eat me: mango coconut upside down cake.

I've been missing Brazil lately.  A lot.  When I went in December it was the first time I had been to South America and it was an amazing experience, occasionally overwhelming, but so good!  I loved the beaches, the sand, the waves, the buildings, the tiling everywhere, the fruit, the shoes...I adored the shoes!! The fruit especially was amazing, I have never eaten a mango or a pineapple that has tasted nearly as good as the ones I had there!  I had a mango for breakfast almost everyday, along with coconut cake.  Yep, cake is a breakfast food in Brazil.  Until then I hated coconut, or at the least the super sweet north American version, but between the cake, popsicles, coconut water, and candies Brazil converted me.  I LOVE coconut.

So after six months of being home and wishing I was on the beach at Copacabana, it was time to bake something Brazilian.  This cake turned out super well and combines both of my favourite Brazil flavours, mango and coconut.  The cake is super moist from the coconut milk and the coconut flavour isn't sweet, it's just...nice, it's kind of a soft taste.  I was a little hesitant about cooking mango but it turned out lovely and sweet on top of the cake!

mango coconut upside down cake.  very loosely adapted from flavors of Brazil. a little blog that has a whole bunch of other Brazilian-inspired recipes!

mango topping

1/8 C. brown sugar

2 tbsp. butter.

1 1/2 medium-sized, ripe but firm mangoes.

cake.

1/4 C.  butter.
1/2 C.  white sugar.
1 egg.
1 1/2 C. flour.
2 tsp baking powder.

1 1/2 C. coconut milk.

1/2 C. shredded, unsweetened coconut.

1/2 mango, cut into cubes.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  while oven is heating place butter in 9" round cake pan and place in oven to melt.  once butter is melted mix in brown sugar and smooth evenly across baking pan surface and sides until evenly coated.  slice mango into thin slices, about 1/8" and place in cake pan, covering as much of the surface as possible.  set aside.

In a mixer whip butter and sugar for 5-8 minutes until fluffy.  add egg and mix.  sift flour and baking soda together and add to butter mixture, alternating with the coconut milk until all the flour is added. fold in shredded coconut and mango.  spread evenly into prepared baking pan and bake for 30 - 35 minutes or until the top is golden brown and a knife comes out clean.  let pan sit on a cooling rack for 20 minutes before turning out onto a cake plate.

Writing out this recipe has reminded me that I haven't really shared any of my Brazil photos with you yet, I need to do that!  In the mean time here are my two favourite songs from Brazil:

They played these songs ALL the time while I was in Rio and Sao Paolo.  I have no idea what they're singing about, but I love them.  So bake your cake, listen to Don Omar and pretend you're in Brazil! xo, T.

coconut whole wheat brownies.

These lovely quinoa coconut brownies at food coma blog had been tempting me for a while, they looked so fudgey and delicious.  So I decided that the best possible after work adventure would be to make some!  However, my hunt to find quinoa in flour form failed a little bit so I replaced it with whole wheat and they were still super delicious and a little bit healthy! They remind me a lot of the cakes we had in Brazil, having coconut and chocolate cake for breakfast everyday.

Coconut whole wheat brownies.  adapted from food coma blog.
3/4 C. unbleached flour.
3/4 C. whole wheat flour.
2 tsp. baking powder.
1 C. butter.
8 oz. (1 C.) chopped, unsweetened baking chocolate.
1 1/2 C. sugar. (this is way less than the original recipe, so add a bit more if you like things sweet!)
1 tsp. vanilla extract.
5 eggs.
2/3 C. unsweetened, shredded coconut.

sift together flours and baking powder, set aside.  In a double boiler (bring a medium/small pot of water to boil then place a heat proof metal or glass bowl on top, large enough so it doesn't fall into the pot.  This allows the chocolate to melt gently without burning.) melt the chocolate and butter together in the bowl, over medium heat, until smooth.  mix into flour and add sugar and vanilla.  mix and then add eggs one at a time.  pour into a prepared 9 x13" baking pan and sprinkle with shredded coconut.  bake at 350 degrees (or 325 degrees if using a glass pan) for 25-30 minutes, or until a knife or toothpick comes out clean, with a few crumbs stuck to it.  let cool and cut.  store in the fridge to keep them cool and moist.

These are incredibly chocolately and delicious and even more amazing when you leave them in the fridge for a day!  I'm still curious about what these would taste like with quinoa flour, I'm going to hunt down some quinoa flour and try it out soon!  Let me know if you make it with quinoa!

 xo.  Have a lovely week!