Thursday, June 23, 2011

Guest Post: Mango Mascarpone Cheesecake with Cardamom Whipped Cream

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The Harried Cook is a fairly young blog. Only a few months old. I'm still learning, and have a long way to go! Every blog I visit, I learn something from that talented blogger. One of the first people who visited my blog, and left me a comment, and some really good advice about Foodbuzz, was the wonderful Chef Dennis. His blog is wonderful & he is such an awesome chef! I am so glad that today, I have the opportunity to guest post on his blog "More than a Mount Full". He does some wonderful work among students at The Mount, and is a great help to so many bloggers out there. His 'Ask Chef Dennis' column has taught me SO much, and I know that many people will agree.

When I started my blog four months ago, I had no clue what I was doing. I knew I wanted to chronicle my recipes, but that's about it. I had no idea about all the things that went into a good blog. More importantly, I had not clue about the incredible sense of community that existed among food bloggers. Every single person who has visited my blog, and left a kind word for me has given me the motivation to keep going, and I thank each of you today.

And thank you, Chef Dennis for all the support and for inviting me to guest post on your blog!


On Chef Dennis' blog today, I am sharing my recipe for a Mango Mascarpone Cheesecake with Cardamom Whipped Cream. It is a light, creamy cheesecake with some amazing flavors. You should go check it out on More than a Mount Full, and don't forget to leave Chef Dennis a comment telling him I said 'hello'! :)

This has been my busiest week in a long time. So busy that we have eaten out most of our meals. I haven't spent much time in the kitchen & I miss it! I hope I will be able to get back to it soon. I must apologize to all my blogger friends. I just have not had the time to visit your blogs and read the wonderful posts you have shared this week. My Google Reader is overflowing, and I don't know where to start. But I can't wait to visit and read your posts and yummy recipes soon!

Mango Mascarpone Cheesecake w/ Cardamom Whipped Cream


IngredientsCrust
3oz ginger nut cookies
1/2 cup rolled oats
2 tbsp salted butter
Filling
4oz mascarpone (I used homemade)
4oz cream cheese
1 egg
1/3 cup sugar
½ tsp vanilla
½ tsp lemon juice
A pinch of salt
Mango Gelee
½ cup pureed mango, strained
1 tbsp powdered sugar (more if the mango is sour)
1 tsp lemon juice
1 ½ tsp powdered gelatin
2 tbsp water
Cardamom Whipped Cream
½ cup whipping cream
1 tbsp powdered sugar (or more if desired)
½ tsp vanilla
1/8 tsp fresh cardamom powder


Method
Crust
1.  In a blender or food processor, powder the ginger nut cookies and oats until fine, and transfer
to a bowl.
2.  Pour in the melted butter and stir well to combine.
3.  Divide the mixture among the four mini pie tins,and press into the base and the sides of the
tin.
4.  Refrigerate until required.
Cheesecake Filling
1.  In a large bowl, whip the cream cheese and mascarpone until light and fluffy.
2.  Add the sugar and continue whipping for another minute.
3.  Add the egg. Beat well to incorporate.
4.  Mix in the vanilla, lemon juice, and salt. Whip until evenly blended.
5.  Spoon into the prepared pie crusts, making sure each crust is about ¾ full.
6.  Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes, until the filling has puffed up slightly and the centers of the
cheesecakes wobble slightly when shaken gently.
7.  Remove from the oven and allow to cool. The cheesecakes will continue to cook and firm up
while cooling.
8.  When completely cool, top with the mango gelee and refrigerate at least 3 hours, until the gelee
has set.
Mango Gelee
1.  In a small bowl, sprinkle the powdered gelatin over the 2 tbsp of water and allow the gelatin to
soften for a few minutes.
In a medium bowl, combine the mango puree, sugar and lemon juice.
2.  Place the bowl with the gelatin in a larger bowl filled with warm water and allow the gelatin to
melt.
3.  Stir the liquid into the mango puree and stir well to combine.
4.  Spoon ¼ of this mango mixture over each cheesecake and refrigerate to set.
Cardamom Whipped Cream
1.  Whip the cream till it forms soft peaks.
2.  Add the vanilla, sugar and cardamom powder and continue to whip for a few minutes until well
combined. Do not over-whip the cream.


Serve the cheesecakes chilled (maybe garnished with a sprig of mint) and spoon some of the cardamom whipped cream alongside each cheesecake.
This cheesecake is really, really creamy because of the mascarpone. The gelee is supposed to be just set, and still creamy and not rubbery or chewy. The mango flavor really comes through. To be completely honest– cardamom is my LEAST favorite spice. And so, I don’t know why I decided to use it in this recipe. It just made sense to me when I thought about it, and I hate to admit it works really well with the mango.




I want to remind you that you still have time to enter my giveaway if you haven't. There are TWO copies of Jill Colonna's amazing book 'Mad about Macarons' to be won! More details on the giveaway post HERE.


GIVEAWAY CLOSED!



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42 comments:

Manu said...

What a fantastic looking mango cheesecake Marsha!  And congrats on your guest post over at Chef Dennis' site... going to check it out right now! :-)))) 

spcookiequeen said...

Marsha, you did a great job on this one.  I'm sure Chef D appreciates it.  Hope you are enjoying your summer.
-Gina-

Chef Dennis said...

Hi Marsha
thank you so much for all your hard work on this post, it is incredible, and thank you so much for the kind words!
All the best
Dennis

something_good said...

Wow, it looks fabulous! I've seen the recipe on Chef Dennis' blog and I was drooling all over the screen! Mango is one of my favorite fruits in the world; unfortunately, over here, it's quite hard to find good quality fresh mangos...

Felice said...

Hi Marsha, I saw your guest post over on More Than A Mount Full and had to come over and tell you how delicious your cheesecakes look.  I love that you used ginger cookies in the base, and that mascarpone filling must be just the ultimate.

Maris Callahan said...

That looks so amazing! On my way over!

Jill Colonna said...

Marsha, it's a fabulous post.  Yet another fantastic recipe: these mini cheesecakes are perfection and I LOVE your cardamom cream to go with the gingery mango.  You rock!  Enjoy your weekend and hope it's more relaxing.

Kitchen Belleicious said...

Oh my gosh that looks delicious. So light and fresh. I love mango and I am sure I would fall in love with this dessert. Who could resist it?

Ann McElfresh said...

I saw your post on Chef Dennis's website - your blog is lovely and I've subscribed!  

Jennifurla said...

Great guest post!  Lovely blog.

Lizzy said...

Only 4 months old????  Marsha, I thought you had been doing this much longer...you're a PRO.  And I love these stunning cheesecakes...great photos and SO yummy!

theharriedcook said...

Thank you, Manu! :D 

theharriedcook said...

Thank you, Gina! :) Summer has been very busy, but things are slowing down a little now. I am glad! 

theharriedcook said...

Thank you, Chef Dennis, for the invitation! I am so glad I was able to do this! And thank you for all the nice things you said about me on your blog too! :)

theharriedcook said...

Thank you! :) I wish I could send some mangoes over... We get fabulous mangoes here... Thanks for stopping by & leaving a comment!

theharriedcook said...

Thank you, Felice! :) I appreciate your thoughtful comment :) Thanks for taking the time to stop by :)

theharriedcook said...

Thank you, Maris! :) 

theharriedcook said...

Thank you, Jill! :) You are so kind... The weekend is as busy as ever, but I am hoping the coming week is a little slower so I can unwind and catch up on some baking! :)

theharriedcook said...

Thank you! This one is a crowd pleaser, for sure! :) Thanks for stopping by!

theharriedcook said...

Thank you, Ann! :) I am so glad you like what you see :) 

theharriedcook said...

Thank you! :) I really appreciate the thoughtful comment :) Thanks for stopping by!

theharriedcook said...

:) Awww, Lizzy! You are making me blush! Thank you for your kind words! :) Yes, my blog will be 4 months old in a few days :) 

Gwenevere Bland said...

Your week sounds like mine. What have you been up to? The frustrating thing about my week is that I haven't been able to cross much off my to do list AND I'm out of posts. I've been scouring my iphoto galleries to see if there is anything post worthy, and there isn't...I guess it's time to get back in the kitchen.

theharriedcook said...

I wish I had a more exciting answer than 'work'. I am a freelancer, and I had a sudden wave of work come in these last couple of weeks. That's a good thing, but I am running out of time and energy :) You won't believe the number of times I went into my picture folders looking for SOMETHING I could post. Nothing! This guest post took a great deal of effort considering I was short on time, but I didn't want to let Chef Dennis down :) I agree - time to get back in the kitchen! Thanks for stopping by! :) 

Hester Casey - Alchemy said...

Mango and Cardamom - delicious! I loved your guest post for Jill at MaM - heading over to Chef Dennis to check out this lovely cheesecake

Inside a British Mum's Kitchen said...

So pretty and delicious with lovely flavors - this is a must try!
Mary x

Terris @ Free Eats said...

The cheesecake is beautiful Marsha.  I love the combination of flavors and the texture looks creamy and delicious.  Congratulations on the guest post.  

Briarrose said...

Sounds so good....heading over to have a look see.  :)

Sandra's Easy cooking said...

Congrats on the guest post..this cheesecake look soooo good! Yummy and colors are so inviting!!! I will check it out!

Nami @ Just One Cookbook said...

I know I'm very very late...but I just wanted to say congrats on your guest post!!  This cheesecake is absolutely beautiful Marsh! Wonderful job!

Xiaolu @ 6 Bittersweets said...

Wow what a gorgeous cheesecake!  I just did some mango mascarpone macarons so I know how well the 2 go together...YUM

mangiabella said...

incredible post at Chef D's, so glad to have met you thru his blog....you did an outstanding job with this dessert!

theharriedcook said...

Thank you, Hester! I loved your guest post too... It was so gorgeous! Thanks for stopping by! :)

theharriedcook said...

Thank you for your thoughtful comment, Mary!

theharriedcook said...

Thank you, Terris! I really appreciate it :) The texture really was stand-out because of that creamy mascarpone... Thanks for stopping by!

theharriedcook said...

Thank you so much! :)

theharriedcook said...

Thank you, Sandra! :) Appreciate it! :) Thanks for stopping by...

theharriedcook said...

Thank you so much, Nami! Don't apologize. I am so late in visiting blogs these days, yours included! Thanks for taking the time & stopping by!

theharriedcook said...

Those macarons sound so yummy! Are you going to share it with us? :) Thank you for your thoughtful comment, Xiaolu!

theharriedcook said...

Thank you so much! :) I am so glad to have met you too... Can't wait to check out your blog! :) Thanks for stopping by...

elisabeth@foodandthriftfinds said...

Marsha-That is one gorgeous looking mango cheesecake!
Congratulations on the guest post at Chef Dennis blog!

theharriedcook said...

Thank you, Elisabeth! :) And thanks for stopping by...

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