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Designing Hubby's Birthday Dessert


RuthWells

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For his birthday this weekend, Hubby has requested a dessert which combines white chocolate and mango. I've never used mango in baking before and have no sense of how it will combine with white chocolate in terms of flavor. So, first question -- is this flavor combo going to work?! Am I going to need to add raspberry, or lemon, or something else with a lot of tartness to the mix? I'm thinking that a cinnamon or clove accent would go well with it, but am looking for validation!

Second question -- what would YOU do if you had to create a dessert with white chocolate and mango?!

TIA!

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Ruth,

I just noticed your post. I just posted a cake recipe for my FROSTED FRESH CHERRY LAYER CAKE RECIPE in the cherry thread.

http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=70874 Look at post #24. My recipe makes really moist and good, solid butter cake. (I'm a firm believer that there's nothing wrong with serving a nice, thick slice of a moist and flavorful <mango> butter cake for a birthday cake......) You can use chopped mango in the recipe instead of cherries or use 1/2 and 1/2 cherries and mango or whatever fruit combination you desire! The recipe lends itself well to any type of flavoring. Fresh nutmeg and lemon zest comes to mind....<or lime and lemon zest without the nutmeg, I think....> YUM! You can even add 1/2 cup coconut (plus 1/2 cup white chocolate chips) to my recipe, as well without adjusting anything else.

You could frost it with a white chocolate ganache filling and frosting, which would go well in terms of texture with a moist "fruit" cake, such as mine. There are recipes for it. I also have one in my baking911school.com called the White Chocolate Raspberry Ganache Frosting. http://www.baking911school.com/index_masterlist.htm Look under Icings, Frostings, etc. It can be flavored in any way desired. I would recommend using vanilla beans! :smile:

Edited by Sarah Phillips (log)

Happy Baking! Sarah Phillips, President and Founder, http://www.baking911.com

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some sort of trifle-y thing with white chocolate cream or mousse and mangos?  I'd add raspberries too.

White chocolate mousse will definitely be an element, and we may go blackberry picking this weekend....... I'm starting to think of blackberries and mangos together? I have rasperry coulis in the freezer I can use to splash about the plate for more color and interest. Hm....

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Ruth,

I just noticed your post. I just posted a cake recipe for my FROSTED FRESH CHERRY LAYER CAKE RECIPE in the cherry thread.

http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=70874 Look at post #24. My recipe makes really moist and good, solid butter cake. (I'm a firm believer that there's nothing wrong with serving a nice, thick slice of a moist and flavorful <mango> butter cake for a birthday cake......) You can use chopped mango in the recipe instead of cherries or use 1/2 and 1/2 cherries and mango or whatever fruit combination you desire! The recipe lends itself well to any type of flavoring. Fresh nutmeg and lemon zest comes to mind....<or lime and lemon zest without the nutmeg, I think....>  YUM! You can even add 1/2 cup coconut (plus 1/2 cup white chocolate chips) to my recipe, as well without adjusting anything else.

You could frost it with a white chocolate ganache filling and frosting, which would go well in terms of texture with a moist "fruit" cake, such as mine. There are recipes for it. I also have one in my baking911school.com called the White Chocolate Raspberry Ganache Frosting. http://www.baking911school.com/index_masterlist.htm Look under Icings, Frostings, etc. It can be flavored in any way desired. I would recommend using vanilla beans! :smile:

Your cake sounds divine, Sarah. Unfortunately Hubby is not much of a cake eater, so I'm thinking more plated-dessert -- maybe serve the mousse in a tuile cup? Or, maybe make a mango mousse and serve it in a white chocolate cup? I like the idea of a nutmeg accent, somewhere, or even the coconut you suggest ........ must keep thinking.......

Thanks for the wonderful ideas!

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Your cake sounds divine, Sarah.  Unfortunately Hubby is not much of a cake eater, so I'm thinking more plated-dessert -- maybe serve the mousse in a tuile cup?  Or, maybe make a mango mousse and serve it in a white chocolate cup?  I like the idea of a nutmeg accent, somewhere, or even the coconut you suggest ........ must keep thinking.......

Thanks for the wonderful ideas!

YUMMMYUMMM...Yes, you could accent the mango mousse with freshly grated nutmeg (grate it on top, perhaps) and sprinkle with a little bit of toasted coconut (maybe). You can also flavor white chocolate with coconut flavored oil, if desired.... http://www.lorannoils.com/Productsdetail.a...Name=Flavorings They have some really neat flavorings...... I still think there's room for some orange (juice or finely chopped peel) mixed in the mango mousse if using nutmeg..... Are you inviting (drooling) guests.... slurp!

Edited by Sarah Phillips (log)

Happy Baking! Sarah Phillips, President and Founder, http://www.baking911.com

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Black and/or raspberries are a TERRIFIC pairing with mango anything, in my book! Where's the party? :laugh:

"I'm not eating it...my tongue is just looking at it!" --My then-3.5 year-old niece, who was NOT eating a piece of gum

"Wow--this is a fancy restaurant! They keep bringing us more water and we didn't even ask for it!" --My 5.75 year-old niece, about Bread Bar

"He's jumped the flounder, as you might say."

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Your cake sounds divine, Sarah.  Unfortunately Hubby is not much of a cake eater, so I'm thinking more plated-dessert -- maybe serve the mousse in a tuile cup?  Or, maybe make a mango mousse and serve it in a white chocolate cup?  I like the idea of a nutmeg accent, somewhere, or even the coconut you suggest ........ must keep thinking.......

Thanks for the wonderful ideas!

YUMMM...Yes, you could accent the mango mousse with freshly grated nutmeg (grate it on top, perhaps) and sprinkle with a little bit of toasted coconut (maybe). You can also flavor white chocolate with coconut flavored oil, if desired.... http://www.lorannoils.com/Productsdetail.a...Name=Flavorings They have some really neat flavorings...... I still think there's room for some orange (juice or finely chopped peel) mixed in the mango mousse if using nutmeg..... Are you inviting (drooling) guests.... slurp!

Orange juice in the mango mousse sounds great, as does a sprinkling of nutmeg. I'm thinking maybe a shard of toasted coconut tuile on top? Gotta get something crunchy in there!

Lots of validation for the white chocolate/mango/coconut combo; thanks, guys! I wish this was going to be the grand finale to a huge birthday dinner, but it's going to be just the immediate family. If I don't fail miserably, though, I promise to take pictures! :wink:

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white chocolate, raspberry and mango are a great combo. I've made desserts with these put together.

How about white cake with white chocolate mousse, raspberrry (preserves) baked meringue disc and mango bavarois.

Dean Anthony Anderson

"If all you have to eat is an egg, you had better know how to cook it properly" ~ Herve This

Pastry Chef: One If By Land Two If By Sea

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white chocolate, raspberry and mango are a great combo.  I've made desserts with these put together.

How about white cake with white chocolate mousse, raspberrry (preserves) baked meringue disc and mango bavarois.

I'd love it -- unfortunately, Hubby is meringue-phobic. (No, the irony is not lost on us -- Hubby doesn't really much care for sweets, and I am a pastry-chef wannabe. Talk about mis-matched!). I don't think I've ever encountered a bavarois -- is it essentially a mousse that is set with gelatin? Or am I misremembering?

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I don't think I've ever encountered a bavarois -- is it essentially a mousse that is set with gelatin?  Or am I misremembering?

I think that's what it is.

If you're still open to other ideas, how about white chocolate ice cream and mango sorbet, paired with tuile cookies?

Or a white chocolate-mango swirl cheesecake? That way you really get a nice melding of those two flavors on the tongue.

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Those both look terrific. And I was thinking that something frozen on the dish would be a nice addition. Ack, too many choices!

I am in the mood to fuss a little bit, and have not yet attempted to temper white chocolate, so the white chocolate cups are a definite. The coconut tuiles, raspberry sauce and blackberries (and maybe some mango sauce, too, for pretty)as garnish are a definite. I'm not crazy about ice creams and sorbets served in the chocolate cups, as it slows down the flavor delivery of the chocolate (the chocolate freezes a bit). So mango mousse in the white chocolate cup makes sense to me.

Or -- brainstorm -- maybe white chocolate mousse in ring molds with the raspberry sauce next to mango sorbet (or frozen mango mousse) in a coconut tuile cup?! A little room-temp mango sauce on the dish would punch up the mango as well. Maybe I can live without tempering white chocolate this week.

Edited by RuthWells (log)
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bavarois simply is french for bavarian cream. But it most instances i've come into contact with and have used it for is just gelatin stabilized anglaise without the cream lightener. So basically it will give you a thin strip of flavor to accentuate your cake.

Edited by chiantiglace (log)

Dean Anthony Anderson

"If all you have to eat is an egg, you had better know how to cook it properly" ~ Herve This

Pastry Chef: One If By Land Two If By Sea

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bavarois simply is french for bavarian cream.  But it most instances i've come into contact with and have used it for is just gelatin stabilized anglaise without the cream lightener.  So basically it will give you a thin strip of flavor to accentuate your cake.

Aha, the lightbulb goes on. Thanks for explaining.

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Last night I was looking through the good food magazine (BBC magazine) and there was a recipe for mango and rasberry poached in cranberry juice with a tbsp of sugar. It was served with ice cream (so mayber white chocolate icecream?)

I was also thinking of something along the lines of a mango tarte tatin

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Reporting back on the birthday dessert. I ended up doing stacked mousses in a ring mold -- mango mousse on the bottom, white chocolate coconut mousse on top. Garnished with blackberries. Next to the mousses on the plate -- a coconut tuile cup with a scoop of mango sorbet. Everything was yummy, but I had trouble with the stacked mousses (and not for the first time) -- the bottom mousse went squish upon unmolding. So, presentation was far from flawless, LOL! But the birthday boy was happy, which is what counts.

Thanks again, everyone, for all of the suggestions!

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