This gluten free mango cake with cassava and corn flour screams summer. When thinking of summer, I always envision bright colours everywhere. From the trees and flowers to the vibrant colours of fruits and vegetables. I like to infuse that brightness to the meal I prepare.
With that said, to kickstart this rebranded blog, I thought that I would re-introduce myself through this cake. This cake represents my childhood. It is a cake with tropical flavor and two main flours that were present on a daily basis in my life growing up, corn and cassava flours. I always enjoyed eating mangoes that we would get from our trees in the backyard. My siblings and I would eat them all (ripe or unripe). We had countless tummy aches from eating the unripe ones, but we would do it again. We were just excited when it was mango season! Nowadays when I eat them, they bring me back to those fun memories.
Since I knew everything about a gluten free mango cake with corn and cassava flour, it was such a walk in the park creating this recipe. (NOT!!!)
How to make an easy mango gluten free cake with corn and cassava flour
The process reminded me of my chemistry class in high school. Balancing oils, sugar, flour, and eggs was quite an extensive process. I had so many failed attempts that one of my kids asked me how many cakes I had made so far? And I answered casually, “only seven…”. His eyes said it all. He has been testing that mango cake every day for almost a week. LOL! Maybe he was trying to tell me something…
My husband and kids were my special testers for this cake. They ate it all (under baked, over baked, slightly over baked). They were such a great support. I finally made it to my ninth cake and I got it right! It was a first for me to bake a gluten free cake. I actually learned so much about baking and gluten free flour that I believe that I will explore more gluten free recipes for fun.
Now let’s talk about gluten free baking. Not the easiest, but I have learned that having eggs and leavening is a must if you want a big spongy cake. Corn flour tends to get dense with time, so oils and fats help the cake to be supple. Although, I challenged myself to use as little sugar and fats as possible. Only a half cup of sugar for three and a half cups of flour is pretty good. The cake is sweet but not too sweet.
What cassava and corn flour did I use?
Firstly, cassava flour, which is my new favourite flour, is to be treated as a starch. The right amount also helps the cake keep its consistency. In this instance, I got mine from an afro- Caribbean store since I get more for my buck there and the flour is as great quality.
Secondly, I used the corn flour because I already had it from the afro-Caribbean store. All I did was sift it at least twice to get a more refined flour. You can also use a refined corn flour from the grocery store. If so, you don’t have to sift it.
Lastly, the mango was the easiest part! No need to get canned mangoes. Grab one ripe mango from your local grocer and puree it with a hand mixer. It is this simple. I added a pinch of salt and lime zest to the puree to enhance its flavour. Amazing!
This cake is best eaten warm. It gets denser with time.
How do you store your mango cake?
To store it, put plastic wrap around it and leave it on the counter for a day or two.
It was so much fun making this recipe and I hope you like it as much as I do!
Mango cake with cassava and corn flour
- Prep Time: 20 min
- Cook Time: 50 min
- Total Time: 1h 10 min
- Yield: 8 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: African
- Diet: Gluten Free
Description
This is a gluten free cake with unrefined corn flour . You can substitute it with refined corn flour if you wish.
Ingredients
- 3 cups of corn flour
- ¾ cup of cassava flour
- 3 eggs (at room temperature)
- 2/3 cup warm milk
- 2/3 cup vegetable oil
- ½ cup of sugar
- 1 ripe mango (pureed)
- 1 lime (juice + zest)
- 3 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp of vanilla extract
- 1 tsp of salt
For the icing:
- 3 egg whites
- 18 ounces of sugar
- 1 Tbsp of lime juice
Instructions
1. Preheat the oven at 350 F.
2. If your flour is not refined, sift it at least twice and get rid of the residue that might be in it.
3. Once you have refined flour, add the cassava flour and salt to it and sift again.
4. In a small bowl, blend with a spoon a pinch of salt, mango puree, lime zest and vanilla.
5. Using a stand mixer, mix your eggs and sugar for 3-5 min or until the volume have at least doubled.
6. Add the oil. Let it mix for 2 min.
7. Add the puree to it. Mix for 2 min.
8. Add a third of your flour intermittently with a third of your milk. Make sure it is homogenous before adding another portion of flour.
9. Add the lime juice and then baking powder.
Blend it for 3-4 min.
10. Grease and flour your cake pan.
11. Put it in the oven for 50 min or until when sticking a butter knife through your cake, the knife comes out dry.
For the icing:
1. Warm up the egg whites in a bain marie.
2. Remove them and beat them until the foam is formed and they are bright white.
3. Add the icing sugar and beat for 3-5 min.
4. Add the lemon and blend well with a spatula.
5. The icing is ready to use.
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Such a beautiful cake, and a beautiful video too. I never thought to use the swiss meringue technique for a glazed icing. Yum!
Thank you so much!
Yummy! Mango and cassava are two of my faves! I’d love to try this recipe!
Thank you!
This cake looks beautiful!
Thank you!
this looks amazing! definitely will be trying it out.
Thank you so much! Please send pictures if you do so!
Sounds absolutely amazing!! Can’t wait to try it. Love that it is gluten-free.
Thank you!
Hi! I really want to try this recipe, did you use cassava starch or cassava flour?
Hello!
I used cassava flour. I think you can do with starch but I haven’t tried it. Let me know how it turns out.:)