TWD - Fresh Mango Bread

Fresh Mango Bread. My co-workers have become accustomed to my TWD treats and have in fact, come to expect them. When I announced this weeks recipe, the first words out of our office managers mouth were "Did you get to pick?" I love mangoes. Love, love, love mangoes. Alas, this weeks recipe was chosen by Kelly from Baking with the Boys. Kelly is my hero!

I spent the first 18 years of my life growing up in Michigan before I headed to Miami for college. Among the many wonderful things I discovered in college, mangoes topped the list! It was hard to leave behind my beloved fruit when I moved back to Michigan. I am taking my son to Disney World at the end of June. Forget about the Mouse - can someone please direct me to a farmers market or a produce stand? I'm bringing an extra suitcase.

A fresh, juicy mango, freshly plucked from the tree is absolute bliss. It has been suggested that mangoes are best eaten in the bathtub and while I have never eaten one in a bathtub, I often suck on the pit while leaning over the kitchen sink. Yes, I'm a heathen!

OK - on to the mango bread. This bread recipe is fantastic! The combination of ginger and fruit chunks was sublime. I intend to make this bread frequently. My official taste tester thought it was delicious but I've been hoarding this one from my co-workers. I may share a few slices tomorrow! I managed to find some wonderful ripe mangoes at Whole Foods and the hardest part of this recipe was actually put the fruit into the dough instead of into my mouth! I fell a little short of the 2 cups of fruit that the recipe, uuummm ... suggested.

Please visit Kelly's blog for the recipe and the TWD Blogroll to check out the rest of the TWD bloggers. Now if you'll excuse me, that mango in the first photo has yet to be eaten ...

TWD - Tartest Lemon Tart

I have to apologize for being a super blog slacker lately! Last week the TWD group baked a Tiramisu Cake but I didn't blog about it because the dog ate my homework. For real. See ...

At the time of my cake baking he had only been a member of our household for a few hours and I set my cake layers out by the window to cool, just as I always do, and he just started chomping away when I had my back turned. He's new and cute and I'm an inexperienced dog owner ... c'est la vie. I'll try it again in a week or so. Now, on to this weeks TWD Baking Assignment! Today's Tartest Lemon Tart was chosen by Babette of Babette Feasts. One of my co-workers was just telling me about the movie Babette's Feast - looks like a sign that I should visit Blockbuster! Please visit Babette's Blog for the recipe, which can also be found on page 336 of Dorie Greenspan's "Baking: From My Home to Yours."

My tart tasted super lemony with just a tiny hint of bitterness, but it was fantastic! Dorie recommends using a blender to get a smooth custard but this super slacker was too lazy to dig out the blender so I used my food processor instead. I could not get a smooth custard so I strained it into the crust and was very happy with the results. My official taste tester loved it (and I did too)! My tart was very skinny - I think my tart pan may be 10 inches instead of the recommended 9 inches and it was not very photogenic!

Please visit the rest of TWD Bakers to see how they made out with the Tarty Tart! Next week is Mango Bread! I CAN. NOT. WAIT! I love mangoes!