Tuesday, May 19, 2009

TWD: Mango Bread

In a convergence of "how the hell did this happen?", I actually had all the things I needed to make this bread in the house. I know! I was excited, too!

I was looking forward to making something "everyday" from Dorie's book. Don't get me wrong -- I love the cakes and tarts -- but it's nice to make something that I feel slightly better about eating at three in the afternoon just before my little darlings come home.

On the Dorie scale of fuss, this was fairly low. It's a pretty standard sweet loaf bread/cake. There were some flavor additions that made it more interesting. It has a generous amount of ground ginger in it. The recipe called for golden raisins. I substituted my favorite Trader Joe's blend of dried fruit (golden raisins, blueberries, cherries, and cranberries). And there was fresh mango. My kids love the stuff, and it happened to be on sale last week (50 cents each!), so there it was in my fridge.

It only took two bowls, and I stirred by hand. I measured three different loaf pans until I finally found the right size. It took a long time to bake. And when I make something like this, I tend to err on the longer side. I've have more than a few loaves of something be less than done in the center and very done on the edges. I did have to tent this one to slow the browning.

It did make my kitchen smell wonderful. I was less enamored with the taste. For me, the overwhelming flavor was ginger. And not that that's a bad thing, but I would have liked for the flavors to be more balanced. I think that while the mango added moistness, it didn't bring much flavor to the table. The girl especially loved it. She had it for breakfast and snacks for two or three days. The husband enjoyed it as well. The boy was more on my side. I don't think I'm rushing out to make this again. I have other sweet bread recipes that I like better. Ah well. It was a good experiment.

Here's the loaf out of the oven. I was worried that it wasn't done in the middle and kept looking for it to sink.



Here's a top down view of the sliced loaf. Nice color!


I really like the way the dried fruit looks against the loaf. And you can see the mango chunks.


Thank you Kelly of Baking With the Boys for getting me to try something new. If you'd like to give it a try, go check out her blog for the recipe.

25 comments:

Cristine said...

I agree with you... the mango didn't seem to be the front-runner!

Marthe said...

Your loaf looks really good: I loved this one!!

spike. said...

sorry the ginger was too strong for half of you but it looks pretty delish

Kayte said...

That is a very nice color...and your fruit does look lovely all nestled in there. We liked it, and I will probably make it again sometime...although keeping up with the weekly thing I am thinking, WHEN??? LOL. It was good, and I agree, a nice break from all the desserts. Yours looks really good.

Megan said...

well, it certainly looks great - and the fact that your daughter ate it makes it a winner in my book!

Teanna said...

Sorry you weren't a big fan of this one! I loved it! Your loaf does look great!

Chris said...

Definitely agree that the mango flavor didn't really come through - maybe cause of too much spice? But I did like the ease of this recipe (for once!).

Flourchild said...

I thought the mangos just shouted flavor out! I think your bread looks great.

Beryl said...

Fancy cakes are nice but you can't beat a 2 bowl/spoon recipe. Sorry it didn't do much for you but at least the family liked it.

Tammy said...

i'm not rushing to make it again either

Jaime said...

it did make for pretty slices didn't it? too bad we couldn't get a stronger mango in this! then it would be perfect

Shari said...

This turned out just great. It's always more fun if you just love eating it, but maybe you will like it better the second day?!

chocolatechic said...

I backed off the ginger, as it isn't one of my favorite spices.

I also didn't use raisins...I subbed cinnamon chips instead.

Unknown said...

I love the blend you used. Yeah, mine totally sank! I made it yesterday and there are only two small pieces left this morning. My family really loved it. You are right about ginger dominating the senses. I love ginger but I think I will decrease it next time to get more mango flavor. Great looking bread!

Leslie said...

This looks great! Adding the TJ's fruit blend instead of raisins was a smart move.

Unknown said...

Sorry it wasn't your fave but how lucky is it to have all of the ingredients right there? I liked it with less ginger. Thanks for baking along with me this week.

Anonymous said...

Your bread looks good, but too bad that it wasn't a favorite. The dried fruit blend sounds really good!

Anonymous said...

I love the color of your mango bread and how you can see the mango and dried fruits in it! I actually didn't think the ginger was overpowering, but I love ginger.

Welcome to our crazy blessed life said...

Glad it didn't sink. It looks delicious! :)

snicketmom said...

That fruit combo sounds great. the magoes and fruit look like jewels in your bread.

Pamela said...

I was worried about sinking bread, too. I love the color on yours.

PheMom said...

Your bread turned out really great - I really like all the colors in yours!

lainie said...

OK, but it looks tasty. I'm going through withdrawal - haven't baked in weeks! OK, maybe like dinner stuff, but no brownies or cookies.

The Food Librarian said...

Your bread turned out great! Love the chunks of mango...and having everything on hand!

TeaLady said...

Yep!! The mango was rather mild, but I enjoyed the spicy loaf. I actually added a little diced ginger to mine. Maybe cardamom next time....

Your loaf looks great.