Mango Bread from Another Galaxy

A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away… I was in Maui taking photos of rainbows. Oh wait—that was this past January. As in, two and a half months ago.

Shortly after that trip, inspired by a tasting at a roadside stand, I made mango bread. It’s like banana bread, but less cloying (not that I have anything against banana bread!) and more, well, tropical. The musky melon flavor of the mango really comes through—as does sweet coconut, which is tempered by aromatic cardamom, ginger and cinnamon.

I meant to share this recipe a long time ago, but then time warped and we were in a new galaxy and…well, you all know how that goes. At long last, here it is: this incredibly easy, gently spiced loaf cake. Hurry—make it now, before we enter a new dimension!

Mango Bread

3 large mangos

2 large eggs

¾ cup canola oil

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

½ teaspoon coconut extract

2 cups flour

½ cup cornmeal

½ cup brown sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon ground cardamom

1 teaspoon ginger powder

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

¾ teaspoon salt

½ cup shredded sweetened coconut

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Coat a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan lightly with oil, sprinkle with flour and tap off the excess.
2. Peel and chop two of the mangos into course pieces: puree in a blender, food processor or using an immersion blender. The puree should be the consistency of chunky apple sauce. Dice the third mango in ½-inch pieces.
3. Lightly beat the eggs; whisk in the oil and extracts.
4. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cardamom, ginger powder, cinnamon and salt. Stir in the egg mixture until just combined. Stir in the mango and coconut. Transfer to the prepared pan; tap against the counter a couple of times to get rid of any air bubbles and bake in the center of the oven, turning the pan once, until a tester inserted in the center comes out with dry crumbs; about 55 minutes. Allow to cool at least 20 minutes before removing from the pan.

Makes 1 loaf