No-Bake Mirrored Mango Cheese Cake (eggless) …with the goodness of Goji Berries.

"Mango is like a drug. You must have more and more and more of the Mango until there is no Mango left. Not even for Mango!"

Aaaah yes I love mangoes….and I hate it that it’s the tail end of this wondrous luscious’ fruit season here. I have pureed two whole jars of mango and frozen it for…err…a rainy day (in the kitchen). ;p

I love the fruit in its full glory, nevertheless I also like to present its versatility in all forms- shakes, smoothies, ice-cream, mousse, frozen desserts, cakes and currently cheese cake!

My readers would know I am an incorrigible fruit-dessert person of the first order.
Check out the archives at Zaayeka to know more about dragon fruits, persimmons, walnuts, bananas, strawberries, almonds, chikoos, and what not you can do with them!





This cheese cake wasn’t a result of an idle summer afternoon, to while away time in the kitchen…but a carefully thought out plan to create yet another magic with mango.

I just had to make something delectably rich yet light and almost decandent in taste, a spoonful of which melted in the mouth to release just a monosyllable….mmmm !!





I was scouting for a good mousse cake recipe but almost all had egg whites which went uncooked. Somehow I am averse to the idea of uncooked eggs in my dish. So I settled for the no-bake idiot-proof cheesecake instead.

When searching for a recipe I generally review quite a few before I start in the kitchen. More often than not the recipe I use in the end is not a replica of any one recipe but is inspired by two or more recipes give or take a few changes here and there to suit the tastes, ofcourse all in my head! I take the risk, try it in my ‘lab’ (read kitchen) and not to boast but 8 out of 10 times it’s a success. Only then do I post it for the world here.

(And you thought food blogging was easy!!) :p





This recipe I discuss here does not use store bought Philadelphia cream cheese. (I import mine so have saved it for less glorious fruits. A mango can carry the dessert on its own shoulders unaided.) ;p
I made my cheese at home using whole milk. I used one litre of milk to make the cream/curd cheese. It is not mascarpone or quark or greek yogurt or hung curd for that matter but very similar though in terms of the making process and subtly differs from them in textures and taste.

The only thing that was store bought was 25% Low Fat whipping cream.
(Well technically….. I already had that in my fridge, I always keep a one litre pack at hand. Call it hazards of being a foodie.)





It was all good…till I opened my fridge door rather hard resulting in a packet of goji berries falling off the door rack (which I bought from a local while trekking in the Genting hills)….ok so they wanted to go in too.. added them to it.
Turning it into a ‘tasty’ and ‘healthy’ treat!!

Then went a step further to try and mirror it...for 'glamour' (chuckle). I know this reads more like a fashion blog than a food one. C'mon even foods need to sit pretty.

My first foray into "mirror-ing" was not a grand success though.
Used a little mango juice & gelatin, it set well but I had pressed cling foil on top to avoid forming crystals when in the fridge,which resulted in an uneven edge to the mirror. :(

Nevertheless I ate all the uneven-edged slices myself so what was served on the platter to the hub and the guests was smooth looking savvy mirrored cheese cake.






Mirrored Mango Cheese Cake …with the goodness of Goji Berries
(This recipe makes a 6x4 inch square cheese cake. )

Ingredients:

1 litre full fat/whole milk

1 tsp citric acid

1/2 cup warm water

2 mangoes- peeled,cored and pureed

1 cup low fat cream

3/4 cup castor sugar (adjust according to sweetness of mangoes)

2 tbsp chopped goji berries (optional)

10-12 graham crackers/digestive buiscuits, crushed

1 tbsp butter at room temperature

1 tsp gelatin

2 tbsp water

5 tbsp mango juice

a dash of lemon juice

Method:

Mix the crushed biscuits with the butter. (I added a little cocoa powder too but it can conviniently be skipped.)
In a greased tin foil or spring-form pan (I didn't have a springform pan, so I used a regular tin foil) spread the buiscuit mixture. Press to form a firm base.

Leave to set/harden in the freezer.

Put the milk to boil in a thick bottomed pan.
When it comes to a boil, remove from the flame and keep aside for a few minutes.
In another bowl, mix the citric acid crystals with the warm water.
Pour this mixture into the hot milk and allow to stand for about 5 minutes till the milk curdles on its own. Stir gently if required.
Strain this mixture using a muslin cloth/cheese cloth (double layered).

Hang it for 2 hours in the fridge, with a cup below it to collect the whey.

Now, liquidize the prepared cream cheese, sugar, mango puree in a blender.

Whip the crean till soft peaks form and ever so slightly fold in the cream cheese-mango mix.

Add the chopped berries at this point. Cool.

Pour this over the biscuit base. Leave to set in the fridge, for atleast an hour or two.

For the mirror, put 1 tsp of the gelatin in 2 tbsp of water to bloom.

Heat this over low flame till all the gelatin dissolves. Quickly add the mango juice and the lemon juice. Stir continuously to avoid forming lumps.

Pour this over the set cheesecake. Tap the tin foil/pan to eliminate the bubbles.

Allow to set in fridge overnight.

When serving dip your knife in hot water to cut smooth slices. Enjoy!!!

Cardamom Laced Mango-Strawberry Heart Chiffon Cakes (Eggless)

"A compromise is the art of 'dividing a cake' in such a way that everyone believes that he has got the biggest piece."

Well that was something I did not have to bother with. Why? 'Cause I already had divided the cake into individual serve-size pieces. Smart me! ;p

If you ever visit me this time of the year (especially in these last couple of weeks) a whiff of an intoxicating perfume will hit you as you enter the door (and make you forget all your manners) while you helplessly follow it to the room where those juicy deep coloured yellow goblets lie on a ruck sack waiting to ripen to be devoured. Ahhh! yes the Alphonsos are the culprit.

There is an over haul of mangoes in my house. They always lure me into buying them as they longingly look at me in all their golden glory, from the vendor's cart. It would require a heart of stone for anyone to ignore this luscious stone fruit. I cannot help having atleast two in a day...I am smitten. But then its only in summers that I get to eat ( and sometimes drink) this fruit, fit for the kings. My weak resolve has lead to my diet being shown the door. Alas!

This mango cake was made in an effort to 'spread' the calories....(chuckle).
We were visiting a neighbour-cum-family friend of ours after a long time so I made these pretty little hearts to share with them.

This mango cake is elegant and light with a hint of cardamom giving it a rich aroma. The lite strawberry chantilly(frosting) and the sandwhiched jam just give it another dimension and depth in flavour. Being eggless and sans butter, its low fat and can be had as afternoon snack/hi-tea too.




While I was at it, I realized just how much treasure we have in the tropics in terms of fruits, and just how much we ignore it and try to kill ourselves scouting for fruits of the temperate regions to recreate all those gorgeous tarts, tortes, pies when we have perfectly valid and delicious substitutes growing in our own backyard! I understand that 'traditionally' a blueberry pie cannot be made into a guava pie...however I see no harm in giving it a shot.

There’s a fine line between tradition and caricature and I see no reason why a banana brownie can’t be transformed into a dragon fruit one, or why a strawberry cake can’t become a persimmon cake. Take a moment to rediscover the tropical fruits and vegetables you have on hand and you may be surprised at how much more they have to offer. Go local !!

Cardamom Laced Mango-Strawberry Heart Chiffon Cakes (Eggless)

Ingredients-

For the mango cake:

1/2 cup semolina ( fine variety )

1 cup all purpose flour

1/2 cup whole wheat flour

1/2 tsp corn flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

a pinch of salt

1 1/2 cups ripe mango pulp (I used fresh pulp from three medium sized alphonso mangoes)

3/4 cup condensed milk

1/2 cup luke warm low-fat milk

3-4 tbsp canola oil/any odourless oil

1 1/4 tsp ground cardamom

1/2 cup powdered sugar (adjust according to ripeness of mangoes, mine were really ripe/sweet)

For the jam: See here.

For the strawberry chantilly frosting: Read the strawberry whipped cream recipe.

Method-

Pre heat your oven to 180 degrees C.

Seive the dry ingredients twice (except semolina and sugar).

In a large bowl, beat the condensed milk, warm milk, oil and sugar till the mixture is creamy and pale. Add the cardamom powder and mango pulp and beat again for a minute on low.

Now add the wet ingredients to the dry, slowly incorporating all the liquid mix. Take care not to lose the trapped air in the batter.

Tip: Always mix a cake batter ever so slightly, like forming the digit '8' with your spoon.

Pour into 6" round greased & lined cake tin. Consecutively you can bake in individual moulds of your choice. Bake at 170 degrees C for 15 minutes.

Cool on rack for about an hour or so, to let the mango flavour heighten.

Slice the individual cakes and layer with the strawberry jam. Frost lightly with the strawberry chantilly. Sprinkle decorations if desired.

Serve.