Anyway, since there were so many mangoes around, I decided to make a cake- well, it is more like a tea bread.

I blended enough mangoes to equal one cup and made a super fast and easy bread. I love making these kinds of treats that are relatively healthy. I usually pack a slice as dessert for my daughter and give some to my husband as a snack during the day with tea.

To give the cake an extra boost of flavor and a surprise, I added some cardamom. I love mango and floral cardamom together- it makes me want to drink masala tea, lounging in a comfortable chair on my deck…

Make the mango cardamom cake this season…

• 2 mangoes cut and pureed in a blender (about 1 cup)
• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup evaporated cane sugar
• ½ cup extra light olive oil
• 1½ cups white whole-wheat flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cardamom
• ¼ teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a loaf pan and keep aside.
Beat the sugar and olive oil for 2-3 minutes on high. Add the eggs one at a time, beating in between. Add the pureed mangoes and keep aside.
In the meantime, sift the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cardamom and salt into a medium bowl. Add the dry ingredients into the wet mixture. Mix well and pour into the loaf pan. Bake for 45 minutes or till the bread is done. Invert onto a platter and cool before serving

I did a bit of research and came up with this fabulous recipe.

I got all the ingredients together- which, by the way are all that you normally have on hand.

It didn’t take me very long to put together and baking in the oven. Once it came out, my daughter was hovering around it like a dog on a bone. I cut a slice for her and she immediately complained about taking this cake to someone’s house and not having any for us. I promised her I would make another one for her soon- and honestly I haven’t yet. As I write this, I have already decided to bake one this evening. She will be thrilled.

So, if you want to be equally thrilled, make this delicious strawberry bread this summer…

• 2 cups sliced fresh strawberries (pureed in a blender)
• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup evaporated cane juice
• ½ cup extra light olive oil
• 1½ cups white whole-wheat flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a loaf pan and keep aside.
Beat the sugar and olive oil for 2-3 minutes on high. Add the eggs one at a time, beating in between. Add the pureed strawberries and keep aside.
In the meantime, sift the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt into a medium bowl. Add the dry ingredients into the wet mixture. Mix well and pour into the loaf pan. Bake for 55 minutes or till the bread is done. Invert onto a platter and top with confectioners sugar.

My husband, on the other hand, thinks rice should only be eaten with savory dishes. He does not relish any dessert made out of rice- what- seriously?? I love desserts made out of rice. Rich, creamy and delicious. My daughter, on the other hand, like me, loves all kinds of rice desserts.

I made this dessert combining chocolate and rice puddings together. I used arborio rice and cooked it in milk. I then added chocolate, sugar and vanilla extract. Once the pudding came together, I served it hot but with a twist. I whipped some heavy cream and added amaretto liquor and almond extract with some sugar. I served the dessert with the whipped cream and some toasted, sliced almonds.

It was absolutely out of this world delicious. It can be served cold as well but I prefer it hot. Either way, it makes a fabulous end to any meal- in the winter or the summer.

Try this one- I bet your kids will like it too…

• 1½ cups Arborio rice
• 5 cups 1% milk
• ½ teaspoon salt

Add the rice and milk in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil and simmer for about 25 minutes, stirring constantly. The rice should be soft but still have a bite to it (just like a risotto). Add the salt and stir well.

• ½ cup raw cane sugar
• 1 cup grated semi sweet chocolate
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Add the sugar and chocolate. Mix well and taste for sweetness. If you like it sweeter, go ahead and add more sugar. Turn the heat off and add the vanilla extract. The pudding can be served hot or cold.

Amaretto Cream

• 1 cup heavy cream
• 2 tablespoon confectioners sugar
• 1 tablespoon amaretto liquor
• 1 teaspoon almond extract
• ¼ cup sliced almonds

Beat the cream in a medium bowl till medium peaks form- about 2 to 3 minutes. Add the sugar, liquor and extract. Beat for another 3 to 4 minutes till stiff peaks form.
Serve the pudding individually in small bowls with a dollop of amaretto cream. Sprinkle sliced almonds on top.

Full disclosure, I didn’t make this one. My sister in law brought it to the barbecue we were having. She was in charge of the dessert. I had shared the Thai theme with her and she told me she will try her best to come up with something suitable.

Well, this combination was great. She tweaked a Ina Garten recipe and came up with her own. She added coconut milk to yogurt and cream. I love the addition of yogurt, it makes the dessert very light and creamy. The coconut milk gives it the Thai flavor I was looking for. You can substitute low fat yogurt and light coconut milk if you want to reduce the calories- the taste will be the same.

To top the panna cotta, she made a delicious mango lime sauce. Mango is a perfect choice since it is season and abundantly available. She used canned pulp but fresh mango can be pureed and used as well. I would use 2 to 3 mangoes instead of the pulp. The sauce was a perfect complement to the coconut vanilla dessert. It wasn’t too sweet- just right. It was a delicious end to a wonderful meal.

Try the vanilla coconut panna cotta for dessert this long weekend…

• 3 tablespoons cold water
• 1 packet unflavored gelatin powder
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 2 cups plain yogurt
• 2 cups coconut milk
• 1 cup evaporated cane sugar
• 1 vanilla bean, sliced length-wise and seeds taken out
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 8 (8 oz) ramekins

In a small bowl dissolve the gelatin in the cold water. Keep aside. In a medium bowl, whisk the yogurt, coconut milk, vanilla extract and seeds from vanilla bean.
In a heavy saucepan, heat the cream and sugar on medium heat until just simmering. Remove from heat and add the gelatin mixture. Add the cream mixture into the cold yogurt mixture.
Pour into the ramekins and chill thoroughly- at least 6 hours if not over night. Dip bottoms of cups into hot water and invert into a serving plate. Serve with mango lime sauce.

Mango Lime Sauce

• ½ cup mango pulp
• 2 tablespoons evaporated cane juice
• Juice of ½ lime (1 tablespoon)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2-3 mint leaves

Combine mango pulp and sugar in a small saucepan. Add the mint leaves and heat over medium heat. Cook for 5 minutes and turn the heat off. Add the vanilla extract and lime juice. Take the mint leaves once the sauce is cool. Serve with the panna cotta.

I love to make fruit crumble in the summer with all the gorgeous fruit in season. In this case I had tons of mangoes in my fridge. My daughter loves, loves mangoes and has at least 2 to 3 everyday.

We were going for a barbecue to a friend’s house and I offered to make the dessert. As I mentioned I had lots of mangoes- so that was a natural choice. I also had fresh raspberries and decided to pair them with the mangoes. I added some raspberry liquor which gave the fruit mixture a delicious flavor- yum!

As far as the crumble was concerned, I decided to doctor it up a bit. I had the usual suspects including oats, brown sugar and walnuts- I also added some sweetened, shredded coconut, ground ginger and nutmeg. Since I was using mangoes, I thought of coconut- a tropical theme.

I brought some vanilla ice cream along and the dessert was a big hit. Everyone enjoyed it. I thought the coconut was a great addition and I especially loved the raspberry liquor with the fresh fruit. Overall it was a huge success.

If you are having a big Memorial Day get together- definitely make this dessert- everyone will love it- guaranteed!

• 3 cups fresh mango, cut into ¼ inch pieces
• 1 cup fresh raspberries
• ¼ cup mango lemonade or orange juice
• 1 tablespoon corn starch
• ½ cup turbinado sugar
• 1 tablespoon raspberry liquor
• A baking dish

Mix all the ingredients in the baking dish and keep aside.

Topping

• 1 cup white whole wheat flour
• 1/3 cup turbinado sugar
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 6 tablespoons unsalted room temperature butter, cut into small places
• ½ teaspoon ground ginger
• ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 cup toasted and chopped walnuts
• ½ cup toasted oats
• ½ cup shredded, sweetened coconut
• 2 tablespoons unsalted cold butter, cut into small pieces

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.

In the bowl of a mixer, add the flour, sugars, and butter. Using the paddle attachment, incorporate the butter into the dry ingredients until the mixture looks mealy or crumbly. Stir in the oats, nuts and coconut.
Distribute the topping over fruit and sprinkle the cold butter on top and bake for 45 minutes till the topping is golden brown and the fruit is bubbling. Cool slightly and serve warm with ice cream.