It’s summertime and the livin’ is easy…..sigh. It is a wonderful thing to be off, I had almost forgotten how good it feels to sleep to 6 and dare I say even 6:30 in the morning, just because I can! Now don’t think I’m just lying around doing nothing, while it doesn’t seem like I have gotten a lot accomplished my time has been spent just catching up with all that I hadn’t done. I either have to start taking a serious regiment of vitamins or really figure a better way of time management. My company must have a class on time management but first I have to find the time to take it…..sigh Ok, enough of my frivolous banter, I know why your here and its not to hear the old chef ramble (although I am very good it!), it’s guest post Friday!!!! I do love Fridays, not only do I get to share the stage with one of the rising stars in our foodie world, more importantly I get to introduce a friend to all the wonderful people in our community!Today my friends, I would like to turn over my blog to Marsha from The Harried Cook. For those of you that don’t already know Marsha you are going to make a new friend today, and one that you will want to visit a few times a week! I think I’ve put on a few pounds just looking at all of the sinfully delicious creations she shares with us. So don’t say you haven’t been warned, you’re going to find The Harried Cook not only fattening but addictive! Your also going to find one of the nicest bloggers your every going to meet.So my friends sit back, relax, put your feet up, and prepare yourself for a snack run after you get done here, because your going to be hungry, as I give you……….
Mango Mascarpone Cheesecake with Cardamom Whipped Cream
It really is an honor to be guest posting on Chef Dennis’s blog. I don’t have to tell any of you what an incredibly generous and supportive person he is. I know from reading past guest posts, and the comments that his readers leave, that he has touched the lives of so many people – not just the students at his school – but each of us who has had the chance to interact with him in the foodie world.
He was one of the first people to comment on my blog when I started about four months ago, and reach out to me on Foodbuzz with valuable advice on how to increase my readership. I love his blog and the food he cooks,and I am sure I am not the only one who has greatly benefited from his ‘Ask Chef Dennis’ series. Thank you, Chef Dennis, for all that you do!
For those of you I haven’t had the pleasure of meeting so far, my name is Marsha. I am a work-from home mom to the cutest 20 month old in the world, and I am sweetaholic! Yep.That’s me! I have 32 sweet teeth in my mouth, and I cannot go through a day without a sweet treat (or four). I am the kind of person who goes to a buffet,and nibbles on some good bread, skips all the other courses, and heads straight for the dessert counter. So when Chef Dennis asked me to guest post, I didn’t have to think twice about what kind of dish I wanted to make. Dessert, of course!
The rest of the decisions didn’t happen so easily though. I thought, and thought and thought some more. What would be good enough for Chef Dennis’ blog, and for his readers? Finally, this is what I came up with. Here’s my Mango Mascarpone Cheesecake with Cardamom Whipped Cream. I really hope you like it!
Mango season is still going strong here in India, and we’re loving every minute of it!
Most mangoes that come into our home just get devoured as they are, but this time we made an exception. And we were pleased with the results.
I must mention that this is a small batch recipe. I have recently started making everything in miniature, just to make sure my sugar addiction doesn’t take over completely. I used 3” fluted pie tins to bake these beauties. This recipe makes four 3” tarts. To make the same recipe in an 9”springform pan, you need to make three times the amounts mentioned below.
Mango Mascarpone Cheesecake w/ Cardamom Whipped Cream
Ingredients:
Crust
3oz ginger nut cookies
1/2 cup rolled oats
2 tbsp salted butter
Filling
4oz mascarpone (I used homemade)
4oz cream cheese
1 egg
1/3 cup sugar
½ tsp vanilla
½ tsp lemon juice
A pinch of salt
Mango Gelee
½ cup pureed mango, strained
1 tbsp powdered sugar (more if the mango is sour)
1 tsp lemon juice
1 ½ tsp powdered gelatin
2 tbsp water
Cardamom Whipped Cream
½ cup whipping cream
1 tbsp powdered sugar (or more if desired)
½ tsp vanilla
1/8 tsp fresh cardamom powder
Method
Crust
1. In a blender or food processor, powder the ginger nut cookies and oats until fine, and transfer to a bowl
2. Pour in the melted butter and stir well to combine.
3. Divide the mixture among the four mini pie tins,and press into the base and the sides of the tin.
4. Refrigerate until required.
Cheesecake Filling
1. In a large bowl, whip the cream cheese and mascarpone until light and fluffy.
2. Add the sugar and continue whipping for another minute.
3. Add the egg. Beat well to incorporate.
4. Mix in the vanilla, lemon juice, and salt. Whip until evenly blended.
5. Spoon into the prepared pie crusts, making sure each crust is about ¾ full.
6. Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes, until the filling has puffed up slightly and the centers of the cheesecakes wobble slightly when shaken gently.
7. Remove from the oven and allow to cool. The cheesecakes will continue to cook and firm up while cooling.
8. When completely cool, top with the mango gelee and refrigerate at least 3 hours, until the gelee has set.
Mango Gelee
1. In a small bowl, sprinkle the powdered gelatin over the 2 tbsp of water and allow the gelatin to soften for a few minutes.
In a medium bowl, combine the mango puree, sugar and lemon juice.
In a medium bowl, combine the mango puree, sugar and lemon juice.
2. Place the bowl with the gelatin in a larger bowl filled with warm water and allow the gelatin to melt.
3. Stir the liquid into the mango puree and stir well to combine.
4. Spoon ¼ of this mango mixture over each cheesecake and refrigerate to set.
Cardamom Whipped Cream
1. Whip the cream till it forms soft peaks.
2. Add the vanilla, sugar and cardamom powder and continue to whip for a few minutes until well combined. Do not over-whip the cream.
Serve the cheesecakes chilled (maybe garnished with a sprig of mint) and spoon some of the cardamom whipped cream alongside each cheesecake.
This cheesecake is really, really creamy because of the mascarpone. The gelee is supposed to be just set, and still creamy and not rubbery or chewy. The mango flavor really comes through. To be completely honest– cardamom is my LEAST favorite spice. And so, I don’t know why I decided to use it in this recipe. It just made sense to me when I thought about it, and I hate to admit it works really well with the mango.
I really love being a guest here on Chef Dennis’ blog, and I really hope all of you enjoy this recipe. Thank you for having me, Chef Dennis!Happy weekend, all! I have to say that is one of the prettiest little cheesecakes I have ever seen, I hope you enjoyed this wonderful post as much as I did, and before you forget, please head on over to The Harried Cook and say hi to Marsha, just remember to tell her Chef Dennis sent you! While your there you can enter to win a copy of Jill Colona’s book Mad About Macaroons, in fact Marsha is giving away two copies of Jill’s book so you really have two chances to win!! So hurry over to The Harried Cook to enter to win, you have until June 26th to enter.Well my friends that’s about it for today, for anyone in the Asheville Area, I will be down on Sunday and Monday to finalize the plans for our part in the Asheville Wine and Food Festival, it is truly going to be the must attend event of the season and I promise to have more information for you when I return. Just mark your calendars for Friday August 11th and Saturday August 12th. It is truly going to be a stellar event!Have a wonderful weekend, and please make sure you take some time to spend with your family and friends. Eat something wonderfully delicious and just enjoy the day!
Dona Branca says
December 18, 2013 at 3:41 amHello Chef Dennis, so far I tried two amazing recipes from your blog.
And one of them is this delicious mango cheesecake.
I would like to share both recipes ( mango cheesecake and spinach tart ) with my Portuguese readers.
How do a get your permission ?
Let me know please.
Thank you .
Chef Dennis Littley says
December 18, 2013 at 7:40 amhi Dona
I’m very happy to hear that you enjoyed both recipes, as for sharing them with your readers if you make them both and take your own pictures and re write the instructions, I have no problem with you sharing the recipes. If you just wanted to share them as is, you may use an image but not the recipe, in which case just place a link with the image telling your readers where they can find the recipes.
Thank you so much for asking!
Dennis
Raquel@Erecipe Free Nutritional Calculator says
June 29, 2011 at 7:18 amit is so fabulous, stunning what can I say I just want to have a taste on that creamy cheese cake love it.
mangiabella says
June 28, 2011 at 8:59 pmMarsha everything about this amazing dessert is over the top fabulous!!! I loooove mangos. Just beautiful….wonderful guest post Chef D…heading over to Marsha's blog now 🙂
Monet says
June 27, 2011 at 10:43 pmWhat a beautiful and elegant dessert! This almost looks too pretty to eat (almost)! Thank you for sharing with me. You two both make me smile…and you make my stomach growl! I hope you two are having a happy Monday! Much love and blessings from Austin!
kitchenarian says
June 27, 2011 at 10:26 pmThese little cheesecakes look delicious! I love the addition of the spiced whipped cream. Great job Marsha! Thanks Chef for featuring another great blog.
Pauline says
June 27, 2011 at 8:42 pmMouth watering!
Lauren at Keep It Sweet says
June 27, 2011 at 4:24 pmGreat guest post! That entire dessert looks amazing!
Megan @ Pip and Ebby says
June 27, 2011 at 1:17 pmI love little desserts. They are so cute, and this one looks absolutely mouth-watering! I've been on a mango kick lately…must try these!
Ruth says
June 27, 2011 at 8:15 amThese little desserts looks sooo good! Great recipe and fantastic photos!
Jen_from_NJ says
June 27, 2011 at 12:51 amWOW – I need to make this since my daughter is a huge mango fan! Beautiful!
Angela@RecipesFromMyMom says
June 26, 2011 at 8:53 pmLove the ginger cookie crust but it's that amazing mango color that drew me in. Another beautiful and delicious guest post!
Eftychia says
June 26, 2011 at 7:22 pmThis dessert look really delicious! Your recipes are so well written! Thank you very much for sharing. I already saved this one to my favorite list…
Kate @Kate from Scratch says
June 26, 2011 at 10:07 amI love The Harried cook! I've been following her blog for awhile now and she never disappoints! Great work!
mmmmangoes. Delicious. Congratulations on this wonderful guest post.
Great post Chef!
I am Poupin in the kitchen says
June 25, 2011 at 9:46 pmI made a mango and coconut cheesecake last xmas, it didn't look as good as yours! Looks very delicious.
Myrna says
June 25, 2011 at 7:34 pmI have so much fun visiting in the bloggy world! Hi Chef Dennis! Meet your new fan here=) Marsha amazing, de-luscious dessert! Homemade marscapone cheese, you're too much=D
briarrose says
June 25, 2011 at 7:24 pmWonderful mix of flavors from the crust on up. Beautiful job.
Gloria says
June 25, 2011 at 4:33 pmAmazing post Dennis I love mangoes so much and these look heavenly!! LOL gloria
EA Stewart-The Spicy RD says
June 25, 2011 at 3:01 pmLove, love, love mango! This looks fabulous! I'll substitute gluten-free cookies and oats foe the crust to makeit gluten-free. Yum!
Apron Appeal says
June 25, 2011 at 1:23 pmI wish I was in Ashville, NC this weekend. Actually I wish I lived there…anyway, I'm a fan of mini desserts for the same reason Marsha is, I halve almost every recipe I encounter just to make sure I don't have too much lyin' around.
A Kitchen Muse says
June 25, 2011 at 11:30 amThese are too pretty to eat! I just recently got into exploring with mangoes and will definitely try the recipe!
Kate@Diethood says
June 25, 2011 at 4:59 amOh what a wonderful guest! Marsha is a sweetheart!
Marsha, this dessert is heavenly! I love the flavors, the textures, the beautiful color… everything looks amazing!
Marsha @ The Harried Cook says
June 25, 2011 at 4:29 amThank you! I am so overwhelmed by all your kind words & encouraging comments 🙂 I really appreciate it! I look forward to visiting all your blogs very soon… Can't wait to discover new recipes and most importantly – make new friends! 🙂
Thanks again, Chef Dennis, for the invitation, encouragement and all the guidance you give us! I really love that I was able to guest post on your wonderful blog!
a. maren says
June 25, 2011 at 4:11 ammango season! why don't i live somewhere that has a mango season! honestly. what have i been doing with my life.
these look wonderful!
Erin says
June 25, 2011 at 2:59 amThis looks absolutely amazing! I love the color of the mango. And the cadramom in the cream sounds delicious! I just recently discovered the Harried Cook – becoming a big fan!
Maureen says
June 24, 2011 at 11:17 pmCan it get any better than this? I just love mango and cheesecake is always my friend. Beautiful cake.
Lizzy says
June 24, 2011 at 10:49 pmFabulous guest post, as always, Dennis…I'm a big fan of Marsha's wonderful blog, too. These cheesecakes look incredible….mmmmm, mmmmm.
Kristen says
June 24, 2011 at 6:25 pmMarsha – what a great guest post. That mango topping is calling my name!!
Chef – thanks for picking another great guest.
Katrina {In Katrina's Kitchen} says
June 24, 2011 at 3:34 pmI am a big fan of the harried cook! What a lovely post – it is truly a star of a recipe! Great job you guys! 🙂
Emily Malloy says
June 24, 2011 at 2:58 pmAbsolutely beautiful!
Jennifurla says
June 24, 2011 at 2:45 pmfab guest post, I have quite the sweet tooth myself. Love this gorgeous treat.
Ann says
June 24, 2011 at 1:14 pmWow – those are beautiful and look delicious! I don't know if I can find ginger nut cookies, but I think ginger snaps might do!
You're right the chef is a warm and generous person and it's lovely to belong to such a great blogging community where they want everyone to succeed!
Congrats on a GREAT post….heading to your site, too!
Pretend Chef says
June 24, 2011 at 1:11 pmThis is such a cute looking dessert. I love mini desserts because it makes it seem less guilty. Sounds amazing with the mango and cardamom. Yummy!
Sandra says
June 24, 2011 at 12:12 pmWhat a wonderful way to start my day. If only I had one of those beauties right now. Thank you Chef and thank you Marsha. I am thrilled to see yummy recipes scaled down in size for us sweetaholics that often get carried away.
athriftyfoodie says
June 24, 2011 at 9:14 amthese look gorgeous! i absolutely love marscapone mixed with mango!
Maris (InGood Taste) says
June 24, 2011 at 7:58 amPerfect cheesecake with my favorite fruit! Great guest post!
My Home Diary in Turkey says
June 24, 2011 at 7:12 amperfect dessert with great pictures! and I like the recipe too… lovely job! ^,^
Elin says
June 24, 2011 at 6:53 amHi Marsha…your cheesecake had me drooling and you have done such a great job on it. I would not have done it as nice you did…it looks so exquisite and I am sure it taste good too. Thanks for sharing the recipe. Will be hoping over to your blog and I know there will be more good stuff for me to drool on :))
Piggy Chef…thanks for introducing Marsha to us and I don't mind your ranting in fact I enjoyed it much. and all your good food…so much to learn from you 🙂
Have a blessed day to you and Marsha 🙂
Elin
All That's Left Are The Crumbs says
June 24, 2011 at 6:23 amI do have to say that I love your banter and would love the opportunity to sit down and chat one day.
What a wonderful guest post! Marsha your cheesecakes look amazing. I would have to make a sub on the mango (darn that allergy) but I imagine there are a number of fruits that would go with that delicious-sounding ginger nut base. I am already imagining the creaminess of these beauties.
something_good says
June 24, 2011 at 5:28 amThis cheesecake looks exquisite. I've visited Marsha's blog to check for other sweet treats.
Thanks for introducing her, Dennis. Have a great weekend!
warmvanillasugar says
June 24, 2011 at 5:02 amOh my! This is such a yummy looking treat. Great recipe!
Roxana GreenGirl says
June 24, 2011 at 4:09 amAnother great guest post with one of my favorite bloggers. I love Marsha's blog. I'm always exited when I see something new in my reader from the harried cook.
Chef, if you find the secret to time management, please share.
Have a wonderful rest of the week 🙂
Theresa H Hall says
June 24, 2011 at 3:35 amChef, This looks delicious. I will want to prepare this dessert. We did not make this in class @ LAC (French school MD) and I adore the taste of mango. These little beauties look perfect. Thanks!
Pacheco Patty says
June 24, 2011 at 3:34 amI'm loving these mango tarts, the color is striking, I'm sure they're delicious;-) Congratulations on the guest post!
I'm glad you're enjoying your Summer, looking forward to your farmers market finds;-)
Boulder Locavore says
June 24, 2011 at 3:30 amGorgeous post! I've admired Marsha's dishes and love seeing her featured on your blog Chef Dennis! The recipe is wonderful as would be expected.
Manu says
June 24, 2011 at 2:38 amOhhh Chef Dennis… lately I am finding ALL my favorite foodies here!!! How great! I love Marsha's site and her recipes are mouthwatering (look at that mango cheesecake)!!! She's also a great person… congrats on yet another amazing guest post!
spcookiequeen says
June 24, 2011 at 2:35 amChef,
I hope you are enjoying the sleeping in. You have a great guest here today, Marsha makes mouthwatering treats. I love how she shrunk this down, perfect for summer. Wish I could be your way and attend the festival, have a cocktail for me.
-Gina-
Christine's Pantry says
June 24, 2011 at 2:29 amGlad to see Marsha, from The Harried Cook is a guest. I've been following Marsha's blog for awhile now. I love her blog. Mouthwatering recipes!
And, Chef Dennis who are one of the best. Love you both.
Velva says
June 24, 2011 at 1:46 amWhat an absolutely stunning dessert. This is a beautiful summer dessert. Love it. Thanks for sharing it with us.
Velva
jill Colonna says
June 24, 2011 at 1:18 amThis is so wonderful to see one of my best blogging friends chez Chef Dennis. Fantastic guest post! I love everything Marsha cooks and adore her sense of humour, too. I do hope you get some time one of these days for that time mangt course, chef.
Marsha, what gorgeous mini cheesecakes, and although you're not keen on cardamom (what? – in India, too!), I adore it and am certainly going to try this one out. No doubt we'll get addicted to this mango cheesecake.
Good idea to make this and enjoy "en famille". Bravo!
Pegasuslegend says
June 24, 2011 at 12:40 amthose photos are magnificant no less the recipe is just perfection fantastic guest post BRAVO!
Torviewtoronto says
June 24, 2011 at 12:10 amchecked out the lovely site Dennis and this dessert looks delicious perfect for summer