Mango Mousse
The light, airy and creamy mousse is a dessert I like to serve at dinner parties as it can be made ahead of time, be served in individual helpings and you can also make many variants to cater to the taste of guests. Mousse with the freshness of mangoes is one I just couldn’t resist.
In Uganda, mangoes are available throughout the year so I didn’t have to depend on preserved mango puree or canned mangoes. Since the mangoes I’d bought were not very sweet, I added a quarter cup of condensed milk while the mango pulp is made. Condensed milk certainly enhanced the taste but I felt it made the mousse slightly denser.
Mousse in general is a little tricky to make. Beaten egg whites and whipped cream should not be stirred in but has to be folded in with care so that the cream and egg whites don’t get deflated.
Cream should be removed from the refrigerator just before whipping to avoid it turning into butter. Overbeating will also result in butter. Using an ice bath is also not a bad idea if the room temperature is too high.Adding a quarter of a teaspoon of cream of tartar to the egg whites before beating helps in stabilising the beaten egg whites.
To avoid last minute stress, it can be made sure that the mousse sets perfectly by adding a teaspoon of gelatine to the mixture prior to transferring it into individual bowls and chilling. Shot glasses are a good choice to serve mousse of various flavours.
Mango mousse can be garnished with fresh mango pieces or some piped rosettes of freshly whipped cream.
~Min
- 4 cups Mango pulp
- ¼ cup Condensed Milk
- (Only if mangoes are not sweet enough)
- 2 Egg whites
- ⅛ tsp Salt
- ¼ tsp Cream of Tartar
- 2 tsp Powdered sugar
- 1 cup Whipping cream
- ¼ cup Castor sugar - powdered
- (Check the sweetness of the cream before you add the sugar)
- 1 tsp Gelatine
- 1 tbsp Water
- 1 tsp Mango essence (optional)
- To garnish
- Fresh mango bits
- Peel the mangoes, remove the seed and cut into pieces. Make mango puree using a food processor. If the mango is fibrous strain the pulp. Add the condensed milk if required and mix well.
- Add cream of tartar and salt to the egg whites and beat till soft peaks are formed .Add powdered sugar and beat till stiff peaks are formed.
- In a separate bowl add whipping cream, sugar and mango essence (optional). Beat until stiff peaks are formed. This might take 4-5 minutes.
- Soak gelatine in 1 tablespoon water in a small heat resistant bowl. Hold it over hot water till it melts.
- Transfer the mango pulp into a large bowl. Add the melted gelatin and stir well. Now add the whipped cream in two or three batches and fold in gently.
- Now add ⅓ of the beaten egg whites into the mango cream mixture and mix through. Add the remaining egg whites and gently fold in. Avoid over mixing.
- Pour into individual serving bowls and garnish as you prefer.