Mango Memories - Mango & Cardamom Muffins

I opened my refrigerator and grabbed the mango. As I looked at it and it made me think about my childhood back in Brazil. One of my dearest childhood memory was when I spent the Summer vacations with cousins at my uncle's farm house, playing with carefree abandon, climbing mango trees, dangling from branches trying to pluck out that delicious mango from the tree and throwing stones aiming at the higher mangoes or building and using some kind of rustic mango collector made with an old can tied with a string to a tall bamboo , all this when the elders were taking an afternoon nap or playing card games. As I take a moment to remember the Summer joys of laughter and innocence, the smell of mangoes ripening, sights of guava trees and chickens,  I hear in the distant sounds of cars going by and the school bell from across street going off.And I can’t help myself but be amazed at the simplicity of life. Wasn’t life so simple those days?

And bellow is a recipe that I try the other day using mangoes.

Mango & Cardamon Muffins
(it makes approximately 12 muffins)

Ingredients

• 1 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup Teff flour*
• 2/3 cup  dark brown sugar, plus 2 tablespoons to sprinkle on top of muffins
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
• 1 cup chopped peeled ripe mango 
• 3/4 cup low-fat buttermilk
• 1/4 cup butter, softened
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 large egg 
• * If you don't have teff flour you can substitute with all-purpose flour.

How to make it:

Preheat the oven to 400°F and line the slots in your muffin pan with paper baking cups 

In your mixer  cream the butter and sugar well and add the egg and vanilla extract then beat well

Mix the salt, baking soda,baking powder and cardamon to the teff and all purpose flour.

Add the flour mix and the buttermilk to the mixer in 3 parts alternating.

Add the mango to the mix and stir until everything is well combined.

 Scoop into prepared muffin tray sprinkle with sugar evenly on top of each muffin  and bake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool in the tray for a minute or two before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Serve on its own or with honey or jam on the side.

What are your fondest childhood Summer vacation memories?

Pri =)

Ingredients measured

cream the brown sugar with the butter

Mix in the chopped mangoes 

Fill the muffin tin and sprinkle sugar on top

Just out of the oven. Ohhh... they smell so good!

Let them cool down and they are ready to be eaten!

•