It’s been too long since our last dessert recipe – by now we’re fiending for something sweet. The idea for this recipe came from Pineapple Upside Down Cakes, which are fluffy – oftentimes cornmeal based – cakes, that are cooked atop of a buttery, glazed pineapples. When you flip the cake out of its pan, the pineapple is on top. Viola! The dessert is a Southern delight, but, if I’m being REAL honest here – I don’t love pineapple.
But that’s okay, because it’s still mango season! Yellow mangoes are my favorite, as they’re sweet, less fiberouss than red mangoes, melt in your mouth, and they’re available in cheap abundance at most Oriental markets right now (which is the end of May, if you’re from the future). Of course, eating a large amount of fruit isn’t recommended on the Plant Paradox program, but a few sweet treats from mother nature in moderation is deemed okay, so let’s use the opportunity to indulge on some fruit by pairing it with cake, amiright?
To ensure the flavor’s aren’t too heavy, and to compliment the mango’s bright attributes, we made the batter a lemon poppy seed batter, because who doesn’t want everyone’s second favorite muffin (blueberry always comes first) topped off with sweet, buttery mangoes?
Because we love individually portioned things, we baked the cakes inside of jumbo muffin tins, however, you could also bake them inside of six ounce ramekins or a normal cake pan for a large cake. Albeit, if you use a large cake pan, the cooking time will need to be extended until a toothpick inserted into to the middle comes out clean. If you’ve made our strawberry shortcakes or funfetti cupcakes, then this batter should be familiar to you, as it’s a spongy, rice-flour based cake mixed with aquafaba to lighten it up.
All in all, these cakes are:
- Perfect for summer
- Sweet, tender, & fluffy
- Bright, indulgent, tropical, and buttery
- Vegan, gluten-free, lectin-limited, and mostly sugar-free
If you like what your taste buds are tellin’ ya, leave behind a nice rating, share your thoughts with us in the comments, or show us your creations by tagging @noeggsorham on Instagram.
Welcome to the Upside Down,
Ryan
Mango & Lemon Poppy Seed Upside Down Cakes (vegan, gluten-free, lectin-limited, & mostly sugar-free)
Spongey, tender, & moist lemon poppy seed cakes are dressed with sweet & buttery yellow mango dices.
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients
- 200 g (1 1/4 c) white rice flour*
- 3 tbsp poppy seeds
- 2 tsp (8 g) baking powder
- 1/2 tsp (2 g) baking soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
Wet Ingredients
- 4 oz aquafaba (from a can of Eden’s Beans for lectin-free)
- 2 flax eggs (2 tbsp flax meal + 5 tbsp H20)
- 96 g (1/2 c) granular Swerve
- 84 g (1/4 c + 2 tbsp) buttery coconut oil, melted*
- 3 oz (1/4 c + 2 tbsp) water
- 2 oz (1/4 c) full-fat coconut milk
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 2 tbsp lemon zest
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
Mango
- 2 ripe yellow mangoes
- 3 tbsp granular Swerve
- 1 tbsp buttery coconut oil
Topping & Cinnamon Glaze (Optional):
- 1/4 c toasted & crushed hazelnuts
- 3 tbsp confectioner’s Swerve
- 1 tbsp water
- 1/4 tsp cinnamon
Directions
- Pre-heat oven to 350° F. Lightly spray 6 jumbo muffin tins or 6 six-ounce ramekins with non-stick spray. Set aside.
- Cut off the sides of flesh from both of your mangoes. Without piercing the skin, use a pairing knife to cut small dices out of each half. Then, use a spoon to scoop out the meat. The mango should separate into dices upon spooning it out.
- Heat a medium non-stick sauté pan over medium-high heat. Once hot, add in 1 tbsp buttery coconut oil, all of your diced mango, and 3 tbsp of Swerve. Cook until mango is lightly browned around the edges and softened; 8-10 minutes.
- While mango cooks, place aqauafaba into the bowl of a stand-up mixer fitted with the whisk attachment or in a medium bowl using an electric hand whisk. Whip on high until stiff peaks are formed; about 7 minutes.
- Sift together all of the dry ingredients – minus the poppy seeds – into a large bowl, then add in poppy seeds.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together flax eggs, buttery coconut oil, and Swerve until smooth. Then, whisk in the water, coconut milk, lemon juice, lemon zest, and vanilla.
- Pour wet ingredients atop dry ingredients are stir to combine using a wooden spoon. Once smooth, add in half of the whipped aquafaba and stir to combine until most of it’s no longer visible.
- Add in the second half of aquafaba and gently fold it in without over mixing it; leaving white specks here & there ensures it’ll be light & fluffy.
- Evenly distribute cooked mangoes among prepped tins or ramekins. Top mangoes off with 1/2 cup of batter in each vessel.
- Place in oven until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean; about 20 minutes. Place entire muffin pan or ramekins on cooling rack for at least 20 minutes.
- While cakes cool, whisk together Confectioner’s Swerve, water, and cinnamon together until smooth. Consistency should be thin enough to drizzle; if it’s too thick, add a touch more water. If it’s too thin add a touch more sweetener.
- Use a pairing knife to go around the edges of each cake to ensure they’re not stuck to the side. Place a plate or serving platter on top of the muffin pan and quickly invert it. If you used ramekins, place a small plate on top of each one and then invert them.
- Enjoy these babies while warm! Top with cinnamon drizzle, toasted hazelnuts, coconut whipped cream, and/or sugar-free vanilla ice cream. Allow any leftovers to cool completely then store in an airtight container at room temperature for two days.
*Don’t know how you feel about using white rice flour? Read this post to decide whether or not it’s cool with you.
*If you don’t feel like going out of your way to cop buttery coconut oil, use a mixture of refined coconut oil & olive oil in the cake & all coconut oil for the mangoes.
NO EGGS OR HAM 
Looks too yummy :)
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Absolutely stunning. Great world and great pics (:
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Will definitely be giving this a try! Thanks!
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