Mango Mousse

This is a cheery, light confection that is a great do-ahead dessert for when you are having company come over. I reach for this mousse when the season is changing, and I am tired of the winter fruits, but the first local berries have not arrived. I love mango for it's fresh, unusual flavor and its beautiful color. Although I love the smooth texture of mousse on its own, it is equally delicious with bits of diced fresh mango folded in at the end. and it will look speckle-y! we are lucky to live in a section of Boston (Jamaica Plain) that is rich with Latin markets, and close to Brookline, where there are many Indian markets. Both of these shops are a great place to buy inexpensive ripe mangoes. For the quickest dessert in the land, slice super fresh mango and sprinkle it with fresh lime juice-delicious!

many baking friends have expressed a little fear around making a mousse-I think anything that involves a lot of folding makes a green baker a little nervous-but mousses are very simple to put together and fast! I like to think of the process as making 3 bases that will be put together-the egg base, the cream base and the gelatin flavor base. Once these three steps are prepared, a few quick folds and you are done! what could be simpler?

mango mousse

1 cup mango puree
1 envelope powdered gelatin or 4 sheets
1 1/2 cup sugar
pinch salt
4 egg whites
1 cup heavy cream
diced mango (optional)

First step-measure out all the ingredients. I have not discussed the idea of mise en place yet-french for everything in it's place. It is a very good idea to have all your ingredients measured and ready before beginning the process of baking anything. this includes having your baking pans greased and lined! But it is imperative when making a mousse-timing and temperature is everything when mousse making, or making anything that is gelatin based.
so, once everything has been measured out, put a small pot of water on to boil. place the fruit puree, 1 cup of the sugar, and a pinch of salt into a small heat proof bowl, and put it on top of the boiling water to warm it up and to dissolve the sugar. you want it to feel hot to the touch.

while this is warming up, dissolve the gelatin in cold water. while powdered gelatin works fine, I want to take this opportunity to sign the praises of sheet gelatin. sheet gelatin, usually an import product from France, is gelatin that is pressed into thin clear sheets. it is easier to use that powdered, a much purer product made from superior protein sources and has a much cleaner taste. I became a convert last winter while making homemade marshmallows last winter for a drinking chocolate dessert. while the marshmallows made from powdered gelatin looked fine, they had a noticeable odd flavor-almost gamey. I tried the same recipe using sheet gelatin, and they came out lighter, fluffier, and with no noticeable taste at all! I will never go back! If you use sheet gelatin, you do not need to measure the cold water. once the gelatin is dissolved, you will be able to take it out of the water with your hands, squeezing out the excess water. I hope you get a chance to try it!

o.k. so back to the mousse. once the gelatin has softened, remove the fruit puree mixture from the stream bath and place the gelatin in another heat proof bowl, and dissolve that over the steam.
Once it is completely dissolved, stir it into the fruit, and place it in a large bowl, to let it cool down a bit.


In yet another clean bowl (yes another bowl) or in the bowl of a mixer, beat the egg whites with the cream of tarter until they are a soft peak. Something to keep in mind about egg whites is that they are easier to separate when they are cold, but beat much stiffer and more quickly with out becoming grainy when they are at room temperature-or even warm! so if you forgot to take the eggs out, once you have separated them, you could warm them by whisking them in a bowl over that handy pot of boiling water you have. Just keep them moving or they will begin to cook. They only need to be warm to the touch to whip up nicely. once they have reached this stage, begin to slowly add the remaining 1/2 cup of sugar until the whites are stiff. put aside.

now, in ANOTHER bowl (I hope you have a lot of bowls) beat the heavy cream until it reaches a soft peak. you are now almost ready to fold!.

whisk the fruit/gelatin mixture until it cools down a bit. it is important that it does not get too cool, or the gelatin will begin to set up. when it is warmish, whisk in about 1/4 of the whipped whites. this lightens the fruit mixture and makes it easier to fold everything together without deflating the rest of the whites. Now plop the rest of the whites on top, and gently fold the two together. the trick to folding is to make a smooth motion with your rubber spatula, down the middle to the bottom of the bowl, then over to the top. with your other hand, move the bowl a quarter turn, then fold again. when the whites are almost completely Incorporated, do the same process with the whipped cream. fold in fruit if you feel like it. Now you are done! Pour the mousse into glasses-martini glasses are fun, or wine glasses-anything that will show off your hard work. let it set up the the fridge for at least 4 hours, or over night. I like to serve this mousse with a salad of fresh mango and lime zest, garnished with a slice of dried mango.

A word about egg safety-you may have noticed that this egg uses raw egg whites. Although I have never encountered it, salmonella is a serious food born bacteria that can seriously harm (or kill!) someone with a compromised immune system-that's your friends who are young, elderly, or anyone with a compromised immune system. Please do not feed them raw eggs! and for those of you who are just plain nervous about raw eggs in general, you can find cartons of pasteurized egg whites in the dairy section of most markets. I do find that pasteurized eggs do not perform as well as fresh ones, but peace of mind is worth a mousse that is perhaps a touch less light.