Mango Vanilla Bean Bundt Cake With Mango Soaking Syrup

This cake is amazingly tropical and evocative a trip far away from your regular life. Enjoy it fresh from the oven or the mango soaking syrup will help keep things extra delicious for a few days after.

Makes 10-inch bundt cake, serving 12 to 14

Step 1: Ingredients

Cake
3 cups all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 ¾ cups granulated sugar
4 large eggs, room temperature
1 vanilla bean, split, seeds scraped out - SAVE POD FOR SYRUP!
½ cup sour cream
½ cup buttermilk
1 ½ cups diced fresh mango

Syrup
â cup fresh mango puree, strained (Simply blend mango and then strain it through a mesh strainer)
â cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons water
leftover vanilla bean pod (seeds scraped out for the batter already)

Step 2: Method

Place rack in center of oven, and preheat oven to 350. Grease and lightly flour inside of 10 inch bundt pan.

Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large bowl. Set aside. Mix together sour cream and buttermilk. Set aside.

Using either a stand mixer (paddle attachment) or a hand mixer, beat the butter at medium speed until creamy, about 2 minutes. Gradually add sugar and beat at medium-high speed until the mixture is light in texture and color, about 3 minutes. Beat in eggs one at a time, beating for 30 to 40 seconds after each addition. Scrape down sides of bowl as necessary. Beat in vanilla bean. At low speed, add flour mixture in three additions, alternating with sour cream mixture. (Add a bit of flour, a bit of sour cream mixture, a bit of flour, a bit of sour cream mixture, a bit of flour.)

Using a spatula, carefully fold in diced mango, incorporating it into the batter. Carefully spoon batter into bundt pan.

Bake cake for 50 to 60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool the cake in the pan on a cooling rack for 10 minutes, then invert it onto another rack. Place the cake, on the rack, over a baking sheet.

Step 3: Method - Syrup

While cake is baking, make syrup. Combine mango puree, sugar, water, and empty vanilla bean pod in a small non reactive saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring until the sugar dissolves, 3 to 4 minutes. Remove pan from heat. Using a pastry brush, dab syrup generously all over surface of the warm cake, allowing it to soak into the cake before reapplying. Let the cake cool completely.