Made with buttermilk, a sweet and delicious oatmeal crumb topping, and fresh (or frozen) mango, our mango muffins are perfect for breakfast with a hot cup of coffee or as an afternoon pick-me-up with tea.
Why Mango Muffins?
On a recent trip to Hawaii, Justin and I visited the Shangri La Museum of Islamic Art, Culture & Design. It’s part of the Honolulu Art Museum of Art, and heiress Doris Duke’s former Hawaii home. The museum/house was incredibly gorgeous, and I’d made it a priority to snag the only tickets left on the morning of the day we left Oahu. By the time the tour ended and we were dropped back off at the Honolulu Museum of Art, we were hungry. We spied a pile of muffins at a small coffee shop in one of the museum’s outdoor courtyards, still warm and steaming up their display case. It looked like they’d been baked just a couple hours ago by someone’s mother or grandmother. They had that unmistakably homemade look. Of course, we immediately bought one. They turned out to be mango muffins, with chunks of ripe mango distributed throughout a gloriously moist, almost cake-like muffin with a crunchy oat and brown sugar topping. We scarfed that first muffin in less than 60 seconds, and promptly went to buy another one. When I came home, I set to work testing recipes to replicate that delicious muffin we had. Happy to report I came very close to it!
The Mango to Muffin Ratio
For me, this mango muffin recipe has the right ratio of mango to muffin, muffin to mango. When you bite into it, you definitely taste mango, but it is surrounded by a good amount of soft, cakey muffin. I’m personally not a huge fan of fruit muffins that are mostly fruit, because they tend to be overly wet, and well…less muffin-like! In the end, my North Star was the memory of the perfection that was that Honolulu Museum of Art muffin. Moist, not overly sweet, with a definite mango flavor that’s complemented by the crunchy oat topping. These muffins also have oats in the batter. They may add fiber and nutrition, but they also give the muffins a more substantial texture that holds up to the moisture of the mango. Don’t worry though, the texture of the muffins isn’t dry or “rough.” The oats get soaked in buttermilk to soften them! The buttermilk also adds fantastic flavor to these muffins.
Buying & Preparing Mangos
Mangos are a fruit that Americans don’t eat often. When buying mangos, look for a soft, but not squishy texture. They should have the same give as a ripe avocado. You can also smell the mango. If it smells like a mango (i.e. if it’s fragrant), it’s likely that it’s ready to be used! Avoid any mangos that have overly wrinkly skin, which may signify that they are over-ripe. A mango at this stage should be used immediately, but you can store it for a few days in the fridge. If you can only find un-ripe mangos at your grocery store, you can speed up the ripening process in much the same way you would with peaches or bananas. Place them in a paper bag for a couple days. To prepare the mango for this recipe, use a sharp vegetable peeler or paring knife to peel back the skin. Cut the mango in half lengthwise, avoiding the large plate-like pit in the middle. Then cut into small cubes, and they’re ready to be added to the muffin batter! This mango muffin recipe is also a great way to use up slightly overripe mango. It may be a bit squishy for eating on its own, but it’s ideal for baking. If you’re craving more mangos after making these muffins, check out my mango pie recipe (it. is. delicious.) that I posted many years ago. It may be old, but it’s so good!
Mango Muffins Recipe: Instructions
Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F. Line a muffin tin with paper muffin cups. Start by making the oatmeal crumb topping. Combine ¼ cup flour, ¼ cup oats, ½ cup light brown sugar, and ½ teaspoon cinnamon in a bowl. Add the 3 tablespoons of melted butter and combine with a spatula until the mixture comes together into crumbs. Set aside. Now make the muffin batter. In a large mixing bowl, soak 1 cup oats in 1 cup buttermilk for at least 15 minutes, or up to 45 minutes. Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and spices in a medium bowl and set aside. Once the oats are done soaking, stir in the egg, brown sugar, butter, and vanilla. Fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until just combined. Then fold in the cubed mango. Divide the batter amongst your muffin cups (it’ll be a heaping ¼ cup measure per cup). And sprinkle each muffin generously with crumb topping. It will almost seem like too much topping, but take your time distributing all the crumb mixture across your 12 muffins, gently pressing it into the muffins as you go. Bake for 21-23 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool further. These are best served warm!
