Mango Lassi Tart

It was my first day back in the kitchen after a couple of months in Europe.

I'd been asked to make a dessert for a lazy chicken and salad dinner with family.
As it's the middle of summer here, I didn't want anything hot or stodgy. It needed to be light and refreshing and relatively quick to make.
Now I had thought of making a cheesecake, but between shopping for the ingredients, making it and leaving early so we could have a swim before dinner, I didn't really feel I had the time.
So instead I made a variation on a Pannacotta (a suggestion of Mum's). They were flavours that were not only readily available to me, but according to my Flavour Thesaurus went well together. Not that the latter was really necessary as Mango Lassis, Barfi and Pina Coladas provided more than enough evidence as to how the flavours would work. Essentially, this is cardamon pannacotta resting in a coconut crust and dressed with fresh ripe mangoes.



Recipe:
Pastry:
100g plain flour
75g desiccated coconut
1/3 C desiccated coconut
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp sugar
120g butter (chilled and diced)
2 tbsp iced water

Place the flour 75g of coconut, salt, sugar and butter in a food processor and process until fine crumbs.
Add in the iced water and pulse only until well combined
If the dough is too soft (mine usually is) add the 1/3 cup of coconut and beat until well combined.
Chill.
Roll flat and line the base and sides of a brownie tray or cake tin (I used a springform cake tin).
Blind bake for 15 minutes then bake again for about 15 with the blind baking beads removed. You want to ensure the sides and base a well cooked so they won't collapse when the hot pannacotta is poured on top.

Pannacotta
2 cups whipping cream
2 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp cardamon powder
2 tbsp milk
2 tsp gelatine powder

Mix the gelatine and the milk and set aside. The gelatine should absorb all of the milk and puff up slightly.
In a saucepan mix the cream, sugar and cardamon and gently heat
Continue stirring until it starts to bubble around the edge and is about to boil.
Remove from the heat and stir in the gelatine mixture. Mix well until the gelatine has completely melted into the cream. There shouldn't be any lumps.
Let cool for about 20 minutes.
Remove any fat that has solidified on the surface of the cream
Pour into the pastry case and leave to set in the fridge.
Once the cream has set you can put the topping on.

Topping:
Finely slice peeled mango cheeks and lay on the top of the cream in a decorative pattern.