The Flavour of Indian Summers

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Come Summer, and all I can think of is sweet, sweet, juicy mangoes. I love mangoes of all shapes and sizes. And every summer is spent making the sweet chunda (sweet raw mango pickle) or the tangy kairi achaar (the tangy raw mango pickle), the thick and lovely aamras from the alphonsos and kesars, the sweet, sour and minty aam panha and in devouring those fresh fruits themselves. Every single year, this is the only thing that makes Indian summers bearable. :P

I know that summer is long gone and the monsoons have captured us now. But, it isn't yet too late for one amazing mango dish that you can create with the last of the mangoes still available in the markets. THE Mango Cheesecake!

I baked this very basic baked, eggless and gelatin-less cheesecake with mango and it turned out to be the best mango dish I've ever made! :D



Preparation time: 15-20 mins
Baking time: 30-35 mins
Serves: 1 (If you're like me) and 6, if you are normal people.

Ingredients:

1 packet Digestive buiscuits (Hobnobs are my favourites)
1/3 cup melted butter
2 tbsp powdered sugar
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1 large, ripe mango - cut in medium sized pieces
350 gms cream cheese (at room temperature)
2 tsp corn starch
1/2-3/4 cups powdered sugar
1/2 tsp cardamom powder (optional)
Mint leaves and mango slices for garnishing

Method:

• Preheat the oven at 200 degrees Celsius for 10-15 minutes.



Press down the crushed biscuits firmly and pack them tightly like this.

• Crush enough digestive biscuits, butter and 2 tbsp sugar in a blender to fill 1 loosely packed cup. This forms the base of the cake.

• Spread the crushed biscuits in the cake tin and press it down firmly. Bake this for about 5-7 mins at 200 degrees Celsius so that it becomes a crisp, blended crust for the base.
• Now, blend together the cream cheese, sugar, cornstarch, mango pieces and cardamom powder to form a thick, creamy mixture.

• Spread this over the crust and put it in the oven for 30-35 minutes. 

• Check once after 25 minutes to see if the cake has started browning at the edges. If it has, it is done. If not, let it cook for another 5-10 minutes. If you have a glass mould, you'll see how the cake develops a lovely darker colour on the top and remains light yellow in the middle.

My cake got a teeny tiny over-baked at certain areas because of the over temperatures being higher in certain areas in the oven. So this is NOT how it is supposed to look like. But, if this colour starts forming at the edges of your cake and your cake starts leaving the tin, that'd mean it is done. Plus, what is garnishing meant for if not to cover up for you? ;)

• Pop the cake in the fridge to set for at least 3-5 hours.
• After pulling it out of the fridge, garnish with mint leaves and mango slices. I went a bit further to use a technique I learnt from Junior Masterchef and garnished my cake with flowers. :P However, these were used purely for colour and are not edible.

And, it's ready to be eaten! Every bite of it tastes like a little piece of heaven, even if I do say so myself. ;)

Chocolate Cake

Ingredients:

3 cups plain flour (Maida)
2 cups sugar

1/2 cup oil
3 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tbsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
a pinch salt
2 tbsp vinegar
2 tsp vanilla essence
1 1/2 - 2 cups water

For Icing:
200 ml fresh cream
Raspberry Jam (optional)
3 tbsp cocoa powder (sweetened or unsweetened. If it is unsweetened, add a tbsp of sugar to it)
1/4 cup water
handful strawberries (or any other fruit that you like - berries and kiwis go the best with chocolate cakes)

Method:

• Pre-heat the oven at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.
• Mix all the dry ingredients together in a bowl.
• Add vanilla essence and oil. Mix well.
• Slowly add the water and keep mixing thoroughly. Stop adding water once the cake batter starts falling in folds. It is just the right consistency.
• Line 2 nine inch moulds with oil and cocoa powder (you can use flour but it leaves white border on a chocolate cake whereas, with cocoa powder, that problem doesn't arise.)
• Pour the batter in the moulds and bake for about 25 minutes. Check after 20 minutes whether the cake is done. If you stick a fork or a knife in the centre of the cake and it comes out clean, then it's done.
• Let it cool before taking it out on a plate.

For Icing:

• Spread some raspberry jam on the first cake and place the second cake on it. (You can even use whipped cream here instead of raspberry jam if you prefer.)
• Make some chocolate sauce by boiling together cocoa powder and water. Pour this sauce on the cake and refrigerate for an hour
• Meanwhile, whip the cream until it has thickened enough that it stays up. Make sure you don't over-whip and make butter. Refrigerate it.
• After an hour, pull out both cake and cream and decorate as you like it. In the cake above, I have used  14 number star nozzle to make a circle in the centre and placed a strawberry and slices of kiwi on it. Finally, using a shell nozzle, I created a ring outline to the cake.

• For this cake, I spread the whipped cream all over the cake evenly, especially the sides. And then, decorated with fruit as wanted.

Vegan Icing:

• Pour chocolate sauce all over the cake. Let it cool in a refrigerator. 
• Melt some white chocolate. Dip a fork in the melted chocolate and randomly spread ribbons on the cake.