Mango Cream Cake

It's a mAnGo season! I've been eating mangoes everyday and have tried six different varieties so far. I am pretty sure that Ranjit will find this dessert to be a waste of a perfectly good mango... I have to admit that I find fresh ripe mango to be the best thing you can make out of mangoes as well.

But there is a special occasion in the family today -- just cut mangoes would not do -- and I decided to try to make this Martha Stewart's Mango Cream cake with a few adjustments.

For the crust:

2/3 cup walnuts
4-5 tbsp sugar
1/3 cup flour
~3-4 tbsp melted butter

For the mousse:

1/3 cup orange juice
1 heaped tbsp gelatin
3+ ripe mangoes
1/4 cup sugar
1 lime juice
1 cup (200 ml) fresh cream
~1/4 cup caster sugar

1+ ripe mango for the topping

Preheat the oven to 175C. Put the walnuts and sugar into a blender and grind finely. Combine in a bowl the ground nuts, flour and melted butter and mix it well using a fork. Butter the spring form pan and press the mixture into the bottom until it is firm. Put it into the oven for about 15-20 minutes or until it is golden brown. Set it aside to cool.

Pour orange juice over the gelatin and keep it aside until it becomes soft. Bring some water in a sauce pan to a boil, put the cup with the gelatin inside it and keep it on a low heat until the gelatin dissolves. Remove it from the heat.

Cut the mangoes and put the pulp into a blender. Squeeze one lime juice and sprinkle about 1/4 cup of sugar over it and blend it well until you get a smooth puree. Add the gelatin into the mixture and blend it for a moment until it mixes in well.

Use an electric mixer to beat the fresh cream with caster sugar until soft peaks start forming. Mix 1/3 of the cream into the mango mixture and carefully fold in the rest of the cream with a spatula only until combined so that the mousse stays fluffy. Pour the mango cream mixture over the crust and put it into the freezer for a few hours until it becomes firm.

Just before serving, top the cake with freshly cut mango slices. Looks nice! I'm waiting to taste it and will keep you updated :o)

P.S.: we all loved it last night, it tasted pretty damn good :o) Very refreshing dessert for a hot summer night. Even Ranjit said that it was not a waste of a mango! haha