Mango Upside-Down Cake

 

Mango Upside-Down Cake

Today was a beautiful day in Tulsa, OK.  It had finally warmed up and we had beautiful sunny skies.  We decided to invite some friends to grill out and I wanted to make something sweet.  I still had a mango sitting on the counter, so I pulled out my Cooking Light cookbook that I got from the Goodwill for $2.50 and searched under mango.  I found this recipe and I had everything but the crystallized ginger, so I ran over to the store to pick some up.  I found it in the produce section where they keep the dry fruit and nuts.

 

This cake turned out delicious!  The sugar and crystallized ginger gave it this great crispy edge.  I encourage you….like always to try it out.  It was yummy deliciousness.

 

Mango Upside-Down Cake  8 Servings

• 1 Tbs butter or stick margarine, melted
• 1/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
• 2 Tbs chopped crystallized ginger
• 1 cup sliced peeled mango (about 1 medium)
• 2/3 cup gradulated sugar
• 5 Tbs of butter or margarine, softened
• 3 large egg whites
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 3/4 cup of milk

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees

2.  Coat bottom of a 9 inch round cake pan with 1 Tbs melted butter.  Sprinkle with brown sugar and ginger.  Arrange mango slices spokelike over brown sugar mixture; set aside.

3.  Beat granulated sugar and 5 Tbs of butter at medium speed of a mixet until well-blended.  Add egg whites and vanilla, beating until will blended.  Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife.  Combine flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt.  Add flour mixture to surgar mixture alternately with milk, beginning and ending with flour mixture; mix after each addition.  Pour batter into prepared pan.

4.  Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes.  Cool in pan 5 minutes on wire rack. Loosen cake from sides of pan.  Place a plate upside down on the top of the cake.  Invert onto plate, let cool and serve.

 

 

 

 

 

Jerk Chicken with Mango Salsa and Roasted Potatoes

Jerk Chicken with Mango Salsa and Roasted Potatoes

Earlier this week I was going to post an orange chicken that I made in the crock-pot but it didn’t turn out so good…..it was a little on the salty side.  This recipe on the other hand was a hit!  A few weeks back Hubby and I went to the Goodwill just to check out what they have.  Every once in a while we like to go and see if we find anything interesting.  This Goodwill had a pretty big book section and I found myself in the cookbook section.  I found a cookbook of Cooking Light Annual Recipes for 2000 for only $2.50!  This cook book is almost 350 pages, I thought this was a deal!  So mental note if you want to grow your cookbook collection, check out your local Goodwill. 

Anyways, in this book I found a recipe for a Fresh Mango Salsa and I had just bought 6 mangos at Sam’s club (great deal), so I thought this would be a good thing to try.  I though what would go well with a mango salsa and jerk chicken was the first thing that came to mind.  I searched around for a few jerk chicken recipes on-line and came up with this.  I also made a easy side of roast potatoes.  Hubby and I agreed that this recipe was a success. 

Jerk Chicken

• 1 teaspoons ground allspice
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoons dried thyme
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 1 teaspoons ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1/4 cup of chicken broth
• 1 onion chopped 
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper or 1 habanero peppers (depends how much heat you like)
• 4 chicken breast
• 1/2 cup lime juice
  

  Jerk Chicken with Mango Salsa

Combine all ingredients except the chicken and lime juice in a food processor and puree until pretty smooth. Place the chicken and lime juice in a mixing bowl and pour about half of the jerk sauce over it, tossing the chicken around to coat it well. Place in a container and pour the remaining sauce on top of chicken. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, you can also do it overnight.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Remove the chicken pieces from the jerk marinade and place them, on a rimmed baking sheet or dish. Bake in the oven for 15 minutes, and then transfer to broiler set on low, cook for another 15, until juices run clear when pierced with a fork.  I like to turn the broiler up when almost done to get a good color on the chicken.

Fresh Mango Salsa

• 1 1/2 cups of chopped & peeled mango
• 1 1/2 cups chopped tomato
• 2 Tbs minced fresh cilantro
• 2 Tbs fresh lime juice
• 1 tsp minced peeled fresh ginger

Combine all ingredients in a bowl, cover and chill.  Yield: 3 cups

Garlic Roasted Potatoes

• 4 yukon potatoes (or any potatoes of your choice) 
• 1/4 cup good olive oil
• 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 3 large cloves of garlic

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Dice potatoes and place in a bowl with the olive oil, salt, pepper, and garlic; toss until the potatoes are well coated. Transfer the potatoes to a sheet pan and spread out into 1 layer. Roast in the oven for 45 minutes to 1 hour or until browned and crisp. Flip twice with a spatula during cooking in order to ensure even browning.

Remove the potatoes from the oven,  season to taste, and serve hot.

Tres Leches (3 Milk Cake) with a Coconut Twist

Tres Leches con Coco

Today I have a treat.  I am a self professed failed baker.  I can cook almost anything but for some reason baking has never really been my forte.  I have had many failed experiences when it comes to baking, but today I was successful.  On Sunday a girlfriend from church asked me to make her a Tres Leche cake for a school event.  I was a little hesitant because of my track record but I ultimately agreed.  I have made this dessert in the past with a pre-made cake that I soaked in the milk mix, but this time I thought I would be daring and try to make it all from scratch. 

I went on the hunt for a recipe and found a traditonal Tres Leche cake , I made some adjustments and gave it a coconut twist, enjoy!

Bizcocho de Tres Leches

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 cup unsalted butter
• 4 cups white sugar (divided)
• 10 eggs
• 3 teaspoons vanilla extract (divided)
• 2 cups milk
• 1 cup Coco Lopez Cream of Coconut
• 1 12-ounce can evaporated milk
• 3 cups heavy (whipping) cream
• 1 can of guava shells drained
• 1 tsp of lime juice

Pre heat oven to 350 degrees.

Grease and flour two 9×13-inch baking pans. Sift flour and baking powder together and set aside. Cream the butter and 2 cup of the sugar together until fluffy. Add the eggs and 1 teaspoon of the vanilla. Beat at a medium speed until blended. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture, 2 tablespoons at a time, mixing well until blended. Pour batter evenly into prepared pans. Bake for 30 minutes or until done. Test with inserting toothpick or knife until it comes out clean.

When cake has finished baking, pierce it in 8 or 10 places, and let it cool. Combine the whole milk, evaporated milk and coconut cream and pour over the top of the cooled cakes evenly. Refrigerate for at least 1 hours before serving.

When ready to assemble cake, invert one cake onto serving plate. Puree guava shells with lemon juice in a food processor. Spread guava mixture on top of one cake layer, place 2nd layer on top. Combine whipping cream and the remaining 2 teaspoons of vanilla and 2 cups of sugar, whipping with electric hand mixer until thick. Spread over top of cake.