Summer dreaming...

I was meant to go off to work today from 10 am till 6.30pm. Coming home just in time for the masterchef grand finale. However, at 3 am this morning, my little 8 month old was up crying with a blocked nose, chesty cough and was refusing to drink anything. Needless to say, we didn't get much sleep and she is miserable. My husband is sick with a cold, my toddler has had a runny nose for the last week and all I can say is that I'm so sick of winter! Bring on some warmer weather where the only problem you have on your day off is deciding on whether you should get out of the pool.

I need to escape from this Melbourne weather! When reminiscing over last summer, I remembered a lovely dinner I had with friends where I tried this dessert which has become one of my favourites. It's fresh, easy and absolutely divine. I know mangoes aren't in season at the moment, but hey...we all need some 'summer love' on this cold Melbourne day...so keep this recipe in mind when the weather gets warmer and you're doing some summer entertaining.



Mangomisu

Ingredients (serves 6)

* 500g mascarpone cheese
* 600ml thickened cream
* 1/3 cup (50g) icing sugar
* 2 egg yolks
* 1 vanilla bean, split, seeds scraped
* 1/2 cup (125ml) Grand Marnier
* Juice of 2 oranges
* 300g savoiardi (see note) (sponge finger biscuits)
* 3 mangoes, flesh sliced 1cm thick
*
Raspberry sauce
* 1/4 cup (55g) caster sugar
* 250g fresh or frozen raspberries
* Juice of 1 lemon

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Method

1.

Line the base of a 22cm springform cake pan with plastic wrap or baking paper. Place the mascarpone, thickened cream, icing sugar, egg yolks and vanilla seeds in the bowl of an electric mixer and beat on high speed until thick and well combined.
2.

Combine the Grand Marnier and orange juice in a separate bowl. Dip half the sponge fingers into the juice mixture and layer in the base of the cake pan. Spread with one-third of the mascarpone mixture, and top with one-third of the mango slices. Repeat the process, then top with the remaining mascarpone mixture, reserving the remaining mango slices to serve. Cover the cake and chill for 2 hours or until firm.
3.

Meanwhile for the raspberry sauce, place the sugar and 2 tbs water in a small pan over medium heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Cool slightly, then add the berries and lemon juice. Whiz in a food processor until smooth, then pass through a sieve. Chill until ready to serve. (You can store the sauce, covered, in the fridge for 3-4 days).
4.

To serve, carefully remove the sides and base of the cake pan and transfer the mangomisu to a platter. Decorate with curls of the reserved mango, then slice and serve with berry sauce.


Notes

* Savoiardi (sponge finger biscuits) are available from delis and supermarkets. I bought them from Safeway.