Mango Upside Down Cake with Cajeta-Rum Glaze

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Mango Upside Down Cake

Prep 20 mins   Bake 40 mins   Cool 5 mins   Eat 65 mins

If you love mangoes, make this Mango Upside Down Cake reminiscent of a Pineapple Upside Down Cake and topped with a rich cajeta rum glaze.  This recipe stood out to me after meeting Yvette Marquez-Sharpnack and receiving a signed copy of her Muy Bueno Cookbook, which contains this sinful recipe.  Follow my step-by-step guide to success with this recipe.

Butter and sugar cooked in a saucepan until bubbly.

I prefer caramel to chocolate, and this cake has two layers of caramel. Yum! First the caramel sauce you make with butter and brown sugar to pour on the bottom of the cake pan and then the rich cajeta-rum sauce that tops each slice.  I cooked the butter and sugar until it caramelized into a bubbling golden liquid.

Pour the caramel sauce into the bottom of a cake layer pan.

Next, I poured the bubbling sauce into the bottom of a 9″ layer cake pan and tilted it to coat the entire bottom of the pan.

Mango slices in a pinwheel make a beautiful presentation.

Place mango slices into the caramel sauce in a pinwheel pattern. To learn how to cut open and slice a mango, click here.   Feel free to add maraschino cherries in the center and throughout the pinwheel if desired.

Mix the wet ingredients first, then mix in the flour mixture just until combined.

Make the batter by mixing the butter and sugar, then add the eggs, vanilla and milk.  The final step is to add the flour mixture and mix just until the mixture is combined – the secret to a tender crumb in the cake.

Spoon the cake batter gently over the fruit so you don’t disrupt your design.

Pour the cake batter over the mango pinwheel and bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Mango Upside Down Cake is ready to invert.

When the cake comes out of the oven, run a knife around the edge.  After cooling for only 5 minutes, place a cake plate over the cake pan and holding the pan with oven mitts, invert the cake pan and place on the counter to sit.  The cake should drop onto the cake plate.  Tap the bottom of the pan if necessary to release it.

Mango Upside Down Cake is a work of art!

You will end up with this beautiful Mango Upside Down Cake.

Nestle Cajeta

Now for the secret sauce!  Open up a can of this amazing Nestle Cajeta or Caramel Sauce or Dulce de Leche.  You can find it here in Southern California in most Latin markets.  If you can’t find it in your neighborhood, I’m sorry.  It is simply amazing!  When you do find it, buy a few cans and hide them.  Mix it with a little milk and some rum to drizzle over a slice of this delicious Mango Upside Down Cake.

If you like this recipe, consider purchasing Muy Bueno: Three Generations of Authentic Mexican Flavor by Yvette Marquez-Sharpnack.

Print this Recipe adapted by Patricia K. Rose

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5 from 1 vote

Mango Upside Down Cake

This recipe stood out to me after meeting Yvette Marquez-Sharpnack and receiving a signed copy of her Muy Bueno Cookbook, which contains this sinful recipe. Yvette makes her cake in a cast-iron skillet, but I prefer al ayer cake pan.

Prep Time20 minutes mins

Cook Time40 minutes mins

Total Time1 hour hr 5 minutes mins

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: Mexican

Servings: 8

Calories: 511kcal

Ingredients

Caramelized Layer

• 3 Tablespoons butter
• 3/4 cup brown sugar firmly packed
• 2 firm ripe mangoes sliced, peel and pit removed
• 1-10 maraschino cherries without stems optional

Cake

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup butter 1 stick, softened
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 cup milk

Cajeta-Rum Glaze

• 3/4 cup cajeta or other rich dark caramel sauce
• 2 Tablespoons milk
• 1/4 cup rum

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350°. Place 3 Tablespoons butter and the brown sugar in a saucepan on medium-low heat and cook while stirring, until sugar is melted and mixture liquifies. It will take about 10 minutes for it to look like a rapidly bubbling caramel sauce. Immediately pour mixture into a 9″ inch layer cake pan.
• Slice the mangoes and place in a pinwheel fashion into the layer cake pan on top of the caramel mixture. Add maraschino cherries in the center or around the mango slices if desired.
• In a bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt, sifting if necessary. Set aside.
• In a separate bowl, beat 1/2 cup softened butter with the white sugar until creamy. Add the vanilla, eggs and milk and beat until smooth. Add flour mixture and combine with mixer on low or a spoon just until combined and no more.
• Pour cake batter by spoonfuls over the fruit in the layer cake pan and and gently spread it evenly in the pan. Bake for 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
• Remove from the oven. Let cool for only 5 minutes. Run a knife around the edge of the pan. Place a cake platter over the cake pan and wearing oven mitts, carefully invert the cake onto the cake platter. Let it sit on the platter and tap the bottom of the cake pan to loosen and remove pan.
• While cake is baking, make the glaze. Place the cajeta and milk in a saucepan and heat over a low flame, stirring constantly, until hot. Stir in rum and cook out the alcohol while the sauce is heating up or add the rum at the end. Drizzle the warm glaze over each slice of the cake.
• ENJOY THIS RECIPE FROM FRESHFOODINAFLASH.COM

Nutrition

Calories: 511kcal

Mango Upside Down Cake

Caramelized Layer
3 Tablespoons butter
3/4 cup brown sugar firmly packed
2 firm ripe mangoes, sliced, peel and pit removed
1-10 maraschino cherries without stems (optional)
Cake
1 1/2 cups  all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter (1 stick), softened
3/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 large eggs
1/2 cup milk
Cajeta-Rum Glaze
3/4 cup cajeta or other rich dark caramel sauce
2 Tablespoons milk
1/4 cup rum

1. Preheat oven to 350°.  Place 3 Tablespoons butter and the brown sugar in a saucepan on medium-low heat and cook while stirring, until sugar is melted and mixture liquifies. It will take about 10 minutes for it to look like a rapidly bubbling caramel sauce.  Immediately pour mixture into a 9″ inch layer cake pan.

2. Slice the mangoes and place in a pinwheel fashion into the layer cake pan on top of the caramel mixture.  Add maraschino cherries in the center or around the mango slices if desired.

3. In a bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt, sifting if necessary. Set aside.

4. In a separate bowl, beat 1/2 cup softened butter with the white sugar until creamy.  Add the vanilla, eggs and milk and beat until smooth. Add flour mixture and combine with mixer on low or a spoon just until combined and no more.

5. Pour cake batter by spoonfuls over the fruit in the layer cake pan and and gently spread it evenly in the pan. Bake for 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

6. Remove from the oven. Let cool for only 5 minutes. Run a knife around the edge of the pan.  Place a cake platter over the cake pan and wearing oven mitts, carefully invert the cake onto the cake platter. Let it sit on the platter and tap the bottom of the cake pan to loosen and remove pan.

7. While cake is baking, make the glaze.  Place the cajeta and milk in a saucepan and heat over a low flame, stirring constantly, until hot. Stir in rum and cook out the alcohol while the sauce is heating up or add the rum at the end.  Drizzle the warm glaze over each slice of the cake.

Servings: 8  – 511 calories per serving