Spice Cake with Mango and Lime

One of my favorite things about summer is the abundance of ripe, juicy, delicious {and cheap!} mangoes. Nearly daily you can find me standing in my kitchen, eating pieces of mango straight off the knife I used to cut it, moaning to the Ninjahusband "Oh man, is there ANYTHING on earth that tastes better than a mango?"

{In case you're curious, the answer is no. No, there is nothing on earth that tastes better than a ripe mango.}

Therefore, Spice Cake with Mango and Lime {page 451} is the perfect summery dessert.

Because I was having a crowd for dinner, I doubled the recipe to yield a two-layer cake. It was easy to throw together, standard cake protocol. The batter was really thick, but baked up beautifully.

The recipe suggests using mango puree in place of the applesauce, which I did, even though it required a trip to the Indian market to acquire said puree. It really bumped up the mango flavor, and I'm glad I went to the trouble.

The cake was heavily spiced {but not overly spiced} with cinnamon, allspice, and ginger, and those flavors complimented the mango and tangy lime perfectly.

I frosted the cake with vegan cream cheese frosting, and it paired perfectly. Everyone who tried the cake loved it - in fact, there's just one small piece sitting alone on the cake pedestal now, waiting for someone to come along and snatch it up.

I think I might be that someone...as long as my Ninjahusband-someone or my Supertoddler-someone doesn't get to it first.

-- Your Friendly Neighborhood Batgirl

Banana-Walnut Cake with "Cream Cheese" Frosting

One of the most delicious and elegant desserts I've had in a long time, Banana-Walnut Cake {page 448} with "Cream Cheese" Frosting {page 502} was a smash hit.

Last night I was playing match maker, and setting my youngest sister up with a cute, nice boy from the neighborhood. I'd invited both over for dessert, and wanted to make something special for the occasion. This cake definitely fit the bill.

Upon first glance of the recipe, the cake looks simple and even pedestrian in nature. However, it was anything but. The cake was simultaneously dense but delicate, decadent but not overly sweet. The cream cheese frosting went with it perfectly, and the last minute topping decision of bananas and extra walnuts was perfect.

I decided to be "fancy" and punch out little circles of the frosted cake, rather than serve standard squares. I feel like that really upped the ante as far as presentation went.

Overall, it was great. In fact, Ninjahusband just leaned over and told me again how much he'd liked the cake, and that I should make it again soon. Victory!

-- Your Friendly Neighborhood Batgirl