mango!

This may look like one of the longest and most complicated cupcake recipes ever, but honestly, it is super easy – so easy, in fact, that you use a boxed cake mix.  So why all the long explanations and endless paragraphs? Well, 272 of the 373 words in the direction portion of the recipe are explaining how to get the fruit out of the peel and away from the seed/stone of a mango. So that means the recipe itself is really only about 100 words, and not at all complicated. In fact – it is “easy-breezy”.

Coconut Mango Cupcakes

2 to 3 large fresh mangos
1 purchased white cake mix
3/4 cup coconut, toasted and divided

Frosting
2 1/2 cups powdered sugar, sifted
2 tablespoons milk

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line 18 muffin tins with cupcake liners.

Remove the flesh from the mango by following these steps: Place the fruit stem end down on a cutting board. While holding the mango, place a paring knife at the top, about a quarter of an inch from the center. Slice straight down. You will be cutting next to the seed; if you hit resistance, move the knife over slightly.

Repeat the process on the other side of the mango, along the other side of the seed. You now have two large slices and the center flat slice containing the large seed.  Place the center slice flat on the cutting board. Place the tip of the knife between the skin and the mango flesh, and, working around the slice, cut the skin off.  Cut the remaining flesh off the mango seed. You will have a small amount of flesh, the major amount of flesh will come from the remaining two half pieces.

Switch from the pairing knife to a table knife (very important step – prevents you from cutting your hand open!), take one half in your hand, and without breaking through the mango skin, use the table knife and cut parallel slices into the mango.  Turn the mango 90 degrees and make parallel cuts on the mango once again, forming a grid or checkerboard pattern.  Turn the mango inside out by pushing up on the skin underneath the fruit. You know have something that looks kinda like a hedgehog.

Using the table knife or a spoon, scrape the mango pieces off the skin. You now have cubes of flesh.  Discard the seed and skin. (There you go – that is how you cut open a mango! Now back to the cupcake recipe.)

Place the mango cubes in a food processor and puree. Remove the puree from the processor into a small bowl and set it aside to use in both the batter and the frosting. (You will need 1 1/4 cups plus 2 tablespoons of mango puree to complete the recipe. If your mangos do not produce enough puree, just thin it out with orange juice, pineapple juice, apple juice, or even water if necessary to have the correct amount.)

Make cake batter by following the cake box directions for cupcakes, but reduce the water called for by the cake box directions to 1/4 cup.

Fold 1 cup of the mango puree and 1/2 cup of the toasted coconut into the batter. Fill cupcakes about 3/4 full and bake as instructed on the box directions. Cool completely before frosting.

Frosting: Using a hand beater or standing mixer, beat together powdered sugar, 2 tablespoons mango puree, and milk until well combined.  Spread the frosting smoothly on top of the cupcakes.  Sprinkle with the remaining 1/4 cup of toasted coconut.

Makes 18 cupcakes