Fresh Mango Lime Bread

I made this for my aunt's Hawaiian themed Labor Day BBQ. I really wanted to make spam musubi from Joelen's Blog, but I was worried that I might be the only one eating it. I'll save this for another day, because I love Spam! I decided to go the sweet route, but I had to makeshift a recipe for whatever was in house. Since Eric & I were working on our house this past weekend, I really didn't get to do my grocery shopping & stock up my pantry up. I was hoping to make something with pineapple...but I didn't have any on hand. So thankfully, I had bought mangoes the week before, and they were perfectly ripe. It was quite the hit, and I'm glad to have brought something fresh and fruity. It was a nice change from my normal blueberry-banana bread, and so delicious when served warm. Enjoy!

Fresh Mango Lime Bread
Adapted from Joy the Baker & Dorie Greenspan's - Baking:From My Home to Yours

Ingredients:
3 large eggs (I used cage free)
3/4 cup applesauce
2 1/2 cups white whole wheat flour
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (packed) light brown sugar
1 to 1 1/4 cup diced mangos from 1 large peeled and pitted mango
1 cup grated apple from 1 peeled Granny Smith apple
3/4 cup moist and plump golden raisins
grated zest of 1 lime

Preparation:
1. Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 8-1/2 x 4-1/2 inch loaf pan, dust the inside with flour and tap out the excess. Put the pan on an insulated baking sheet. This extra insulation will keep the bottom of the bread from over baking.
2. Whisk the eggs and the oil together.
3. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, spices and salt. Rub the brown sugar between your palms into the bowl, breaking up any lumps, then stir it in. Pour the wet ingredients over the dry, switch to a sturdy rubber spatula or wooden spoon and mix until blended- the batter will be very thick (really more like a dough than a batter) and not easily mixed, but persevere, it will soon come together. Stir in the mango, apples, raisins and zest. Scrape the batter into the pan and smooth the top with a rubber spatula.
4. Bake the bread for 1 1/2 hours, or until it is golden brown and a thin knife inserted into the center comes out clean. If the bread looks as if it’s getting too brown as it bakes, cover loosely with a foil tent. Transfer the pan to a rack and cool for 5 minutes before running a knife around the sides of the pan and unmolding. Invert and cool to room temperature right side up on the rack.

Review: The family loved it and ate it up as soon I put this out, people went crazy for mango. I sure did! Perfect summery bread to enjoy with a cup of coffee, too.