An alternative Easter dessert for grown-ups

Creamy, sticky, sweet, sour, fruity, moist, rich and packed full of harmonious spices. This spiced mango cake is a banger, says Sebby Holmes

This dessert always goes down a storm (Sebby Holmes)

This dessert is another of my creations and it always goes down a storm. A great alternative sweet treat to try this Easter. It’s awesome with vanilla ice cream.

Mango jam cake

Serves: 6-8 people

Ingredients:

5 medium sized mangoes (overripe mangoes are perfect to use for this)

300g sugar

2 lemons, peeled, keep the peel and the flesh

1 tsp, baking powder

½ tsp baking soda

½ tsp allspice

¼ tsp ground cardamom powder

¼ tsp ground cloves

¼ tsp table salt

170g brown sugar

6 tbsp unsalted butter

2 medium eggs

¼ cup sour cream

210g all-purpose flour

Equipment:

9in springform baking pan circular baking tin, buttered a little

Method:

Firstly, make the mango jam. Start by peeling your mangoes and discard the peel. Keep the mangoes in a big cooking pot. Peel the lemon and add the peel and the lemon flesh to the cooking pot. Cover the fruits with all the sugar, and a pinch of salt then heat to a medium temperature, stirring regularly. Keep stirring on a low heat for about 30 minutes, or until you see the rolling boil happening and when the fruit flesh is completely unattached from the core and only the strings are left, be sure to always keep an eye on the cooking jam as it likes to stick.

Next, test the jam by dropping some of it on a cold plate. If the jam is running, it will need some more cooking time. If it remains and a thin skin appears on the drop, it is ready.

But first remove and discard the lemon rind, lemons and the mango cores with the strings attached to the cores

In the meantime, preheat your oven to 180C. Then, in a large mixing bowl, sift the all-purpose flour together with the baking powder and baking soda. Then add the allspice, ground cardamom powder, ground cloves and salt, mix well and set aside until needed. Then using an electric mixer (or handheld electric whisk 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 all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda and spices and then using a handheld rubber spatula, gently fold into the sugar, butter, eggs and sour cream. Lastly, add in two thirds of the mango jam. Mix the batter until all the ingredients are well combined. Now pour the batter into the lightly buttered springform baking pan. Gently tap the baking pan on the counter a few times to release any trapped air. Bake the cake for 25-30 minutes or until done. You can test the cake by simply inserting a knife in the centre, if it comes out clean then the cake is cooked all the way through. Once cooked, remove the cake from the oven and allow to cool completely, then spread a thin layer of the remaining mango jam and some fresh mango slices. Serve straight away, otherwise keep refrigerated and eat within 2-3 days.

Recipe taken from ‘Cook Thai’ by Sebby Holmes (published by Kyle Books, photography by Tom Regester, food styling by Becks Wilkinson).

Recipe by Sebby Holmes, Founder of Payst and Farang.