Homemade Mango Shortcake Cake (eggless recipe)

This easy mango shortcake cake is light and airy, perfect for as a summer dessert recipe that is fresh, fruity and fluffy. The tender and soft shortcake has a delicious sugary crust, served with juicy mango chunks and a lightly whipped cream.

Why is it we only serve shortcake with strawberries? It seemed only fitting for me to make the most of mango season and serve it with fresh mango chunks macerated in a little sugar and lemon juice. The yogurt whipped cream adds a delicious sourness that is perfect with the soft and fluffy shortcake. It is such a winning dessert all around not to mention happens to be eggless and is the perfect summer dessert to bake. So I decided to bring mangos and cream & strawberry shortcake together to create this mango shortcake cake that is paired perfectly with cold cream.

This mango shortcake cake recipe is such a winner because you do not need any fancy ingredients to make this shortcake itself, a few pantry staples bring it together easily and it bakes up very fast. Think fluffy vanilla cake meets a crusty biscuit on the outside – this recipe is the best of both worlds. Not to mention you can serve the shortcake warm so there is no cooling time needed as well. It is wonderful to bake ahead though and have dessert ready to serve as needed. So let us get to it.

What is a shortcake? Why is it called a shortcake? What makes a short cake short?

These questions are debatable. Some recipes say a shortcake is only a shortcake when made with eggs, sugar, butter and flour. While other recipes say eggs re not needed at all. A shortcake is like a scone or a biscuit but more fluffy and cake like. It has a crust on the outside but very tender and light on the inside. It is called a shortcake because of the fat in it aka the shortening and that is what makes a shortcake short. There is plenty of fat in the batter and baking powder/soda which yields a very tender crumb once baked.

What is the difference between a cake and a shortcake?

Shortcake is considered to be a drop biscuit but fluffier and sweeter. I don’t mean biscuit as in your snappy biscuits and tea I mean butter biscuits served with gravy like my brown butter biscuits. While a cake is very rich, consists of eggs, could include additional ingredients like sour cream, hot water, oil etc. and it is most often than not served with frosting or icing.

Is shortcake the same as shortbread? Is shortcake just a biscuit?

Shortcake is nothing like shortbread. Short bread is more like a coffee biscuit that you serve at tea time. It is not fluffy and soft but more crumbly and snappy. Shortcakes are similar to the butter souther style biscuits which are cake like and very tender with a crust on the outside.

What ingredients are needed to make mango shortcake cake?

To make the shortcake cake we need all purpose flour, corn flour, baking powder, salt, castor sugar, vanilla, almond extract, butter, whole milk, granulated sugar and cashew nuts. To make the macerated mangoes we need fresh mango chunks, castor sugar, lemon juice. For the whipped cream we need heavy whipping cream, yogurt, icing sugar, vanilla.

Vegan – to keep this recipe plant based you can use almond milk in place of the full fat milk and a vegetable butter to replace the regular butter. I would sugared using a neutral flavored milk and butter as we do not want to over power the flavors of the short cake. For the whipped cream you can use any plant based whipping cream option.

Gluten free – to make the dessert gluten free you can use a gluten free flour mix (cup for cup) measure. Do not use almond flour alone, it will not work.

What equipment is needed to make mango shortcake cake?

To make the mango shortcake cake we need a large mixing bowl, rubber spatula and your hands or a pastry cutter to rub the flour and butter together. To make the macerated strawberries we need a knife, chopping board and mixing bowl. To make the whipped cream we need a mixing bowl with an electric beater, you could also use a whisk but this would take a lot more time to whip up. The shortcake cake is baked in a 9 inch round tin lined with baking paper in the oven.

Serving this mango shortcake cake?

The best way to serve this shortcake cake is while it is still warm, and the whipped cream is chilled and the mango chunks have released plenty of juice. You can serve it with a scoop of vanilla ice cream as well. Alternatively you could just pour cold cream on top with serve it with mangoes that are not macerated. Pair it with my mango cooler and you’ve got yourself the summer tea party menu of the year.

Storing the leftover mango shortcake cake?

I always like serving the shortcake cake separately with the cream and mangoes on the side to allow everyone to decide for themselves how heavy they like their cream and mangoes. Personally I love more cream and strawberries. But also this helps store all the components later. The shortcake cake can be wrapped in cling wrap wrap or place in a zip lock bag and store at room temperature for 2 days, alternatively in the fridge for 1 week – when ready to eat, warm it and serve. The whipped cream and macerated strawberries can be stored in individual air tight containers in the fridge for up to 2 days.

Looking for more mango dessert recipes?

Now that we have covered how to make this mango shortcake cake recipe, you can have a look at the recipe video on my socials but let’s get to it. Don’t forget to follow along for more fun recipe inspiration.

If you try this recipe out, don’t forget to share it with me on pinterest & instagram so I can see how it turned out. I’d love nothing more than to chat with you on your cooking/baking.