Recipe: Mango Snack Cake

Mango Snack Cake

All summer I try very hard to buy as much local and organic produce as possible. I know, because I’ve read of people who have done it, that it’s possible to eat local all year here in the prairies, but I’m not quite hardcore enough for that. So when the local produce is gone we enjoy some of the less common tropical fruits available! Usually I can still find them organically grown, but if not, still better to eat lots of produce, than no produce!

This week at the Farmer’s Market, there was a sale on organic mangoes from Mexico. I bought quite a few and we’ve been enjoying them. Crazy to think that a mango is a more common fruit around the world than the apple is! Picky Princess and Foodie Baby love mangoes, so we went mango crazy this week!

Today Picky Princess and I whipped up this little cake recipe. It is healthy and delicious and makes a nice cold wintery afternoon snack. Truth be told, SHE made this cake. I helped by cracking an egg, measuring honey, and turning on the oven. In no time, she’ll be doing this without me! (sniff. sob. tear.)

It is easy and delicious, try it!  ***little note, it was just a snack for us, so it only makes one loaf pan size, so if you want more of it, I’m sure you could double it and put it in an 8×8 cake pan.***

Mango Snack Cake

1 cup spelt flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 cup honey

1 tsp vanilla

1 egg

1 cup chopped mango (about one large mango)

Directions: whisk together dry ingredients. set aside. Preheat oven to 350. Mix wet ingredients. Pour wet into dry and stir until just combined. Add mangoes and stir a bit more. Pour into pan and bake until set and browning at the edges, about 45 mins!

Foodie Baby having a snack

Recipe: Autumn Pear Cake

autumn pear cake

I follow quite a few food blogs. There are some incredible, beautiful, inspiring writers out there whose food is secondarily beautiful to the spirit they write in. It’s amazing to see that there are some similarities between pretty much all the food blogs I follow. Most are committed to healthy food, and even if they’re a bit indulgent, the food is prepared in a fresh way, with fascinating combinations, beautiful colors, and seasonal palettes. I’ve noticed several autumn-themed recipes: pumpkins, squash, pear, hazelnuts, cinnamon, and really, who doesn’t want these cozy and homey ingredients when the wind has a chill to it, and the sun sets earlier and earlier. I love the idea of eating seasonally. I don’t really think about watermelon in the winter. And I don’t really think about stew and biscuits in the summer! The smell of cinnamon makes me dream of Christmas, the sight of new asparagus brings hope of spring. It’s a miracle really!  So all the talk of seasonal food and the particularly nippy breeze made me think something along these lines today: cinnamon + pears + nuts = autumn pear cake. Enjoy!

Autumn Pear Cake

makes one loaf pan

3/4 cup spelt flour

1/2 cup almond meal

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp cinnamon

6 tbs butter, melted

1/2 cup agave nectar

1 tsp vanilla

1 egg

1 large pear grated

1/2 cup chopped nuts

sprinkling of brown sugar

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350. Butter one loaf pan. Whisk together dry ingredients. In a separate bowl, whisk together wet ingredients. Pour dry ingredients into wet ingredients and stir until barely combined. Stir in pear and nuts. Pour into loaf pan and sprinkle top with brown sugar. Bake until golden around the edges and set, approx 45 mins.  This cake is so moist and delicious, it is much easier to cut if you allow to cool somewhat. Slice and serve!