Mini Mango Hazelnut Cardamom Bread
Raise your hand if you love mangoes, but they've always intimidated you! Up until a few weeks ago, I would have raised my hand.
Every time I've had mango in a restaurant, I've loved it to bits. But I always passed it over in the supermarket - a funny foreign ingredient that I'd never use effectively. How wrong I was!
A lovely box of all sorts of mangoes arrived courtesy of the National Mango Board, and the smell alone led me down the path of google searches galore searching for recipes.
To start off, let's talk about how easy it is to cut up a mango, once you know how. Watch this quick video for several ways to do it:
We ate plenty of the mangoes simply diced as a side dish to our meals, and then there was that Mango Chicken stir fry that was so good, there was nothing left to photograph.
Staring down the last two mangoes from the case, much like the black bananas hanging out in their own kitchen corner, I knew that I should put them to good use. I decided that mango puree must be a lot like mashed banana, and so adapted the same bread recipe I was already making with the bananas for a second batch of mango bread.
Adding in cardamom and hazelnuts took these mini loaves to a tropical, slightly Indian direction. They're a wonderful switch up from the standard quick bread picks, and the texture of the mini loaves is delicious.
The next time I make them, I'm going to swap in brown sugar instead of white sugar, because I think mango pairs better with the deeper molasses flavors. I've written the recipe below as the bread was made, but I suggest you try it with an equivalent amount of brown sugar instead.
In case you've never purchased mangoes for yourself, let's talk about how to pick them:
- Don't focus on color. It is not the best indicator of ripeness.
- Squeeze the mango gently. A ripe mango will give slightly.
- Use your experience with produce such as peaches or avocados, which also become softer as they ripen.
- Ripe mangos will sometimes have a fruity aroma at their stem ends.
- The red color that appears on some varieties is not an indicator of ripeness. Always judge by feel.
Information provided by The National Mango Board
You can get more recipes by visiting the National Mango Board website, joining them on Facebook, and following them on Twitter.
Variety is the spice of life, y'all. It's always awesome to add a new ingredient to your life, and I hope you're encouraged to try mango at home now too.
Mini Mango Hazelnut Cardamom Bread
adapted from Chiquita Bananas
Ingredients
For the Bread
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon ground cardamom
1 cup sugar
½ cup shortening
2 large eggs
2 ripe mangoes, pureed
½ cup diced hazelnuts (optional)
For the Glaze
1 cup powdered sugar
2 tablespoons milk or half and half
½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Directions
For the Bread
Preheat the oven to 350°F
Spray the baking pan with cooking spray.
Combine the flour, baking soda, kosher salt and ground cardamom together in a small bowl and whisk to combine and aerate.
Slice and scoop the mango flesh into a bowl (watch the video for how to do this easily), and then use an immersion blender to puree. You can also use a food processor or blender to do this if you don't have an immersion blender.
In a large bowl, or the bowl of a stand mixer, combine sugar and shortening and beat on medium-high until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing after each addition until fully incorporated.
Add the pureed mango and mix again until well incorporated.
Add the flour mixture and mix on low or by hand until just combined. Add the hazelnuts and stir again, just until well distributed.
Using a large spoon from your silverware set, scoop 2 spoonfuls into each well of the baking pan. Bake for 22 minutes.
Allow to cool in the pan until the pan is handle-able, then press from the bottom of the pan to eject the loaves from the pan.
For the Glaze
In a small bowl, add the powdered sugar, vanilla extract, and milk or half and half. Whisk together until all sugar is completely dissolved.
Use a pastry brush to brush the glaze on top of the bread - Chiquita recommends doing this while the bread is still warm, but I did it when it was at room temperature and it worked out fine.
Disclaimer: I was provided with a case of Mangoes by the Mango Board. I was not asked to write this post, nor was I compensated for it. All opinions are my own.[wpurp-searchable-recipe]Mini Mango Hazelnut Cardamom Bread - - - [/wpurp-searchable-recipe]
What a neat checkerboard cutting trick! 🙂 At least it seems easy to cut a mango. That's good at least. I'll take your mango buying tips with me to the store! Thanks for giving us all this mango info. And the bread? What an interesting mixture of flavors!
Few month ago I tried for the first time to use mango in baking goodies and loved it! Adding some cardamon to flavor the loaf sounds such a great idea and I bet delicious one too!
How funny, I was going to make a special trip to Trader Joe's just to get sliced mango. I felt like I wasn't getting enough of the fruit when I would slice it myself but now that I know how, I'll just run to the corner store and buy a mango and slice it myself. Thanks for the tips and the bread sounds awesome.
I love desserts that have mango, they taste so tropical, fresh and rich 🙂
I never told you that I ate ALL FOUR of those mango breads for breakfast the day after the bake sale. I just couldn't stop. So my compliments to the chef.
And have you ever tried a Champagne/Ataulfo mango? They're a little more tart than the regular guys and I'm obsessed with them.
Wow! That's a huge compliment, Casey. Thank you! I have tried champagne mango, once, on a cruise. I've never seen them here in Jersey.
Mmm this sounds so awesome!
Thanks, Katrina!
I'm thinking this bread may just help me get over my aversion to mangoes. And you know I'm a sucker for anything minified! 🙂
At least we could try, right? Personally, I think you need to start with a mango cocktail. Then you'll be fine with them 🙂
We love mangos! I have a recipe for grilled pork chops topped with mango salsa that we make all summer long but I have to admit I have never tried to bake with mangos! I will have to try this next time I pick some up!
Heather, that sounds like a fabulous recipe. We'll have to knock up something like that this summer.
So intimidating! This sounds wonderful.
Don't be intimidated anymore! They're soooo easy to chop and deal with. And imagine mango in your morning smoothie too 🙂
I've been dreaming about this since you first mentioned it, this is such a wonderful combination of flavours for a little loaf!
I hope you make it, Kathryn. Just do it with brown sugar!