front yard (he once had a tall one growing on the other side of the house but that got uprooted during a hurricane). They produce “plenty papayas” when in season so he is generous when sharing them with the neighbors, co-workers and friends—which is a good thing because Islander, her brother Kahuna and Mommy just get sick of eating the fruit for breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacktime every single summer day!!!

Now that Islander lives on the mainland, she misses the fresh fruits from the variety of trees growing on the grounds of her childhood home in Hawaii.

National Papaya Month gave her an opportunity to make macarons with a fruity flavor (also the theme of MacAttack challenge #20). So Islander puréed papaya to make a tropical-tasting buttercream and placed dried papaya pieces in the filling between basic macaron shells.  These papaya macarons are deliciously unique and exotic. But since there are only Highlander and Islander in the house right now, like “Princess Pupule,” we have “plenty papaya” macarons and we like to give them away to share our aloha!

Recipe

For the basic macarons (Italian meringue method)

• 1 cup almond flour/meal
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 3 egg whites (fresh, unpasteurized and aged overnight at room temperature)
• 1 cup sugar (we used C&H brand, granulated white)
• ½ cup water
• 1 teaspoon vanilla (we used Hawaiian Vanilla Company brand)
• orange and yellow food coloring (we used Wilton brand orange concentrated gel icing color and AmeriColor brand yellow soft gel paste)

Directions

Sift the almond flour/meal with the powdered sugar. Grind in a food processor in batches to remove any lumps (optional). Whip the egg whites until peaks form. Make a simple syrup to stabilize the egg whites by boiling the sugar and water together until it reaches a temperature of 245 degrees F on a candy thermometer (or until it reaches a soft ball stage).

Pour into the egg whites and whip again until stiff and glossy. Mix in the vanilla. Fold in the almond flour/meal-sugar until the consistency “flows like magma.”

Tint the macaronage with orange and yellow to make a “papaya” shade. Pipe one-inch discs on a parchment paper on top of an insulated baking sheet. Let the discs air dry to develop a thin skin for at least 30 minutes.

Bake in a preheated oven at 300 degrees F for about 15-20 minutes. Watch the “feet” develop, but be careful not to brown or burn the macarons. Remove from the oven and let cool for 15 minutes. Peel off the macarons from the parchment paper. Sort by size and match pairs. Make the papaya purée buttercream filling.

For the papaya purée buttercream

• 2 tablespoons papaya puree
• ¼ cup (½ stick) unsalted butter, slightly softened
• pinch of salt
• 1 ½ – 2 cups powdered sugar, sifted
• dried papaya chunks, chopped into ¼-inch bits

Directions

Slice a papaya in half and reserve the seeds for another recipe. Scoop out the fruit into a blender and purée the papaya (alternatively, if the fruit is soft and ripe, mash into a strainer over a container). In a mixing bowl, cream the butter with a pinch of salt. Gradually blend in the powdered sugar until well combined and fluffy.

Mix in a tablespoon at a time the papaya purée. Add a little more powdered sugar to the mix to reach a spreadable consistency. Refrigerate if necessary to firm up the filling. Meanwhile, chop up the dried papaya chunks into tiny bits, about ¼ inch.

Put the filling in a pastry bag outfitted with a large round tip. Pipe out the filling on the underside of one macaron shell. Gently press dried papaya pieces on the filling and sandwich the macarons together. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes to let the filling set. Bring to room temperature before serving.

Notes

• We might sound biased, but Hawaiian papayas are much sweeter and more flavorful than all the other varieties of papayas we have tasted!
• Read historical notes about the song, “Princess Pupule,” and see more lyrics from the Square One website.
• The sample of the song above is from the Maile Serenaders’ “Let’s Hula” compact disc.
• Save the seeds! Make a salad dressing. See our blog recipe post for Papaya Seed Dressing.
• June is also National Mango Month. See our blog recipe post for Mango Cake inspired by another Hawaiian song, “Drop, Baby, Drop.”
• Mahalo (thank you) to Mommy for taking pictures of Daddy’s papaya trees and fruits.
• Mahalo to Lisa L. for the vanilla from the Big Island of Hawaii.
• Mahalo to Jamie S. and Deeba R. for hosting this month’s MacAttack challenge. See all the “fruits of our labor” and more macarons contributed by talented chefs on their MacTweets blog.

Papaya Seed Salad Dressing

June: National Papaya Month

For a healthy Hawaiian-style salad, pour on the papaya seed dressing! The leafy greens and other vegetables are already good for you, but the papaya seeds also aid in digestion and act as an anti-bacterial agent (however, eating too much may be toxic). No wonder it is a tradition of the native Hawaiians to eat a few seeds when they open a papaya—they knew how to appreciate the whole fruit! So save those seeds and add a mild peppery punch and tropical tang to your favorite salad by preparing papaya seed salad dressing during National Papaya Month.

Recipe

(Adapted from The Honolulu Advertiser Taste of Hawaii by Mary Cooke)

Ingredients

• 1 small, ripe papaya
• 1 cup sugar (we used C&H brand, granulated white)
• 1 tablespoon salt (we used 1 teaspoon Hawaiian black lava sea salt)
• 1 teaspoon dry mustard
• 1 cup vinegar (we used sugar cane vinegar)
• 1 small onion (we recommend a sweet or Maui onion)
• 1 cup salad oil (we used macadamia nut oil)
• 3 tablespoons papaya seeds

Directions

Slice the papaya in half. Scoop out the seeds. Squeeze to pop the sacs and dry them out (optional).

In a blender, mix the sugar, salt, mustard and vinegar. Gradually add the onions and oil. Finally blend in the papaya seeds until they resemble coarse pepper. Pour a bit to taste over a salad mix of choice. Garnish with fresh or dried papaya strips and roasted macadamia nut pieces (optional).

Notes

• Mahalo (thanks) to Sister Durie K. for the cookbook and to Auntie Maria B. for the macadamia nut oil.
• For a pupule kine post, see our papaya macaron recipe.
• Learn more about the uses and benefits of papain, the digestive enzyme extracted from papayas, from the Vitamins and Health Supplements Guide website.