It has to be one of the great mango seasons of all time – wherever you look mangoes fall at your feet and demand to be eaten.
People say it was the dry spring that brought all this abundance, and we’d like to provide inspiration on how to make the most of it.
Heartbeat consulted far and wide (there were too many recipes in the end, so check our website www.heartbeat.net.au) and the general consensus is to just slice off the cheeks, make hedgehogs and eat. Or cut up and put in the freezer for later use; jams and chutneys (Stephanie Alexander and Charmaine Solomon have great ones) or perhaps daiquiris. But if you have the urge for more, try these:
Frozen Mango Treat
1½ cups sugar
1½ cups water
3 cups of mango puree
1 tbsp. lemon juice
300ml thickened cream
Line a tray with foil. Combine sugar and water in a saucepan over low heat until sugar is dissolved, boil for five minutes until syrup thickens. Cool to room temperature.
Blend mango puree, lemon juice and syrup until smooth. Combine one cup of mixture with the cream. Pour mango/cream mixture into foil-lined tray and freeze. When frozen, pour rest of mango mixture on top and freeze. Cut into squares. Must be kept frozen.
Yoghurt and Mango cake
Melted butter for greasing
185g butter, at room temperature
1½ cups caster sugar
1 tspn. finely grated lime rind
4 eggs
1 cup plain flour
1 cup SR flour
200g natural yoghurt
1 cup diced fresh mango
Preheat oven to 170ºC. Brush a 26cm ring cake pan with melted butter to grease
Beat butter, sugar and lime rind until pale.
Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each.
Sift flours together.
Using a large metal spoon, fold flours into butter mixture alternating with the yoghurt until well combined. Fold in the mango.
Bake in preheated oven for 45 minutes or until golden brown and a skewer comes out clean. Stand for two minutes to cool before turning out. Serve dusted with icing sugar
The above recipes courtesy of Marie Perry.
Three-way Mango Delicious
Mango Fool
1½ cups diced mango
2 tbsp. lemon juice
50g caster sugar
180ml cream, whipped into stiff peaks
Blitz mango, sugar, lemon juice in food processor. Fold in cream. Refrigerate.
Mango Mousse
Before folding in cream, add 1 tbsp. gelatine mixed in 2 tbsp. water (dissolved over hot water) to the above mixture for a firmer set.
Mango Cream Pie
Make a biscuit butter pie case (as for a refrigerated cheesecake) and pour in the mousse mix.
Recipe courtesy of Hilary Langford
Photograph by Judy Baker