The Unsearchable Mango Bavarois

Mangoes. Don't you just love them? Bright yellow, juicy, fragrant...mmm. Despite this, I very rarely buy them, but last week they were on offer in Waitrose, so I had to get one. Yes, I could have just cut it up and served it as is, but as soon as it was in my shopping bag my mind was racing as to what to do with my ripe friend.

I came up with the idea of doing a trio of mango desserts. Even though I have never attempted a trio of desserts before, I wasn't going to let complexity hold me back. Oh no. For one of these I decided to do set mango bavarois, or bavarian cream. Off I trot to trusty old google to find a recipe. None there. No recipes for a mango bavarois?! Not one like I wanted to make anyway (some would say I'm just too fussy)

Anyway, after much searching for how to make a generic fruit bavarois and manic flicking through my cookbooks I used the Leiths recipe for an almond bavarois as a starting point and changed it to suit my own needs.

This is a little late in the post, but for those who don't know what a bavarois is (Mr B didn't either!) it's a foamy kind of custard which is set with gelatine and can be unmoulded onto a plate. Swish.

Mango Bavarois with Mango Jelly (serves 2)

1/4 pint of warm milk

1 egg, separated

1oz caste sugar

2 tablespoons water

2 1/2 sheets of gelatine

75ml double cream

1/2 ripe mango

1. Lightly oil some ramekins or miniature loaf tins. I used loaf tins and they measured 10cm x 5cm x 3cm and I had some mixture left over.

2. Stone and peel your mango. No need for good looking bits on this, hack away if needs be. Then put your mango into a blender and whizz until smooth. You may need to add a drop of water or orange juice to get it started. You want to make sure this really is very smooth as it might ruin the light texture of the bavarois if you have fibrey bits floating around.

3. Next get your gelatine started for the jelly. I am using sheets at the moment which need to be chopped up (use scissors!) and then placed in cold water before it can be heated. For the jelly use one sheet and around a tbsp of water. I made up mine in a cereal bowl which I then placed over a small pan of simmering water to melt the gelatine until it was clear.

4. For the jelly, take around 1/3 of the whizzed mango and mix with the melted gelatine and pour a layer about 1/2cm thick into the bottom of each ramekin or loaf tin and place in the fridge to set.

5. Beat the egg yolk and sugar together in a pan (off the heat at this point!) until pale-ish. Now move your pan onto a medium heat and slowly add the warm milk. Stir all the time and don't let the custard boil. Once it is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon remove it from the heat.

6. You now need to make up the next gelatine mix with the remaining 1 1/2 sheets.

5. Stir the gelatine into the custard mix. I then placed the still warm pan into a sink of cold water to help it set. You need the mixture to start to set - stir it occassionally though.

8. Whilst your custard is cooling, whisk up an egg white in one bowl and the double cream in another. The egg should be shiny and form soft peaks, and the cream should be whipped until it just holds its shape.

9. Hopefully your mix is now cool enough and has started to set. Fold in the remaining mango, followed by the cream and finally the egg white.

10. Tip the mixture on top of the mango jelly and place in the fridge to set. I tapped mine lightly before putting them in the fridge to make sure there were no air bubbles and the tops were smooth.

11. To serve, dip the cases/ramekins into warm water for a few seconds and then turn onto a plate. I promise you people will be impressed when you turn something out that is not only neat, but also layered!!

Wow, this has turned into a more substantial set of steps than I had imagined! But then I guess it's a recipe with many many stages for something which appears on the surface to be so simple!

That's my first recipe post done! I have dozens of other ideas waiting to be put down so stay tuned!