How to Win Friends and Impress Your Family with Easy Homemade Mango Banana Bread

Mango season is underway in Lahaina…

Mango tree off-season

Mango tree flowering in January

Mango season here reminds me of that Kenny Loggins song…  “In Lahaina, the sugar cane grow/ in Lahaina, the living is slow/ in Lahaina, the mangos are sweet/ but the centipede he crawl all over your feet…”

Mango season is usually December through May but many trees are still producing fruit. My favorite recipe is this easy, dense, and luscious mango and banana bread. It makes the house smell great when it bakes and is truly quick and easy.

Mango Tree in April

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Mangos ripened on the tree have a completely different almost perfumed taste. For mango bread, they need to be ripe and can be over-ripe as well.

Cut mangos length-wise as there is a large flat seed inside. Score the inside in a cross hatch pattern with a knife as shown, then fold inside-out. This makes a nice display for serving and also makes it easy to cut chunks of the fruit off the skin.

Then cut off fruit around the seed–use your hands to get the pulp off the seeds–do this over the mixing bowl to catch the juice. Wash hands immediately with soap after as some people are sensitive to mango juice and sap and develop rashes (me!). Freeze any leftover mango fruit– the bread can be made with frozen mango or banana chunks.  Also great to add to smoothies.

How to cut a Mango

Melt one stick of butter in a medium sized bowl.

Mush 1 very ripe banana in with the butter.

Add 3 eggs.

Add 1 ½ cup sugar (brown or granulated best)– mix together.

2 cups flour – with 2 teaspoons of baking powder and one teaspoon of salt and vanilla powder.

Fold in cubed mangos or mango pulp of 3 medium very ripe mangos

Line baking tin with parchment paper or grease the tin– batter shouldn’t be too liquid. If mangos are ripe and juicy, then add a bit more flour.

Cook for 45 minutes until golden brown on top.

Broke da mout’!

This tree produces smaller “Spanish Mangos” and can be found in the yard of 173 Waianae Place in Lahaina (MLS 371272).