Prep: 15 min // Refrigerate: 15 min
You won't believe how good this vegan dessert tastes!
I'm not even close to being a vegan person although I like a lot vegetarian diet. I still eat everything and keep my eyes open for anything interesting in the vegan spectrum too. I ate this pastry (or something like this) in a patisserie in London and blew my mind. Later on, I saw some similar recipes in food magazines. I thought 'this is it, I want it' and my next project to turn this to a healthy, enjoyable dessert kicked off. I instantly started researching and experimenting in Niko Douniko's labs in an attempt to simulate that experience. I ended up in making these delightful mini cheesecakes which I hope you enjoy!
It's a light, healthy, low caloric dish with no added sugar (just agave nectar which has very low Glycaemic Index) and no baking involved that makes it a little bit easier; the only difficulty (for beginners) could only be the preparation of mango reduction but again, if you follow my steps, I guarantee you won't fail and you'll, later on, thank yourself for walking the extra mile. The taste is simply divine. Just make sure you get the proper ripe and sweet mangoes.
For serving, I've used some empty little GU dessert ramekins. You may find similar ones in Amazon (check these ones for instance) but you may also use empty marmalade jars or other pudding jars. Even a nice clear glass would work just fine, all you need is to recalculate the amounts of ingredients. I also understand that vegan cheese and yoghurt is not easy to find or sometimes is expensive, so I've provided some substitutes for non-vegans below.
Good luck and let me know how it went. Post me some photos below in comments, I love looking your creations and getting inspired by your serving ideas and recipe improvisations.
Equipment
Mixing bowl, small bowl, balloon whisk, fine sieve, milk pan (check my product recommendations at the end of this page)
Preparation Time
30 min
Ingredients (makes 6 mini ramekins or 4 glass size pots)
3 ripe mangoes (make around 300g pulp)
3 ripe passion fruits
2 limes, juiced
300g vegan cream cheese (or Philadelphia)
200g coconut yoghurt
50g coconut oil
2 tbsp agave nectar (or maple syrup)
100g biscuit, crumbled
Substitutes
Mango > Strawberry or Peach. Try a reduction sauce with alternative seasonal fruits but bear in mind strawberry will have a crunch (due to its little seeds) and peach needs some thorough blending as it's quite fibrous. You might need to adjust the sweetness levels too so give it a try before serving.
Vegan cream cheese > Philadelphia. Vegan cream cheese is usually made of coconut cream. If you replace with plain Philadelphia make sure you add a teaspoon of coconut essence (even a tsp of Malibu liquor would do the magic) or vanilla extract to bring that flavour kick.
Coconut yoghurt > Plain natural yoghurt. If you replace with plain yoghurt make sure you add a teaspoon of coconut essence or vanilla extract to enhance the flavour.
Biscuits: Use your favourite biscuits or any biscuit leftovers. I personally recommend some biscuit with exotic flavour and low in sugar like oat/ginger combination.
Instructions
Start with the crunchy biscuit base. Crumble the biscuits (with hand or 2-3 passes in a food processor). In a small bowl, melt the coconut oil and mix it with your biscuit crumble until everything is covered. Distribute in your glasses, lightly press and flatten down with the back of the spoon, and place in the fridge to set.
Continue with the fruit reduction. Peel and destone the mangoes and blitz the flesh in a blender until it becomes a thick puree. Halve the passion fruits and extract the pulp and seeds. Pass them through a fine sieve to get just the juice for now. Save the seeds for later.
In a small milk pan (see the recommended product at the end of this article) under low heat, mix the mango puree, passion fruit juice and 1 tbsp agave nectar and stir continuously until the mixture becomes bubbly with a thick consistency. Try the mixture to see if you are satisfied with the sweetness/sourness balance, normally 1 tbsp should be fine if the mangoes are very ripe and sweet but add more to reach your taste. When the reduction is ready remove the pan from the fire, stir in the juice of 1 lime and set aside to cool down.
While your fruit reduction is cooling down, prepare the cream. In a big bowl beat together the cream cheese, coconut yoghurt, 1 tbsp of agave nectar and the juice of 1 lime. Put it in the fridge for 5-10 minutes until the mango reduction has completely cooled. If your coconut yoghurt is already sweetened, 1 tbsp of nectar should be fine. If you are using other substitutes you've better test the sweetness before serving.
Divide the cream cheese mixture into the glasses/jars and top it with the mango reduction. Spoon some passion fruit seeds over and chill the mini cheesecakes until serving time.
Recommended Products
Below are my favourite authentic products I used to cook and shoot this recipe. If you can't see the icons and links, please deactivate your ad-blocker and refresh the page :-)
Pan with pouring spout: This is a must-have in your kitchen. If you have kids, you'll appreciate how easy the milk is warmed up and poured through this magic spout. If not, you'll definitely appreciate it when you make soups (little portions), sauces or gravies as this little magic spout will direct your liquids to the direction you want (and not where the physics of the pan want).
Ramekins: If you don't have the time and appetite to consume 4-6 Gu cheesecakes and wash clean these ramekins for your recipe, simply click and buy these simple and chic ramekins from Amazon. Suitable for oven and microwave too.
Kommentare