Juicy, fresh mangoes in a breakfast cake

Some say a mango tastes like a cross between a peach, an apricot, and a pineapple. There are many varieties of mangoes, with skin color varying from yellow to green to purple, but all have a sweet, golden flesh.

Mangoes can be substituted in any recipe calling for peaches -- in fruit salads, desserts, and on top of breakfast cereals.

Choose mangoes that are slightly soft to the touch, like a peach. They will ripen in a few days at room temperature.

Mangoes have been an important fruit in Oriental cooking for thousands of years but are only recently gaining recognition in this country.

Here is a recipe for a breakfast cake topped with sliced mangoes and a crunchy mixture of butter and sugar. Mango Breakfast Cake 1 cup sifted all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon baking powder 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/2 cup butter or margarine 2/3 cup brown sugar 2 eggs 1 teaspoon vanilla 1 tablespoon milk 2 cups thinly sliced mangoes 1/4 cup sugar 2 tablespoons butter or margarine

Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt. Cream butter; graduallt add sugar, beating well. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in milk and vanilla, blending well.

Turn batter into 2 greased and floured 9-inch round plans. Arrange 1 cup mango over batter in each pan. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons sugar over batter in each pan, dot each with 1 tablespoon butter. Bake in 325- degree F. oven about 30 minutes. Serve warm. Makes 10 to 12 servings.