The other day my 4-year-old came running out of the bedroom wide-eyed, exclaiming, “Gavin JUMPED from the top of his bed, then he FELL on the BED and hit his FACE, then he kept falling and fell onto the FLOOR and hit his face AGAIN!”
His two-year-old brother came running out behind him, red spots appearing on his face from the bumps, hollering, “IT. WAS. AWWWEEESOMMME!” before turning around to presumably try a repeat of the surprising stunt.
We went over the Five Little Monkeys story, including the fact that someone always, always falls off the bed and bumps his head, and they were redirected to the trampoline.
Seriously, boys are crazy.
I amaze myself with how little these kind of conversations faze me these days. I generally glance up from baking or folding laundry or writing with a casual, “Hmmm, ok, make sure you’re careful,” and carry on. For the most part I find if I stick with calm, they will amaze me with their balance, skill and resilience or, better yet, think their daredevil moves are underwhelming and move on to playing dress-up or blocks or something.
To distract myself from the inevitable emergency room trips I feel are in our future, and to somewhat direct the energy of the boys into something productive, we bake :)
I’ve been ordering random produce boxes lately, and one fruit they love to throw in is mango. I don’t mind mangoes, but they are kind of a slippery mess, so I usually just buy the frozen chunks. They’re so handy that way for smoothies or fish tacos, and I am all about handy. But I can’t let food go to waste without it weighing heavily on my conscience, so the last couple mangoes lingering in my fridge needed to be used. These squares were one of several delicious-looking mango recipes in the spring issue of Ricardo magazine, and, with the addition of lemon juice, they were also the least mango-ey looking option.
Carl still wants me to make the blackberry mango muffins and the silky-looking mango butter from the same magazine, so he won’t be too sad if more mangoes show up in our produce box :) These were a bit too soft on my first attempt, but a reduction in the lemon juice and an increase in baking time did just the trick!
Bright yellow, creamy, sweet and tart, these are a perfect spring treat. These got the stamp of approval from a dear mango-loving friend, which is exactly the approval they needed. They also happen to look beautiful on a plate with something dark and chocolatey if you like presenting options. Few things are better than bright all-natural food colouring, and the mango, lemon and eggs in this recipe make for a very pretty show.
- CRUST:
- ⅓ cup butter, melted
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup sugar
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- TOPPING:
- ½ cup sugar
- 1 Tablespoon cornstarch
- 3 large eggs
- 1 cup mango puree
- 3 Tablespoons lemon juice
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Lightly grease an 8" square pan, then line it with parchment paper, letting paper overhang on two sides for easy removal of squares.
- Melt butter in medium bowl, then stir in all other crust ingredients until well mixed. Press into prepared dish and bake for 15 minutes.
- Meanwhile, make mango puree: Process about 2 cups cubed ripe mango in blender or food processor until smooth (fresh or thawed frozen mango both work).
- In medium bowl, combine sugar and cornstarch. Whisk in eggs, then mango puree and lemon juice until smooth. Pour evenly onto the partially-baked crust, then bake another 20-22 minutes, until filling is set.
- Let cool on wire rack, then refrigerate. Let chill at least two hours before removing from pan and cutting into squares. Store in the refrigerator.
*Adapted from Ricardo Spring 2017, p. 110.
Disclosure: I received a copy of the Ricardo Spring 2017 Issue from the publisher.
These were amazing! Sweet and tangy and refreshing! I usually make these amazing lemon bars but i had a half a large can of mango puree left over from when i made mango mousse pie ( also very delish!) I think i ate about half the pan. Shared some with my mom and SO…they loved it too! Will be buying more mango puree to make these often! Thanks for a great recipe :)
I didn’t even know you could buy mango puree! I need to do that, mangoes are such a pain to work with. Glad you liked them!
I’ve been to the emergency room for stitches with two of my three boys…once for running into a rock wall while playing backyard football and once for crash landing while “flying a ramp” on bike. It’s amazing how little concern kids have for their physical safety sometimes :)
Yum! I have mangoes to use up, these will be perfect!
Ooh I can’t wait to make these and pair with a piece of dark chocolate!!! Mangoes will be on the grocery list for sure!!!!