Mango, Pound Cake and Mascarpone Stack

~ Katy ~

Holy richness, Batman!  This stack was decadent and fantastic!  Definitely a big hit.  I wouldn’t have thought to put English Toffee with mangoes and caramel, but this combination works.  At first I bought a pound cake to save time.  Then, the night before the party, I decided to try the poundcake recipe in the back of the Stacks cookbook.  Man, am I glad I did!  This pound cake is mmm-mmm good. 

I put the batter in two 8 x 8 pans instead of loaf pans so that I would be sure to get evenly levened circles for my stacks.  It took about 30-40 minutes off of the baking time, and the stack rounds were perfection.  The dessert itself is quite rich and delicious.  It’s a winner!  I’ll be serving this one again. 

Other Stacks you might enjoy:

Shrimp Cake Stacks

Radicchio-Nectarine Summer Stack

Swordfish-Rosemary Polenta Stacks

 

 

Mango, Pound Cake, and Mascarpone Stacks

6 servings – Adapted from Stacks the Art of Vertical Food

Planning Ahead

Assemble the stacks early in the day and chill.

1 large pound cake, sliced into 12, ½ inch slices (recipe follows)

8 oz. mascarpone cheese

1 cup crushed chocolate covered English toffee

3 mangoes, peeled, seeded and coarsely chopped

1 ¼ cups caramel sauce (recipe follows)

Confectioners’ sugar, for dusting

 

Assembly

Spray 6 stack cylinders with vegetable spray and place them on a sheet pan.  With a 3-inch cutter or stack cylinder, cut the pound cake slices into rounds.  (You may have to piece the rounds together.)  Spread each round generously with about 1 ½ Tablespoons mascarpone.  Layer in the following order:  1 frosted pound cake round, 2 Tablespoons toffee, 2 Tablespoons mango, 1 Tablespoon caramel sauce, drizzled over the mangoes.  Repeat.  Press down firmly but gently and chill for at least 1 hour. 

To serve, slide spatula under each stack cylinder and transfer to a serving plate.  Unmold, drizzle with additional caramel, and top with any leftover mangoes and toffee.  Dust the whole presentation with confectioners’ sugar and serve. 

Pound Cake

1 ½ cups sweet butter, room temperature

1 (8 oz.) pkg cream cheese, room temperature

3 cups sugar

¼ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice

1 ½ Tablespoons vanilla

1 Tablespoon grated lemon zest

6 large eggs

3 cups all-purpose flour

¼ teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 350.  Lightly grease 2 large loaf pans.  With an electric mixer, cream together the butter and cream cheese until fluffy.  Add the sugar and beat 2 to 3 minutes.  Add the lemon juice, vanilla, and zest.  Beat well.  Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.  Add the flour and salt and blend until smooth.  Pour into prepared pans and bake for 1 ½ hours or until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean.  Cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a rack and cool. 

Shortcut Stacks

-Purchase a quality caramel sauce.

-A ready-made pound cake works well for this recipe.

 

After burning the caramel on my first attempt at making it, I went with Mrs. Richardson’s Caramel Sauce.  It was perfection.  Here is the recipe if you’d like to try it: 

Orange Caramel Sauce

1 cup sugar

1/4 cup water

2/3 cup heavy whipping cream

3 Tablespoons Cointreau or Gran Marinier (orange liqueur)

Place the sugar and water in a heavy saucepan and bring to a boil.  Lower the heat to medium-high and cook, stirring occasionally until liquid turns a deep amber.  Remove from the heat and very carefully stir in the cream.  (It will bubble madly, just keep stirring!)  Stir in the Cointreau. 

The sauce can be stored in the refrigerator 1-2 weeks. 

Note:  To make a classic caramel sauce, eliminate the Cointreau.