Golden, fluffy and moist tropical vegan mango cake, perfect for summer and using up leftover mangos. It takes one bowl to make and is a crowd-pleaser!
I’ve always remembered January as the month of mangoes. The local fruit shop is always selling large trays at a discount and you cannot ignore the mangoes’ tropical smell when you walk past them. Every year goes a bit like this:
- September: ‘Oh I CANNOT WAIT for mango season!!!’
- January: ‘YAY cheap mangoes, let’s get a tray!!!’
- 3 days later: oh no, they are all super ripe. Ok, let’s freeze them.
- Every week of January: ‘Darling, half of our freezer is packed with mangos – we need do something with them’
- April: ‘We finished our mangoes! Now onto hot-cross bun season’
- September: repeat!
This year, I’m being more proactive and making good use of those mangoes!
As Summer is all about spending time with loved ones, I wanted to make this vegan mango cake as easy as possible. The recipe is a one bowl wonder!
Why you should put mangoes IN your cake?
Mangoes are surprisingly an AMAZING ingredient for sponge cakes. They make sponge cakes:
- Naturally sweet
- Beautiful and golden
- Oh so moist
Using mango puree gives the sponge cake a beautiful moist and golden crumb. I never thought I’d describe a cake as ‘moist and golden’ but it’s TRUE. However, too much mango puree makes your cake too dense.
Using mango chunks gives the sponge cake little golden bits of sweetness yet allows the crumb to remain fluffy.
Check out my other mango recipes:
Vegan Mango Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
Ingredients
Dry cake ingredients
- 3 1/4 cups (405g) plain or all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup (100g) cane sugar
- 3 tsp baking powder
- Pinch of any good-quality salt
Wet cake ingredients
- 1 2/3 cups (415mL) plant-based milk, such as almond, soy or coconut,
- 1/4 cup (60mL) light-tasting vegetable oil, such as sunflower or rapeseed
- ~1/2 cup (50g) mango, pureed (approx 1/2 medium-size mango)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ~1/2 cup (50g) mango, chopped finely (approx 1/2 medium-size mango)
Frosting (optional)
- 1/4 cup (60g) vegan cream cheese, softened
- 1/4 cup (55g) vegan butter, chilled
- 1/4 cup (50g) icing sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ~1 cup (100g) mango, sliced (approx 1 medium-size mango)
Instructions
To make the cake:
- Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F). Line a 20cm (8-inch) square baking pan or brush with oil.
- Add all the dry ingredients to a medium-size mixing bowl and mix until there are no lumps. Add all the wet ingredients to the bowl (except the chopped mango) and mix until combined. Fold the chopped mango into the batter.
- Pour the batter into the square tin. Bake the cake for 25 minutes or until a skewer can be inserted in the middle and it comes out clean. Let the cake cool in the cake tin.
To decorate (optional):
- Add the vegan cream cheese, butter and powdered sugar to a bowl. Whisk until combined and smooth.
- Spread the frosting onto the cooled cake and decorate with mango if desired. Serve immediately. Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Please leave a comment below if you made this recipe, have any questions or thoughts! Your comment will help other readers and Rainbow Nourishments.
Can this be done in two 8″ baking pans?
The cake isn’t big enough for two 8″ baking pans. You’ll need to double the recipe for that.
Hi I am not vegan but I do not eat eggs so can I replace you recipes with dairy products , such as diary milk , butter and cream cheese etc.
Yes they should all work fine!