Hans Birkholz, CEO of Windstar Cruises, recently sailed onboard the Wind Spirit during the Greek Isles and Turkish Delights voyage. An avid chef, Hans couldn’t help but visit the galley where Senior Pastry Chef John put him to work baking a mango cake for Windstar’s signature deck barbecue.
To make your own Windstar Mango Cake, follow the recipe below:
Ingredients:
- cake flour – 2 cups, sifted
- granulated sugar – 3/4 cup
- baking powder – 1 Tablespoon
- egg whites – 7
- cream of tartar – 1/2 teaspoon
- granulated sugar – 3/4 cup
- egg yolks – 7
- corn oil – 1/2 cup
- mango juice – 3/4 cup (canned or bottled juice is fine)
- lemon flavoring – 1 teaspoon
- fresh mango – 1 cup cut in cubes, from a whole mango
- butter – 1 cup, softened
- heavy cream – 1/4 cup
- mango nectar – 1/4 cup (canned or bottled juice is fine), for cake icing
- confectioners' sugar – 3 cups
- lemon flavoring – 1 teaspoon, for cake icing
- golden yellow food color – 1/4 teaspoon (optional)
- fresh mango – 1 piece, peeled, pitted, sliced in strips, for cake decoration
Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Sift together the dry ingredients: cake flour, 3/4 cup granulated sugar, baking powder. Set aside.
3. In a separate bowl, with a stand or hand mixer on highest speed, beat the egg whites and cream of tartar together. When there are high peaks and hardly any bubbles left, slowly add the 3/4 cup granulated sugar, a few tablespoons at a time. When peaks form and whites are shiny, put aside.
4. In another mixing bowl, make a well of all the dry ingredients. In the center add: oil, yolks, mango juice, lemon flavoring. Beat with the mixer at medium speed till blended. This should only take about 3 to 5 minutes.
5. Into the yellow mango batter, add the cubes of mango fruit, by folding with a spatula.
6. Finally, fold the mango mix very gradually into the egg whites. Try to do the folding in 3 batches, to prevent the egg whites from dropping.
7. Pour batter into a greased round baking pan, measuring 8 inches in diameter, 4 inches high. Bake at 350°F for 45 minutes, until a toothpick or cake tester inserted comes out clean.
8. When done, cool on counter for a few minutes and then loosen edges from the pan, invert, and take the cake out to cool. It should be completely cooled before adding any of the Mango icing.
Mango Buttercream Icing (makes 2 1/2 cups)
1. In a mixing bowl, with a stand or hand mixer at high speed, mix together the softened butter and 1 cup confectioners' sugar. Cream and blend well till smooth.
2. Gradually add in alternating order, a few tablespoons at a time: confectioners' sugar, heavy cream, and mango juice.
3. Begin and end with the confectioners' sugar.
4. Add the lemon flavoring and blend well.
5. Finally, add the golden yellow food coloring. Mix well. Refrigerate the icing till ready to use on cake.
After icing the cake, garnish with mango slices on top in a spiral manner.
Bon appétit!
What's your favorite dessert on a Windstar Cruise?
