Pumpkin and mango – two of my favorite things – shouldn’t normally go together. But paired in this spiced cake, they are so delicious. The mango is the subtle star, sweet and meltingly soft. If you’ve had honey cake (hopefully smeared with cream cheese), you’ll have an idea of what this one tastes like. But this version, tall and crowned with mango slices, will be the show stopper on your fall table.

To make it, In a large bowl, whisk together 2.75 cups of all-purpose flour, 2 teaspoons of cinnamon, 2 teaspoons of ground ginger, 1 teaspoon of baking soda, and 3/4 teaspoon of salt.

In another large bowl, whisk together 4 eggs, 2 cups of sugar (seems like a lot, but it’s a big cake that comes out with the perfect amount of sweetness), 1 cup of pumpkin purée, 1 cup of vegetable oil, and 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract.

Get 2 ripe mangoes, and use a vegetable peeler to remove their skins. Cut the mango away from the pits. Take one half of one mango and cut it into medium chunks. Add the chunks and any other mangled bits of mango to the bowl of wet ingredients and fold them in. Then fold in the dry ingredients and stir just until they are combined and smooth.

Heat your oven to 325° F. Grease a 9-inch springform pan. Pour the batter in. Then, cut the remaining mango lengthwise into slices that are 3/4 inch thick. Ripe mango is tough to work with (mine was pretty mauled), but everything will be ok! Fan the slices around the cake so one end of each slice is near the edge of the pan and the other end of each slice is near the center of the cake. Just do your best to make it look pretty, but don’t worry too much.

Put the pan in the oven, and bake the cake for 2 hours until it is set, domed, golden brown, and you can poke the center with a toothpick that comes out cleanly.

Once cool enough to handle, remove the cake from the pan and serve it in all its glory. I love seeing the golden mango gems hidden within. Such a treat- for breakfast, dessert, or a snack!

This recipe is adapted from the Saveur magazine, November 2015.

Shopping list:

• Flour- 2.75 cups
• Cinnamon- 2 teaspoons
• Ground ginger- 2 teaspoons
• Baking soda- 1 teaspoon
• Salt- 3/4 teaspoon
• Sugar- 2 cups
• Pumpkin puree- 1 cup
• Vegetable oil- 1 cup
• Eggs- 4
• Vanilla extract- 1 teaspoon
• Mangoes- 2