This is a simple tart celebrating the deliciously sweet yet slightly sour flavour of mango, a fruit I associate with Christmas and summer.
INGREDIENTS
4 ripe but firm mangoes (preferably Bowen), peeled, seeded and coarsely chopped
375 ml evaporated milk
4 titanium-strength gelatine sheets, soaked for 5 minutes in cold water to soften
Black sesame pastry
30 gm (¼ cup) black sesame seeds
1¼ tsp fennel seeds
230 gm plain flour
40 gm caster sugar
150 gm chilled butter, diced
100 gm mascarpone
1 tsp cider vinegar
Method
1. For black sesame pastry, dry-roast black sesame seeds and fennel seeds separately until toasted (2-3 minutes for sesame, 30 seconds to 1 minute for fennel). Pound fennel seeds with a mortar and pestle until finely ground, then combine with flour, sugar, 1 tsp sea salt flakes and sesame seeds in a food processor. Add butter and mascarpone and pulse until dough starts to come together. Add vinegar and 1 tbsp chilled water and pulse until just starting to come together. Turn pastry out onto the bench and gently bring it together with your hands. Form into a disc, wrap with plastic wrap and rest in the fridge for 2-3 hours.
2.Roll pastry between 2 sheets of baking paper until 5mm thick. Place the rolled pastry back in the fridge to rest for another few moments to make it easier to work with. Remove the pastry again and peel off the top layer of baking paper. Flip it over and place in a lightly oiled 28cm x 3cm-deep fluted tart tin and gently press the pastry in, leaving it covered with the baking paper. Refrigerate again for at least another few hours before baking.
3.Preheat oven to 180C. Remove pastry from the fridge and blind-bake until golden (20 minutes). Remove baking paper, drop oven to 160C and continue cooking until pastry is a darkish brown (20-25 minutes). Remove from oven and cool completely.
4.Process mango in a blender until smooth. Weigh out 800gm of purée and place in a bowl.
5.Heat evaporated milk and a pinch of salt in a small saucepan over medium heat until mixture reaches 60C (1-2 minutes). Remove from heat, squeeze excess water from gelatine and whisk into milk. Cool to room temperature, then add mango purée and whisk to combine. Pour into tart case and refrigerate until set (6 hours or overnight), then serve.
