Mango 'Cheese' Cake Recipe

Summer is mango season in Queensland! Which means an abundance of juicy, golden sweetness in my kitchen at the moment. Apart from just eating them fresh, and peeling and cutting to store some in the freezer, this mango 'cheese' cake has been one of my favourites to use up extra mangoes!

This recipe actually has three parts since I make the 'cheese' from scratch using yoghurt; and packet biscuits are no longer something I buy, so I made a graham cracker using sourdough discard instead; but you can simplify it by using cream cheese and bought biscuits.

The mango cheesecake recipe was passed to me by a family friend many years ago and it has long been a favourite - to me, it tastes like a Mango Weiss bar! So here it is: my variation of Aunty Noeline's mango cheesecake:

Mango 'Cheese' Cake

Ingredients:

• 185g Sourdough Discard Graham Crackers (or any plain biscuit)

• 90g butter, melted

• 2 tbsp gelatine

• 1 cup hot water

• Approx 250-350g of Labne (Yoghurt Cheese) or one 250g packet of cream cheese

• 3/4 cup icing sugar

• 300g cream (or 120g condensed milk)

• 300-500g fresh mango flesh (one large mango or two small mangoes), can also use frozen mango that has been defrosted.

Method:

1. Prepare graham crackers and yoghurt cheese ahead of time, according to below recipes.

2. Blitz 185g biscuits in a blender until coarse crumbs (or crush up with a rolling pin). Combine biscuit crumbs with 90g melted butter, and then press into a springform pan and chill for at least 30mins or overnight.

3. Dissolve 2tbsp gelatine in 1cup hot water, allow to cool slightly. Blitz mango flesh with gelatine mix in a blender until pureed. Set aside.

4. Beat yoghurt cheese or room temp cream cheese with icing sugar, until smooth. Gradually blend in cream (or condensed milk), then add mango puree back in.

5. Once fully combined, pour over biscuit base and allow to set for a few hours or overnight.

6. Slice your cheesecake and enjoy!

Thermomix notes: I make this recipe using my Thermomix and one other mixing bowl (less washing up for the win!). Blitz biscuits in Thermie and melt butter in microwave safe bowl. Add biscuits to bowl and make biscuit base. No need to wash Thermie in between, heat and stir gelatine and water and then blitz with mango. Pour mango into bowl used for biscuit base, no need to wash, and then use unwashed Thermie to make cheesecake mix before adding mango back in and voila!

Labne (Yoghurt 'Cheese')

Ingredients:

• 1.5L whole milk

• 4-6tbsp good quality plain yoghurt (like Jalna Greek Yoghurt) or 1/4 cup yoghurt whey (reserved from straining)

Method:

1. To make yoghurt, place milk in a saucepan and gently bring to almost boiling - when bubbles start to form around the edges of pot - stirring occasionally.

2. Once hot, remove from heat, place lid on saucepan and set aside to cool.

3. Once milk has reached approx 40 degrees Celsius, when you can dip your finger in and it is warm, not hot (this will take a few hours), stir in your yoghurt or whey to culture your milk.

4. Pour into clean jars and place jars into a large crock pot with a few inches of boiling water in the bottom. Wrap crock pot in towels and allow your yoghurt to culture for 8-24h, refreshing hot water every 8 hours or so.

5. Once your yoghurt is ready, you can make your yoghurt cheese. Place a strainer over a bowl and line strainer with a clean tea towel or cheese cloth and pour in at least 1/3 of your fresh yoghurt (you can make more but this is how much you will need for your cheesecake). Reserve remaining yoghurt for eating.

6. Place your straining yoghurt cheese in the fridge for at least 8 hours and up to several days (the longer you strain it, the thicker and cheesier it will be).

7. Once whey is strained from yoghurt, you can reserve it to make your next batch of homemade yoghurt. 500g of fresh yoghurt will yield a good amount of yoghurt cheese for your mango cheesecake. No need to bring to room temp for cooking, it is a softer texture than cream cheese so it can be used straight out of the fridge.

8. If you made extra yoghurt cheese, you can use it as a substitute for cream cheese in other sweet recipes; or, salt it to your taste and use it as spreadable cheese for bagels, toast, or dolloping with eggs or other savoury meals. It can be used as a substitute for cream cheese, cottage cheese, or sour cream, depending on your needs!

Sourdough Discard Graham Crackers (for biscuit base)

Recipe from littlespoonfarm.com

Ingredients:

• 113g butter

• 1/4 cup brown sugar

• 1/4 cup honey

• 120g sourdough starter discard

• 2 cups wholemeal flour

• 1/2 tsp bicarb soda

• 1/2 tsp salt

Method:

1. Use a spatula to cream together butter and sugar. Then stir in honey and sourdough starter until smooth.

2. Add dry ingredients and bring together. Use your hands if you need to but don't add more liquid to your dough.

3. Cover and chill for at least one hour or up to a couple of days.

4. Roll half of dough between two sheets of baking paper until 3mm thick. Use pizza roller to cut into squares. Prick all over with a fork. Repeat with remaining dough.

5. Place rolled dough in the fridge for 30mins while preheating oven to moderate heat.

6. Bake for 15-17mins until golden.

7. Store in an airtight container in the freezer. Use for biscuit crumb bases, or just for eating. Enjoy!

A final note: I'm sure this recipe could be adapted to work with other kinds of fresh fruit for more cheesecake fun!