Mango season on Guam is pretty much over, but still going on strong in Hawaii. I don’t have a tree, but I’ve been the recipient of a bounty from friends and family. I nailed a Mango Bread recipe with a few tweaks but the mangoes kept coming. A friend suggested I try making an upside down cake, but with mango.
I tried it and it came out great the first time! My recipe below is Guam style - no measurements other than what was on the cake mix box. For the cake mix, I substituted butter for oil and mango puree for the water. If you want bits of mango instead of or in addition to the mango puree to put in the cake batter, just make sure it comes to 1 cup total - otherwise the cake might get too soggy.
INGREDIENTS
3-4 medium mangoes - enough to slice for the top, and enough to get 1 cup of mango puree
Brown sugar - enough to cover the bottom of your cake pan
1 box yellow cake mix
1/3 cup butter - I melted it but it would probably better if let it soften naturally
3 eggs - should be room temperature
INSTRUCTIONS
Preheat oven to 350.
Slice 1 mangos for the top, wedge style, and set aside. Cut and dice mangos, puree for the cake batter, then set aside.
Sprinkle enough brown sugar to completely cover the bottom of your cake pan, then arrange mango wedges on top. I used an 8” round pan.
Make cake batter according to instructions on the box, substituting the butter for the oil and mango puree for the water. Pour batter into the cake pan, then bake according to the instructions on the box (different times for different sizes of pans).
Once it's done, take it out of the oven and run a thin knife along the sides. Turn over onto a plate and serve.
