Mango Meringue Cake or Mostachon de Mango is a layered cake that combines, very successfully I may add, an assortment of enticing flavors. And all those textures it offers, from crunchy to soft to creamy, make it so tempting and addictive!
Let’s start with the meringue cake layer. It is crunchy in great measure due to the addition of your nut of choice. I am using pecan for the cake part of this Mango Meringue Cake. It is also soft because it uses a combination of meringue and crushed crackers instead of your usual cake batter.
And don’t get me started on the rich and creamy second floor. Oh, yes! Cream, cream cheese, some zest, slurp, slurp! This is, to be sure, your kind (and mine) of finger-licking dessert.
This cake originated, in its present form, in the Northern region of Mexico. It is especially popular in Monterrey, Nuevo Leon. Although nobody knows for certain how and when it came into existence, it is a safe assumption that its baked cake portion is heavily influenced by the Utrera Mostachon, a flat, round pastry from Utrera, Sevilla, Spain.
My personal theory is that a Mexican from Monterrey visited Sevilla, Spain, helped himself to a Utrera mostachon and had some very deep and momentous thoughts along these lines: “Huh, this mostachon is pretty good. But heck, I can do better! I will improve on this by mixing crushed crackers, meringue and chopped nuts instead of using flour and whole eggs. Then I will lay some cream/cream cheese mix on the cooled down cake and then, drum roll, I will garnish the top with my favorite fruit!”
You know how it goes. Some people like this ingredient some other people like that other one. In the case of the Mostachon cake, some people (purists from Northern Mexico) prefer to use saltines or savory crackers and other people use sweet crackers, such as vanilla wafers, Maria cookies or Graham crackers. I will use Ritz crackers (the original flavor, not garlic or herb) for my cake. If you use Maria cookies, you can find those in the International/Latin food aisle of your grocery store.
You do you! Use your cracker of choice, sweet or savory. And your favorite nut in the cake base. Then garnish with your favorite fruit. At the end of the day, it is always about enjoying what you eat.
Mango Meringue Cake
Ingredients
- For the Meringue Cake:
- 5 egg whites
- 3/4 to 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 2 cups pecans chopped
- 1-3.25 oz. roll or sleeve Ritz crackers (original flavor) coarsely crushed or Graham crackers, or vanilla wafers
- For the Cream Layer:
- 1 cup cream cheese softened
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 1/2 cup confectioner's sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract, or
- 1 tsp lemon zest
- For garnish:
- 3 cups sliced or cubed fresh mango 3 or 4 units, depending on their size. 1 mango yields approximately 1 cup of flesh.
Instructions
- Make the cake:
- Spray a 9-inch nonstick spring form pan with nonstick cooking spray. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Beat the egg whites on high with an electric mixer until soft peaks form. Add the granulated sugar gradually. Keep beating while you add the vanilla extract and the baking powder for 2 more minutes. Manually fold in the pecans and Ritz or Maria (or other) crackers. Transfer to the prepared pan. Bake for 30 – 35 minutes, until golden. Remove cake from the oven and let it cool down for 20 – 25 minutes.
- Make the cream:
- Using the electric mixer, beat the cream cheese, sour cream, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract (or lemon zest) until soft peaks form and the mixture is smooth.
- Assemble the cake:
- Remove the spring form pan. Using a spatula, evenly spread the cream all over the top of the cake. Garnish with the cubed or sliced mango. Serve and enjoy!
Notes
And remember, no matter how you do it, have fun!
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