Sweet mango cake

Using ripe mangoes, the people of Cam Lam commune have skillfully created a delicious, fragrant, and subtly sweet mango cake that embodies the flavors of their homeland. Through years of preservation and development, this mango cake-making craft has provided many families with additional income.

Soft and fragrant Cam Lam mango cake

From March to August each year, households in Cam Lam commune are busy making mango cakes. The main ingredient is Canh Nong mangoes (Western mangoes) - a type of mango with a sweet, fragrant flavor and a characteristic chewy texture. To make a delicious batch of mango cakes, the bakers must go through several steps: selecting fresh, evenly ripened, golden mangoes; washing, peeling, and removing the seeds; pureeing and cooking the mango flesh; and finally, pouring it into molds and drying it in the sun.

The mangoes are carefully selected before being processed.

Having been involved in making mango cakes for nearly 30 years, Ms. Le Thi Thu Thuy (Bac Vinh village) said that to make a delicious batch of cakes, the cook must have experience in controlling the heat and timing precisely. "My family's business uses a gas stove, so it usually takes about 40 to 45 minutes to cook a batch of mango cakes. During the cooking process, I often add a little tapioca starch to make the cakes chewy and dry faster; and a little salt to make them more flavorful and delicious," Ms. Thuy shared.

The mangoes have been peeled.

Meanwhile, to create a unique flavor for her homemade mango cake, Ms. Pham Thi Binh (Bai Gieng village) doesn't add flour but instead adds a little finely grated ginger. According to Ms. Binh, the most important step in making mango cake is the cooking process and controlling the heat; if it's not cooked enough, the cake will easily spoil. A delicious mango cake must retain the natural sweetness of ripe mangoes.

The process of removing mango seeds.

After cooking, the mango mixture is poured into molds and then sun-dried for about 3 days to ensure the cake is dry, chewy, has a natural color, and retains its distinctive flavor. The drying process is also very important because if the cake is not dry enough, it will easily change color, become watery, and spoil quickly during storage. According to locals, on average, 10kg of mangoes will yield 1kg of mango cake; for large, fleshy mangoes, about 6 to 7kg of mangoes will produce 1kg of finished cake.

Ms. Pham Thi Binh makes mango cakes from her home garden.

Create jobs, increase income.

The production of mango cakes is mainly carried out by local households, from sourcing ingredients to processing and packaging. Many families utilize mangoes from their own orchards, while some businesses purchase mangoes from locals for processing. Therefore, the mango cake making industry not only provides additional income for producers but also contributes to the consumption of mangoes for local people. According to Ms. Le Thi Thu Thuy, in previous years, her business purchased mangoes at around 4,000 to 5,000 VND/kg for making cakes. However, this year the price has dropped to only about 2,000 to 3,000 VND/kg. After harvesting, people bring their mangoes directly to the business. Thanks to cold storage facilities, Ms. Thuy purchases mangoes in bulk and processes them gradually, ensuring a consistent supply throughout the season. Currently, her family's workshop provides regular employment for 10 workers, with incomes ranging from 6 to 7 million VND per month.

The person who packages the products.

Besides contributing to the consumption of agricultural products, the mango cake making profession also creates jobs for many rural workers. Having been involved in the profession for 3 years, Ms. Tran Thi Ngoc Anh (Bac Vinh village) said that she earns about 9 million VND per month from this work. “I hope that mango cakes will become more widely known so that the mango cake making profession can develop, thereby helping workers have a stable income,” Ms. Anh shared.

Mango cakes are dried in the sun for about 3 days.

Ms. Pham Thi Cam Giang, Vice President of the Women's Union of Cam Lam commune, said that the mango cake making profession not only preserves the local specialty flavor but also creates jobs, helping many women earn extra income; at the same time, it contributes to reducing the problem of agricultural products being left unsold during the harvest season. In its role as a partner, the union has actively supported and promoted the mango cake products of its members and women in the commune through agricultural markets and e-commerce platforms. As a result, the products of the women have reached more customers, expanding their market and increasing their family income.

CHAU TUONG

Source: https://baokhanhhoa.vn/doi-song/202605/vi-ngot-banh-xoai-00c4041/