Eggless Mango Cake

I have been trying to bake eggless desserts recently. One of my successful attempts was this mango cake. It also became my father-in-law's birthday cake! The cake packs tropical flavors and makes you wonder if it is really eggless!

I adapted the recipe from this vegan recipe that makes lovely mango cupcakes. I am convinced that baking powder makes most cakes dense - especially the ones that don't have eggs or butter. So, I left out baking powder and included more baking soda, mango pulp, and vegetable oil (as opposed to canola oil). 

Ingredients:

1. 1.5 cups + 2 tablespoons sweetened mango pulp/mango puree (I used store bought Ratna brand Alphonso mango puree)
2. 2/3 cups sugar - or lower depending on how sweet the pulp is. Mine needed this amount.
3. 3/4  - 1 teaspoon freshly ground cardamom (please use freshly ground cardamom if possible. It makes a tremendous difference!)
4. 1.5 cups all purpose flour
5. 2 teaspoons baking soda
6. 1/4 teaspoon salt
7. 1/2 cup vegetable oil

Preparation:

1. Butter/grease the sides of a 9-inch cake pan. Preheat oven to 350 F
2. Sift together the all purpose flour, baking soda, salt, and cardamom powder. 
3. With a spatula mix in the mango puree/mango pulp with sugar and vegetable oil.
4. Slowly add the flour in small batches to the wet ingredients, and gently mix until incorporated. Do not over mix. Do not beat the batter with an electric mixer. A rubber spatula works best. 
5. Transfer the batter to the cake pan and bake for 30-40 minutes until a tooth pick inserted in the center comes out clean. Mine took 35 minutes to cake. 

Allow the cake to cool for 30-40 minutes. I decorated the cake with a few drizzles and dollops of melted semi-sweet chocolate and white chocolate. 

I was quite apprehensive of experimenting this recipe for a birthday cake, but I was pleasantly surprised (and relieved) that it turned out quite good! This is a moist, light, and flavorful cake!