Mango Tiramisu

This isn’t the prettiest dessert but damn is it really good.

This is an interpretation of a Filipino dessert called a Mango Float.

I recently saw one of my favorite content creators make an authentic Filipino Mango Float. Cafe Haliee’s original recipe uses a combination of heavy cream and coconut cream to achieve beautiful stiff peaks with a mild coconut flavor. I would absolutely swap out one cup of heavy cream with coconut cream to achieve that same flavor. Alternatively, you could add a couple of teaspoons of coconut extract. I wanted to make a dessert for a big crowd but didn’t have Graham crackers, which is a key component in the original dessert. Instead, I substituted lady fingers or sponge cookies and soaked those in mango juice as opposed to the traditional espresso that is used to make tiramisu. Thus, Mango Tiramisu was born and was named by my followers on Instagram!

The best results of this dessert are achieved with an overnight setting in the fridge. What I love about this dessert is that you can use any fruit - fresh, frozen, or canned - to produce something that isn’t overtly sweet. The biggest compliment I received on this dish was from my 89-year old Chinese grandmother who said this dessert was good because it “wasn’t too sweet.” If you know, you know.

Luckily, mango season lasts from March to July so we are right in the thick of it. If you can’t get good, fresh honey or Alphonso mangos, here are some suggestions on alternative fruits to use in this dish include:

• Pineapple - chunks and juice

• Strawberries - halves and jam (thinned with a little water to make a ‘juice’)

• Peaches - halves and jam (thinned with a little water to make a ‘juice’)

• Lemons - lemon curd and lemonade to replace the juice

Note: This recipe has been slightly updated to include the use of frozen mango and sweetened coconut flakes.

Ingredients for the Whipped Cream

• 4 cups heavy whipping cream (1 quart), chilled

• One 14 oz can condensed milk

• 3 tablespoon confectioners’ sugar

• 2 teaspoons vanilla bean paste

• Pinch of salt

Ingredients for the Mango Tiramisu

• 5-6 honey mangos, ripe but not shriveled and squishy or 1 lb frozen mango chunks

• 2 packs of lady finger cookies, roughly 48 cookies

• 8 oz mango juice

• 1/4 cup plum wine (optional)

• 7 oz sweetened coconut flakes

Special Equipment

• 13x9-inch casserole dish

Serves 8

Directions for the Whipped Cream

1. In a stand mixer or using a handheld mixer, create stiff peaks with your heavy whipping cream. Make sure you don’t over whip your cream! You can tell when a cream is over whipped because it will start to turn grainy and throw off some moisture. Just before getting those stiff peaks, add in your confectioners’ sugar and salt.

2. Add in half of your condensed milk and gently fold into the whipped cream. Do not whisk the condensed milk in as you run the risk of deflating your cream. Then, fold in the second half of the condensed milk and set aside.

Directions for the Mango Tiramisu

1. If you’re using frozen mango, disregard this section. Remove the cheeks from all of your mangos. Set aside the wide seed in the middle. For half of the cheeks, slice slits into the flesh to form a cross hatch pattern. Then use a spoon to scoop out the cubes, similar to how you would handle an avocado. On the other half of the cheeks, slice them in half. Remove the quarters with a spoon, similar to avocado pieces. Then, slice into long pieces. These pieces will be for the top of the dish and you want long, thin slices rather than cubes. Again, use the spoon to separate the flesh from the skin. Set both kinds of sliced mango pieces aside.

2. Pour the mango juice and plum wine into a dish. Dip each lady finger cookie into the juice mixture and place into your casserole dish. Alternatively, you can lay all your cookies in the bottom of the dish and brush the juice on with a pastry brush.

3. Next, add half of your whipped cream and condensed milk mixture to the top of the cookies. Spread evenly across, sprinkle half of your shredded coconut, and all of cubed mango pieces. Repeat the process by adding the remaining lady finger cookies quickly dipped in mango juice, whipped cream and condensed milk mixture, desiccated coconut, and finishing with the beautiful slices of mango in an artful pattern.

4. Place into the fridge for a few hours so all of the flavors marinate together. For the best results, allow to set in the fridge overnight. Enjoy!