MINI MANGO TARTS & A Mango Challenge

 

Where in the world will anyone find  food aficionados, who are on different parts of the planet, don’t know each other beyond their blogs, and make a pact to cook  Mango-inspired dishes within 3 days? And the only thing we have in common? Twitter and our LOVE for MANGOES. So here we are, united by food and mangoes, inspiring each other and sharing our recipes & stories. That said, sit back and enjoy our sweet mango adventures…

When my family and I relocated to the USA some 20 years ago, one of the things I worried about was not finding my favorite fruit: mangoes. I grew up with mangoes in the Philippines. We had mangoes in abundance all summer long. In fact, in a previous post last year, I have referred to mangoes as the “fruit from the gods”

(Reprise from June 2010) ” The mango is my most favorite fruit ever. I grew up with mangoes. Having grown up in a tropical country like the Philippines, I grew up learning everything there is to know about a mango. After all, it is considered the Philippine’s national fruit. For as long as I could remember, we had mango trees in our backyard. We also had a mango orchard in our farm. I can close my eyes now, and still vividly recall how those heart-shaped fruits dangled from acres upon acres of shady trees.

The mango holds a magic spell for me and my family. Our love for mangoes is limitless. When I smell its fragrance on its skin, and then later bite into this luscious, deep, yellow, sweet, juicy goodness, I am convinced we have been blessed by the gods.

Today, as I stand in my kitchen, here in my home in the USA, I am reminded and transported to my summers of mangoes…a whimsical time of my childhood, of endless hot, humid, summer days, which stretched endlessly for weeks and months of enjoyment.”

So for our Twitter “Mango Madness” Challenge, I decided to bake Mini Mango Tarts. The pastry crust is from a recipe I have used in different baked goodies which I previously posted. The crust is buttery, flaky, crumbles and melts like heaven once you sink your teeth in them. Then the mango filling is a custard-like mango  cream, topped with bits of sweet mango fruit. All of these is put together in a mini bite-sized amazing morsel, which one can quickly pop into the mouth. What happens afterwards is between you and the mango.

Here’s a preview of how easy this recipe is to do:

 

Here’s the recipe….

MINI MANGO TARTS

PASTRY:

1 and 1/3 cup all purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cold egg

1/2 cup cold butter, cut into little cubes

2 Tablespoons cold water.

• Combine flour and salt. Add cold butter. Blend well till it resembles coarse crumbs.
• Add a whole cold egg. Mix well with a pastry blender.
• Add the cold water, a tablespoon at a time. Blend till pastry dough gets solid and firm.
• Wrap the dough in plastic and refrigerate for 30 minutes or more.
• After dough is firm, remove plastic and roll out on floured board. Using a small round cookie cutter, cut rounds and press into a greased mini muffin pan.
• Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes. Remove from pan and set aside.

MANGO TART FILLING

1 cup mango nectar (canned or bottled)

1 Tablespoon melted butter

4 egg yolks (from large eggs)

1/3 cup granulated sugar

1/2 teaspoon lemon zest

3 Tablespoon flour

1 whole ripe mango, pitted and cut into small cubes

confectioners’ sugar for topping

1. Beat the egg yolks and sugar.
2. Add the mango nectar and lemon rind. Blend well.
3. Then add the flour to the melted butter. Add this into the yolk-nectar mixture.Stir well.
4. Fill pre-baked pastry cups in the muffin tins, with this mango filling. Make sure it is only 2/3 cup full.
5. Top each tart with 2 small bits of ripe mango.
6. Bake at 375 degrees for 15 minutes or till custard filling is firm. Be careful not to let these tarts burn. Allow tarts to cool. Then sprinkle top with confectioners’ sugar.

COOK’S COMMENTS: Most mangoes in the USA are imported from Mexico, Ecuador, Brazil, Guatemala, Peru and Haiti (See WIKIPEDIA.com). There are hundreds of mango varieties in the world But the most common is the “Ataulfo” which we know as the “Champagne Mangoes”. This is the particular mango variety which I love, and which I used in this recipe.  When using mangoes for a baked dessert, make sure they are at the ripest and sweetest stage.

Log on to the rest of the “Mango Madness” brave souls and find the best mango recipes and stories:

• Annapet of http://www.thedailypalette.com
• Malou of http://www.skiptomalou.net
• Francys of http://www.lacocinakitchen.blogspot.com
• Aubrey of http://www.theaub-blog.blogspot.com
• Nelly of http://www.cookingwithbooks.blogspot.com
• Erin of http://www.bigfatbaker.com/blog
• Karriann of http://www.creativecookingcorner.com

 

 

 

 

Ataulfo Brazil Champagne Mango Ecuador fruit from the gods. Twitter challenge Guatemala Haiti mango madness Mango national fruit mangoes in the Philippines Mexico Peru Posted under Cooking, Events Holidays by Elizabeth Q.