MANGO, COCONUT AND PASSION FRUIT CHEESECAKE by Tania Ahmed

Summer means warm days filled with being cooped up inside to beat the heat. But summer also means great times as mangoes remain in season through and through! Creamy, sweet and sour at the same time, and with a scent that can transport you to a crystalline-water beach, this luscious and sweet mango, coconut and passion fruit cheesecake feels like a little tropical getaway. Get hold of some beautiful yellow mangoes and get cooking this luxuriously smooth cheesecake, that will take you straight from your kitchen to a tropical paradise in no time!

 
Ingredients:
 
For mango cheesecake:
• 2 tbsp powdered gelatin (soaked in 1⁄2 cup cold water)
• 450 g cream cheese
• 1 cup mango puree
• 1 cup caster sugar
• 2 cups whipping cream
 
For coconut cheesecake:
• 1⁄2 can coconut cream
• 450g cream cheese
• 1 tbsp powdered gelatin (soaked in 1⁄4 cup water)
• 3⁄4 cup caster sugar
• 1⁄4 cup desiccated coconut
 
For passion fruit jelly:
• 1 cup passion fruit puree
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 sheet gelatin (soaked in cold water)
 

Method:
• I have used market bought pound cake as the base of this dessert. However, you can bake a pound cake at home and cut it into 3-inch diameter thin discs.
 
• To make the jelly layer, add fruit puree and sugar in a small saucepan and heat until combined. Take it off the heat and add in gelatin. Stir well and pour in a sheet pan and place in fridge until the jelly sets. Once set cut little discs out of the jelly sheet using a 1-inch round cookie cutter.
 
• To make coconut cheesecake, beat cream cheese, sugar and coconut cream. Warm the pre- soaked gelatin slightly and pour in while beating on medium. Fold in the desiccated coconut. Pour the batter in 1.5-inch round dome shaped moulds and place in freezer until frozen.
 
• Beat cream cheese, mango puree and sugar until smooth and creamy. Warm the pre-soaked gelatin slightly and pour in while beating on medium. Fold in whipped cream. Pour the batter out in 3-inch round dome shaped moulds evenly and place the coconut cheesecake domes first and then jelly discs in the centre and seal the domes with more mango cheesecake mixture. Leave the moulds in the fridge for 4-6 hours until properly set. Pop each cheesecake out and carefully place it on the pound cake disc.
 
• Decorate each dome with thin strips cut out of dried mangoes and dive in for a tropical explosion in your mouth!
 

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PHOTOS: TANIA AHMED