Easy is the name of the game for this Mango Cake!
It is a proven fact that I am in love with easy recipes in my old age and this triple mango cake tops the list!
Another “throw it all in the food processor” cake method
But honestly this easy mango cake can also be mixed up by hand in a large bowl with a whisk!
The texture of this Mango Cake is more like a pound cake
Which makes it great for carving and stacking since it is very sturdy and has very little crumbs!
I’m also using my lower sugar recipe for buttercream flavored with more mango!
It’s an Ermine Buttercream spinoff which uses apples as the base, but instead of apples I am using more mangoes!
Be sure to watch the video for how to make this awesome buttercream, it is the best way to incorporate fruit flavors into your buttercream since the base is a cooked custard rather than a traditionally mixed buttercream.
The recipe below lists mango instead of apples, but the mix method is the same
Notes for Success:
If you do go the food processor route you will need a 14 cup capacity model for this hefty recipe!
Otherwise just mix the recipe by hand in a large bowl with a whisk!
In the video I mistakenly said I used baking powder in addition to the baking soda, this was an error there is only baking soda in this recipe
Canned Mango Pulp is my new obsession because somehow it has more mango punch than fresh mango!
Of course you can use fresh mango if that’s all you have or if you don’t want to use canned since these ingredients are interchangeable
I am making 2- 7″ cake layers instead of my usual 3 layers so this cake will only serve about 8-10 people
Or approximately 20 cupcakes from this amount of batter
If you need a larger cake simply make 1½X the recipe and divide the batter between 2-8″ or even 9″ cake pans but be careful of you math!
Additionally it is wise to use a kitchen scale to measure the ingredients especially the flour since some people have had bad results from a heavy hand measuring flour with a volume cups measure
Many people like to use cake flour instead of all purpose, you can easily substitute cake flour here
My preference is to use a combination of both flours
For the buttercream recipe it will be helpful to watch the YouTube video tutorial to see how I made this recipe and although it is using apples
You will simply substitute the mango puree as listed below in the recipe
Cornstarch is a very difficult ingredient to measure consistently with a volume/spoons measure
So while I list both measures below I cannot stress enough how the grams measure with a scale is going to give you the best results.
WATCH HOW I MADE THIS EASY MANGO CAKE
Easy Mango Cake
Ingredients
For the Cake
- 1 cup Mango Puree 240ml
- ½ cup Plant Milk 118ml
- ¾ cup Vegetable Oil 177ml
- 2 Tbs Lemon Juice 30ml
- 2 teaspoon Vanilla Extract 10ml
- 1¼ cup Granulated Sugar 250g
- 1¼ teaspoon Baking Soda
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- 3 cups All Purpose Flour 375g
For the Compote
- 2 cups Fresh or Frozen Mango
- ¼ cup Granulated Sugar 50g *optional
For the Buttercream
- 1 cup Mango Puree 237ml
- 1 cup Granulated Sugar 200g
- 10 Tbs Cornstarch 80g
- 2½ cup Plant Milk 600ml
- 2 teaspoon Vanilla Extract 10ml
- ½ teaspoon Salt
- 3 cup Vegan Butter 672g
- 1 cup Confectioners sugar 120g
Instructions
- Prepare your cake pans with grease & parchment paper lining & preheat the oven to 350°F
- First prepare the mango cake layers by whizzing the fresh or frozen (but thawed) mangoes in a food processor to a puree or if using canned pulp simply proceed to add all the rest of the ingredients to the food processor (this is the flour, sugar, oil,lemon juice, plant milk, baking soda & salt) * IF YOU ARE USING MANGO PUREE NO NEED FOR A FOOD PROCESSOR, SIMPLY MIX EVERYTHING BY HAND IN LARGE BOWL
- Process everything for about 10 seconds until smooth then divide the cake batter between your greased & parchment lined cake pans
- Bake in the 350° oven but immediately turn the oven temperature down after loading to 325F for approximately 30-35 minutes or when you gently press the centers they cakes are springy to the touch OR when a toothpick inserted comes out with moist crumbs
- Cool the cakes in the pans until you can safely touch them without burning then flip out onto a cooling rack to cool to cold
- Now make the buttercream (*also watch the YouTube video tutorial for a visual)
- Soften the vegan butter at room temperature so it is still firm, but pliable
- Prepare the mango puree by whizzing up 2 large mangoes in a food processor or blender OR use canned mango pulp
- Add the mango puree to a medium sauce pot with the sugar, cornstarch & plant milk, whisking constantly until it comes to a boil.
- Add the vanilla extract then strain the mango custard through a mesh strainer onto a sheet pan or a casserole dish (no parchment paper or grease!)
- Refrigerate the custard until it is completely cold & set
- Meanwhile whip the vegan butter & salt with an electric mixer with the whip attachment until it is aerated & light & fluffy & starting to look whiter in color (about 5 minutes) scraping the bottom & sides of the bowl often
- Add the sifted confectioners sugar & whip for another minute or two until smooth scraping the bottom & sides of the bowl often
- Add the cold custard a large spoonful at a time to the vegan butter while continuing to whip on high speed until all the custard is incorporated, scraping the bottom & sides of the bowl often
- Continue whipping until the buttercream is smooth & silky
- Now make the mango compote for the cake filling by gently cooking fresh or frozen chopped mangoes in a medium sauce pot with optional sugar until it turns into a chunky sauce. I used a stick blender to get my compote to a more sauce like consistency
- Assemble the cake as shown in the video tutorial
Video
Notes
As of May 2025 I have turned off the commenting feature on my recipes
Due to an extraordinary amount of ai and bot spamming my website cannot handle the fake traffic
Please don’t hesitate to email me @gretchensbakery3@gmail.com or via any of my social platforms
I will respond as soon as I am able!
I am a little confused. How long do i leave them in the oven?
Hello in step #5 i write:
Place the cakes in the 350° oven but turn the oven temperature down to 325F for approximately 30-35 minutes or when you gently press the centers they cakes are springy to the touch OR when a toothpick inserted comes out with moist crumbs
I am using 2-7″ cake pans so if you use another size pan you may have to adjust the time
How many days in advance can I prepare and refrigerate the frosting?
Since this is an Ermine style icing, I prefer to make it the same day I am using it on the cake, Ermine icing tends to be very finicky on a rewhip, because of the high moisture content it LOVES to separate & break!
READ MORE HERE
Cake came out tasty. But the frosting seems to melt when I apply it on the cake. Frosting wasn’t too thick like in the video ????. What could be wrong ? I used earth balance vegan butter
I have just had the same problem
I hope it firms up in the fridge before I put the compote in
The cake recipe doesn’t has eggs?
Hi Maria this is an all vegan recipe website. You would be surprised at how many amazing recipes you can make without eggs! I hope you try!
How much cornstarch? It’s missing from ingredient list.
Oh wow thank you for pointing that out! When I implemented the “jump to recipe” button many of my recipes got messed up! Uggh!
However I am not seeing anything missing on my end. The only part that has cornstarch is the Mango Ermine Buttercream and this is listed as 10Tbs (80g)
Let me know if I am not seeing something else!
Hi-thanks for the recipe! Is it possible to make this with dairy products? Thank you.
Can I make this with dairy products? This recipe looks delicious and so simple but I don’t have vegan products.
We made this yesterday but the batter was so thick my vitamix blender overheated and stoped working! I said “overloaded” so we had to do it in 3 batches. It tasted ok, but extremely dense
Oh no that doesn’t sound right! Sounds like a measuring error?
I have a notes for success section above all my recipes to add helpful hints that cannot fit in the actual recipe section
Specifically a note about measuring flour, it says “it is wise to use a kitchen scale to measure the ingredients especially the flour since some people can have bad results from a heavy hand measuring flour with a volume cups measure”
Additionally I noted: you will need a 14 cup capacity model for this hefty recipe!
Otherwise just mix the recipe by hand in a large bowl with a whisk!
* I wonder if it also has something to do with using fresh mango? I am not sure you did use fresh, but all mango will be different & perhaps you got a few that we just not very juicy? This I could definitely see playing a role
At any rate I am sorry you had a bad experience with this recipe
Hey Gretchen!
I’m going to be flying with (most of) the components of this cake & only a hand mixer when I get to my destination; would the mango custard mix into your Italian meringue buttercream the same way that it mixes into this buttercream recipe…. With a hand mixer? My intention is to travel with frozen, wrapped cake layers (in their pans & big ziplocs), the Italian meringue (in bags, in a hard sided container, wrapped in plastic in case of any leakage), and make the custard (then rewhip the Italian meringue buttercream and add the custard with a hand mixer vs stand mixer) and compote, then assemble, at my destination.
It definitely doesn’t have to end up looking beautiful, it’s just for my long-distance partner’s birthday and it’ll just be the two of us (& maybe his 5 yo son) celebrating. Just curious if my logistics seem completely off base!
For some reason, I’ve decided that flying from Seattle to Orlando with unassembled cake is easier than toting the ingredients/stand mixer/ubering to the grocery store/etc ????
Hey there so I think your logic is good, by bringing the components rather than ingredients & equipment!
I am not quite sure I am following you though with the Italian Buttercream & then adding in mango custard.
So this buttercream is actually an ERMINE buttercream, not Italian & the mango version is a spinoff from my 5X Less Sugar Recipe which utilizes APPLES for some of the sugar in the custard
Check out that recipe/video here
The ermine is the least stable of all the buttercream recipes though so you may be better off sticking with the Italian Buttercream afterall as it will travel & rewhip much better for you!
However adding mango custard to the buttercream (any vegan buttercream for that matter) always poses a risk CLICK HERE FOR MORE
i hope you checked with the airport TSA if you intend to take as a carry-on as TSA will likely have issues
with the custard and the Italian meringue as they are liquids (thick ones but still will need to be opened at tested). if in checked luggage could still be “opened”. wouldn’t use cake pans due to need to x-ray.
if it were me, i would pack cake layers in checked baggage (use round plastic to keep them from damage and make the other components in Orlando. Perhaps a neighbor has a mixer you could use. but that’s just me.
good luck!
Your recipes are so delicious and gorgeous to look at! Thank you for making and sharing all these amazing recipes! You are awesome!!