mango cake & green curry paste

My mom celebrated her 62nd birthday this August and I wanted to make her a unique dinner and dessert for her special day.

Her dessert request for our sweet teeth? Fresh mango.

My first instinct was to make a clafouti and although I knew it would taste delicious, I wasn't sure how it would photograph for such a festive occasion. A cherry clafouti would be the better visual choice but I had to stick to my mango guns.

A not-too-sweet cake flecked with fresh mango became my inspiration. I searched around and fell across this recipe. After a few tweaks with the frosting and an addition of sugared raspberries to cut the sweetness (I adore mangos paired with raspberries), this was the perfect confection for the occasion.

Mexican Mango Birthday Cake

with Tequila & Sugared Raspberries

Cake:

3 sticks unsalted butter, softened, plus more for greasing the pan

3 cups cake flour, plus more for dusting the pan

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

6 large eggs

2 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

2 1/2 cups granulated sugar

2/3 cup buttermilk

Frosting:

1 cup fresh mango, diced finely

1 cup granulated sugar

8 ounces cream cheese, plus additional, as needed*

2 Tablespoons tequila

*If the frosting is too wet from over-ripe mangos, add additional cream cheese to firm frosting up.

Garnish:

fresh raspberries, rolled in granulated sugar

edible flowers

birthday candles

Position a rack in the center of the oven. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Liberally butter and flour a Bundt pan.

Sift the flour, baking powder and salt into a large bowl. In another large bowl, using an electric mixer beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy-- approximately 7 minutes. Add the eggs, beating well after each addition. In batches, add the flour mixture, alternating with the buttermilk and ending with the flour mixture. Do not over-mix or cake well become tough.

Pour the batter into the prepared Bundt pan. Bake until the cake is golden and a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean, about 40-45 minutes. Transfer the cake to a wire rack and cool completely in the pan. Invert the cake onto the wire rack, then put it on a cake plate or platter.

Combine the mango, sugar, cream cheese and tequila with the whip attachment in the stand mixer. Blend until smooth and thick, adding additional cream cheese, if needed.

Spoon the mango topping evenly over the top of the cake and decorate with edible flowers and sugared raspberries.

After I frosted and decorated the cake, I went on to make dinner for four with the help of my father (aka THE Grill Master).

On the menu:

Spinach Salad with Avocado,

Grapefruit, Basil & Creme Fraiche

Grilled Filets of Beef with

Green Curry Cream Sauce (foodgasm!)

&

Grilled Asparagus

Herbed Jasmine Rice with Serrano Peppers

Delish! We were too famished for pictures...next time.

sweets for dear ole' Dad

My father has a huge sweet tooth.

Particularly for chocolate, ice cream

and anything involving coffee.

Growing up, some of his favorite

go-to "midnight snacks" included:

Broiled Cinnamon Sugar Toast with plenty o' butter

Tart, Lemon Sorbet with Shards of Dark Chocolate

and my personal favorite...

Milk Chocolate Ice Cream with

a Splash of Milk and Coffee Grounds

He also loves obnoxiously-tart confections found in vintage candies such as lemon drops and cherry sours.

For his birthday last March, I baked him a delectable Cocoa Rum Bundt Cake with an Espresso Glaze to accompany a build-your-own BLT bar.

This rich bundt was moist, not-too-sweet and layered with flavor-- a definite party pleaser.

This March, he celebrated his 63rd Birthday and I wanted to make him a whimsical, sweet treat.

Tied for time to make a multi-layered cake or roll out butter-laced crust for a pie, I decided on a tempting candy perfect alone or crumbled atop ice cream:

Chocolate & Salted Peanut Toffee

adapted from Epicurious

4 sticks unsalted butter, cut into pieces

2 cups sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 cups whole roasted and salted peanuts

8 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped

Line a large, lipped sheet pan with parchment paper.

Set aside.

Attach a candy thermometer

to the side of a 4-5 quart heavy pot.

Bring butter, sugar and salt to boil over medium high heat, whisking until smooth then boil, stirring occasionally until mixture is golden brown and registers 300 degrees (hard crack stage) on the candy thermometer approximately 15-20 minutes.

Immediately stir in half of peanuts, then carefully pour hot toffee into center of parchment-lined pan. Spread with spatula and let stand one minute. Sprinkle chocolate evenly on top and let stand 2-3 minutes to melt. Spread chocolate evenly with spatula then top with a sprinkling of remaining peanuts. Freeze until chocolate is firm and break into pieces.

Whether it be pie or cake,

cookies or candies,

custards or ice creams,

Share some sweets with a loved one!