citrus cake with mango filling and the fluffiest frosting ever!

just a quick post today...to share some cake!  yesterday was alexandra's 15th birthday.  she loves harry potter and found this mango-citrus cake recipe from the unofficial harry potter cookbook a few years ago. 

danacaseydesign

ever since, she requests this for her birthday.  of course, I obliged and made another one this year; although my skills are best at cooking and not baking, this one is pretty fool proof!  ~dana

recipe
for the cake:

2 cups cake flour (all-purpose works fine too)

1 cup granulated sugar

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1.5 sticks (12 Tbs) unsalted butter, at room temperature

1/2 cup whole milk

3 large egg yolks, at room temperature

grated zest and juice of 1 lemon

grated zest and juice of 1 orange

1 tsp vanilla extract

3 large egg whites, at room temperature

 

for the mango filling

3 ripe mangoes, peeled and cut into chunks

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup water

pinch salt

2 Tbs cornstarch

3 large eggs yolks

1/4 stick (2 Tbs) unsalted butter

juice of 1 lemon

 

for the frosting

2 cups heavy cream

2/3 cup confectioner's sugar

2 tsp vanilla extract

a few drops of yellow food coloring

 

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour two 8" round cake pans.

2. Whisk together the flour, 1/2 cup of the sugar, baking powder, and salt. Add the butter and beat until the mixture resembles yellow crumbs.

3. Add the milk, yolks, grated zest and juice of the lemon and orange, and vanilla and beat until smooth.

4. In a separate clean bowl, with clean beaters, beat the egg whites until soft mounds form. Continue beating while adding the remaining 1/2 cup of sugar gradually. Beat until stiff but still glossy. 

5. Whisk 1/4 of the egg white mixture into the batter to lighten it, then fold in the rest using a rubber spatula.

6. Divide the batter evenly between the two prepared pans and bake for 20-25 minutes, until the cakes are spotty brown and feel firm when touched lightly in the center. Do not over-bake or the cakes will be dry. Cool in the pans. If you need to, the cakes can be wrapped in plastic and frozen until needed (in case you're spreading your baking over multiple days).

7. To make the filling, process the mangoes in a food processor or blender until smooth, then push through a sieve with a rubber spatula, extracting as much juice as possible.

8. Transfer your liquid mango to a medium saucepan. Add the sugar, water, salt, and cornstarch and stir to dissolve. Cook over medium heat until warm, stirring constantly.

9. Whisk in the egg yolks and cook, stirring constantly, until thickened and bubbling. 

10. Remove from the heat, add the butter and lemon juice, and stir until melted and combined.

11. Transfer the filling to a bowl, cover the surface directly with plastic wrap, and cool to room temperature. Refrigerate until needed, up to two days. 

12. Make the frosting just before you're ready to assemble the cake. Whip the frosting ingredients (except the food coloring) together until stiff peaks form.

13. To assemble the cake, split the cake layers in half. Place one layer on your serving plate and spread 1/3(ish) of the mango filling on top. Repeat with the next two layers, stacking the layers into a cake tower. Top with the last layer. 

14. Cover the top and sides of the cake with the whipped cream frosting. Tint the remaining frosting with the yellow food coloring and scoop it into a pastry bag. Use the yellow frosting to pipe a decorative border around the edges of the cake.