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Ginger and mango cheesecake dessert

28/11/2014

41 Comments

 
Ginger and mango cheesecake dessert by Good Things
It was an idea for a lime green cheesecake that landed me a newspaper column in 1993. My home town's rugby league team, The Canberra Raiders a.k.a. 'The Green Machine', were looking to be strong contenders in the semi finals that year and I had been chatting with the editor of our local newspaper about fun ways of generating community support for the players. He loved the concept, and the rest is history.

Although only a boy at the time, my sure-footed son played as a wing or winger representing a junior team with the West Belconnen Leagues Club. He was a great little player and won numerous 'best and fairest' awards. His interest in the game was spurred on by the heroes of the day. Legendary guys like Mal Meninga, Gary Belcher, Ricky Stuart, Laurie Daley and Bradley Clyde, among others, who went on to represent Australia in the international games, as well as their home teams in the State of Origin matches. For me, those 'were the days' of Australian rugby league and I'm not sure we'll see anything quite like that again. Along with many other fans, I lost interest after the Super League fiasco in the mid 90s, and don't have a clue who is playing nowadays.

But, lets get back to cheesecake, which unlike football has long been a favourite of mine. Here on Good Things, I've prepared a superb New York cheesecake via Skype as part of a fun #bakedate with a girlfriend; shared recipes for Lyndey Milan's Greek-inspired cheesecake with muscatels and a fabulous Israeli ricotta cheesecake from the Monday Morning Cooking Club. I've also reviewed a cookbook dedicated entirely to this delicious topic. 

Mangoes and limes were on special at my local Aldi supermarket recently, so I stocked up and also threw some dairy goodness (in the form of cream cheese, mascarpone and double cream) into my basket. For a while now I've been wanting to develop a recipe for a deconstructed cheesecake style dessert that didn't involve the scattering of biscuit crumbs onto a plate alongside a smear of cream and a shaving of fruit. I knew this dessert of mine would look quite special in the bulbous glasses that I bought from that kitchenware store in Byron Bay...  and so I set my mind to creating it. First, I quickly consulted my friend, Adam Moore, who is a senior executive chef with Campbell Arnott's. He's my go-to guy whenever I have 'cheffie' questions about my culinary whims. Chef said 'yes', he thought it would work. 

Several taste tests later, I can confirm that it most certainly did. In fact, the flavour and texture combination is outstanding if not a little indulgent. Here is my original recipe, it's a keeper. Enjoy xo

GINGER AND MANGO CHEESECAKE DESSERT
Depending on the size of the glasses you use, this will serve 6, possibly 8.
12 (160g) Ginger Nut biscuits*

For the filling:
250g light cream cheese, softened
3 tablespoons caster sugar
250g mascarpone
300ml double cream
1/2 teaspoon vanilla bean powder**
1 tablespoon vanilla bean syrup**
juice of 2 large limes
1 teaspoon finely chopped lime zest
a little milk, only if required

To garnish:
3 teaspoons baby stem ginger in syrup, chopped
3-4 ripe mangoes, the flesh chopped into cubes

First you need to turn the biscuits into crumbs. For store bought Ginger Nuts, please do not use your food processor, as you risk breaking it on these hard biscuits. You can either pop them into a double layered plastic bag and hammer the living daylights out of them with a kitchen mallet; OR pound them to a crumb using a large mortar and pestle. The effort is well worthwhile, please trust me on this. Set the biscuit crumbs aside. (Note, don't mix the crumbs with butter etc).

Place the cream cheese and caster sugar into a large Pyrex bowl and whisk until smooth, then fold in the mascarpone, followed by the double cream. Be gentle with this mixture as you don't want to whip it into too thick a texture. It should be smooth and creamy. Now fold in the vanilla bean powder and the vanilla bean syrup, together with the lime juice and zest. Check the flavour and add more lime juice if you feel it needs more 'kick'. Refrigerate this mixture until you are ready to assemble your desserts.

Spoon 1-2 tablespoons of the biscuit crumbs into the base of your glasses, dividing evenly into each glass. Carefully spoon the cream cheese mixture over the top of the biscuit crumbs, once again dividing it evenly into each glass. Note: should the cream cheese mixture be a little too firm, you can add a dash of milk or a little extra vanilla syrup to loosen it up. 

Decorate the top of the dessert with chopped mango flesh and finish with the chopped baby stem ginger. Chill the desserts in the refrigerator until you are ready to serve. The Ginger Nut biscuit base will soften after a few hours or overnight. The desserts should be covered if storing in the fridge overnight, but are perfectly delicious the following day.

*  Ginger Nuts are a tasty old fashioned store-bought biscuit, quite tough in texture. If you have time, make your own. 
** I love to use Heilala Vanilla but am also taste testing Essential Ingredient's bourbon vanilla powder.
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Ingredients for my rich and creamy cheesecake dessert
Mangoes are in plentiful supply during Summer
Love the zestiness of fresh lime
Arnott's Ginger Nut Biscuits used as a base for my cheesecake dessert
Good Things Ginger and mango cheesecake dessert

Tell me dearest readers, are you fond of cheesecake? What's your favourite? Have you ever been a fan of any kind of sport in your part of the world? Do tell.
41 Comments
Laura (Tutti Dolci) link
28/11/2014 11:47:12 am

I love mango and cheesecake, what a scrumptious dessert! Love the individual servings too :).

Reply
Lizzy
4/12/2014 06:34:29 am

Thanks Laura, I love this combination too : )

Reply
tania@My Kitchen Stories link
28/11/2014 05:34:36 pm

I love this kind of cheesecake. It's always lighter and more delicious.

Reply
Lizzy
4/12/2014 06:35:03 am

Thank you, Tania... this one is actually rich, but deliciously so : )

Reply
Beck link
28/11/2014 09:06:13 pm

what a trip down memory lane with the green cheesecake for the Raiders! I remember coming to Canberra when they had just won their first every premiership and you could buy green bread and green Canberra milk!
Turning to cheesecake, I think will be a must try for us as the kids love mango and lime and ginger nuts and cheesecake! I think a deconstructed version will be a nice quick dessert, and I don’t need to turn the oven on either...

Reply
Lizzy
4/12/2014 06:35:51 am

Thanks Beck for reminding me about the green milk and the green bread in the hey day of the Raiders... so true. I hope you will like this dessert. : )

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Beck link
18/12/2014 09:37:46 pm

I just made this tonight Liz - delicious, and very quick to whip up - thanks!

Red Nomad OZ link
28/11/2014 09:33:41 pm

HHHMMMmmm... 3 of my favourite things - ginger, mango and cheesecake!! Actually, the best cheesecake I ever had was a mango marvel at a cafe by the beach at Horseshoe Bay in Bowen. But I think Bowen has an unfair advantage given it's status as Australia's mango capital!!

Reply
Lizzy
4/12/2014 06:36:26 am

Oh wow, Red, now that IS something! Imagine being in the mango capital. Yum!

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Hotly Spiced link
29/11/2014 07:21:34 am

This looks so pretty, Lizzy and I love those glasses you picked up in Byron. The stem ginger and mango are so tropical and work well together. Congrats to your son on winning best and fairest so many times! He must have been a great asset to his team xx

Reply
Lizzy
4/12/2014 06:37:08 am

Dear Charlie, thanks so much for your kind words. My son was indeed a great little player... I love these glasses too. xox

Reply
kellie@foodtoglow link
29/11/2014 08:35:53 am

Looks luscious and I bet it has a heavenly aroma. I do a kind of deconstructed cheesecake for my weight management group, but as you can imagine it doesn't contain all of these decadent goodies! And judging by the fact that you landed a newspaper column based on a creative cheesecake, I can see why you are so fond of this type of dessert. Impressive!

Reply
Lizzy
4/12/2014 06:38:06 am

Hi there Kellie.... thanks for your kind words on this one.... I would like to know about your low fat or fat free cheesecake... is there a recipe on your site? Will go have a look... incidentally, I owe you an email... : )

Reply
Maureen Shaw link
29/11/2014 09:05:02 am

What a rich, indulgent dessert, Liz. Frankly, I think I could put mango on a rock and call it dessert but this - this is outstanding.

Reply
Lizzy
4/12/2014 06:39:01 am

Thank you Maureen... should you come visit in summer, I will make this for you... but you have access to some top quality mangoes up there too! And Buderim Ginger is on your doorstep too xo

Reply
Rachel (Rachel's Kitchen NZ) link
29/11/2014 09:26:17 am

Oh, so pretty and delicious - nothing Aussie mangos at this time of year - oh I do miss them!

Reply
Lizzy
4/12/2014 06:39:33 am

Hello there Rachel... I bet you would, I know I certainly would! Thanks for stopping by.

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Lorraine @ Not Quite Nigella link
29/11/2014 09:48:26 am

These flavours are fabulous Lizzy! And isn't that funny that a cheesecake changed the course of your life :D

Reply
Lizzy
4/12/2014 06:40:18 am

Thanks Lorraine... it most certainly did change my life, as the newspaper column led to other things, including the cooking school. And the cheesecake was green, how cool!

Reply
Tania @ The Cook's Pyjamas link
29/11/2014 11:43:05 am

I love cheesecake! Individual ones strike me as a much better idea than a large one too, on account of I have little resistance where cheesecake is concerned :)

Reply
Lizzy
4/12/2014 06:40:44 am

Oh Tania, I am like you, I cannot resist a good cheesecake.

Reply
atasteofmadness link
29/11/2014 12:49:38 pm

Mangoes are some of my favorite things to put into my baking. This looks so good!

Reply
Lizzy
4/12/2014 06:41:15 am

Hello there! Mine too at this time of the year. Thanks for your kind words and thank you for stopping by : )

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John link
29/11/2014 02:12:59 pm

Love the idea of adding ginger to cheesecake! Never had that before, or mango in cheesecake for that matter. This looks delish -- thanks.

Reply
Lizzy
4/12/2014 06:41:51 am

Oh John, the addition of ginger, just that hint, is so delicious! Peter and I were drooling as we ate this!

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Liz link
30/11/2014 10:18:42 am

Oh I love the double dose of ginger in this lovely dessert! The mango topping sounds like a terrific pairing with the creamy lime cheesecake.

P.S. I think the corn syrup in the caramel sauce helps prevent recrystallizing of the sugar. I think you could leave it out if you were using it immediately, but not for gift giving or using days later.

Reply
Lizzy
4/12/2014 06:42:43 am

Hi there Liz... though a double dose, the ginger is still subtle... which I love. Thank you for your note about the corn syrup. Much appreciated xo

Reply
Gourmet Getaways link
30/11/2014 11:40:51 am

As if mango cheesecake doesn't sound awesome enough! Add the kick of ginger? Wow! I'm sooo interested!!! Thanks for sharing!

Julie & Alesah
Gourmet Getaways xx

Reply
Lizzy
4/12/2014 06:43:14 am

Thanks so much, Julie... I do hope you will give this a try? : )

Reply
ela@GrayApron link
30/11/2014 10:57:22 pm

...yeah, I'd go for this one! I'm a big fan of American/NY style cheesecake!
Sport...in the winter, we kind of follow ski jumping.

Reply
Lizzy
4/12/2014 06:43:42 am

Hi Ela... oh, ski jumping, yes, how awesome!

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InTolerant Chef link
1/12/2014 09:38:50 pm

Yummo Liz, some of my favourite flavours here! Love cheesecake to pieces and have one coming up on my blog son as well :) Great minds think alike indeed :)

Reply
Lizzy
4/12/2014 06:44:34 am

Hi there Bec... I loved your gluten free cheesecake bites that you so kindly brought along to lunch by the lake... great minds do think alike love xo

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Nagi@RecipeTinEats link
3/12/2014 01:10:05 pm

Ooh, I was just browsing your blog when I came across this! I can't imagine a better way to end a summer lunch than with a dessert like this. I LOVE ginger in desserts - and I have never tried it with mango so I am definitely giving this a go over the summer! And it is perfect for entertaining because you can assemble everything in advance then just put it together before serving - PERFECT!!

Reply
Lizzy
4/12/2014 06:46:04 am

Hi there Nagi... happy birthday for yesterday, hope it was a great day for you! Yes, this is good for quick assembly, though if you want the ginger nuts to be less tooth-cracker crunchy, it's best to assemble and chill for a few hours before serving! : ) Thanks for stopping by.

Reply
Anna @ shenANNAgans link
3/12/2014 01:38:35 pm

Mango = Summer, my all time fave season of the year. What a gorgeous dessert Lizzy, brill combo of flavours too.

Reply
Lizzy
4/12/2014 06:46:35 am

Ah Anna, I am with you... mango certainly does = summer. Thanks for your kind words lovely.

Reply
Amanda @ Gourmanda link
6/12/2014 06:59:28 pm

This kind of simple deconstructed dessert is right up my alley.

Reply
Lizzy
7/4/2015 11:34:55 am

Hi Amanda, so glad you liked this one! Me too : )

Reply
David link
7/12/2014 12:15:20 am

Looks elegant, Liz (which cheesecake never really does) and the flavor combo is perfect for summer! Love it!

Reply
Lizzy
7/4/2015 11:34:26 am

David, thanks for your kind words!

Reply

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