Mango Ice Cream

Yes, you might be thinking that I have gone crazy. The season of Mangoes and Ice-creams has not been arrived yet or I must say we are just a few weeks away to indulge ourselves in the sweetness of mangoes and the rich, creamy goodness of Ice-creams.

To be very frank I am a die hard fan of Ice-creams and can enjoy it even in the subzero temperatures and when its Mango flavored I can't resist myself to have a scoop of it. Moreover who doesn't love mangoes after all it's the King of all fruits.

Recently, I found a can of mango puree in a departmental store and as usual I couldn't stop myself from buying it without a second thought. I was walking through the aisles and thinking what to do with this puree. Suddenly I turned and saw an aisle of ice-creams. Yippee!!! I got it. I decided to treat my family and of course myself with Mango Ice-cream.

Whenever we think of making ice-cream at home two thoughts comes in our mind successively:

• Will it be smooth, creamy, rich and soft like store bought?
• Is it possible to make ice-cream without an Ice-cream maker?

Well, the answer to all your questions is "Yes, Of course!" . It's just a pleasure when your ice-cream scooper glides through the ice-cream without encountering any ice crystals and yet you get a nice and perfect scoop. Moreover it requires very few ingredients and no cooking or churning. Just mix all the ingredients together and set it in the refrigerator for 5-6 hours. 

So let's dig into the divine flavors of Mango Ice-cream:

Ingredients:

1. Mango Puree: 1 and 1/2 cup

2. Heavy whipping Cream: 1 and 1/2 cup

3. Sweetened Condensed Milk: 1 cup

4. Salt: a pinch

5. Powdered Sugar (if required)

Method:

1. In a mixing bowl Pour the heavy whipping cream and whip it with your electric blender or wire whisk until you get soft peaks.

2. Add in the sweetened condensed milk and mix very gently otherwise the whipped cream will deflate.

3. Now add the mango puree and a pinch of salt then fold the mixture with very light hands.

4. Once everything is well incorporated, pour this mixture into a bowl and keep it in the freezer for good 5-6 hours and till then control yourself not to open the freezer every single hour and check whether its set or not :)

5. Take out the bowl 5 minutes prior to serving scoop it and top with anything you like. 

6. Enjoy the real flavors of mango and the richness of ice-cream blended together.

Note:

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Raspberry Pannacotta......A perfect dessert for your Valentine

Love is in the air as Valentine's Day is here. We all know this day is celebrated as the day of love and romance all over the world. Being a foodie the best way to celebrate this special day is making something special for the love of my life. So, I decided to make one of my all time favorite desserts - "Raspberry Pannacotta".

Pannacotta is an Italian dessert which means cooked cream. Traditionally it is made from milk, cream, sugar and gelatin. It is generally served chilled and topped with chocolate, caramel sauce or fruits of your choice. You can enjoy this dessert as it is just spoon up and indulge yourself in it's silky smooth texture.

These days we can easily find gelatin in our local grocery stores unlike earlier; people would use egg-whites instead. So, if you are not in favor of using gelatin you can always replace gelatin with egg whites but in that case you need to bake it. Having gelatin in your pantry makes your life easy and you can make really gorgeous looking desserts instantly.

I used Raspberry but you can always use fruit of your choice or replace it with chocolate the options are endless! So let's begin with the recipe:

Ingredients:

1. Milk: 1 cup
2. Cream: 1 cup
3. Sugar: 1 cup
4. Vanilla Extract: 1 tbsp
5. Fresh Raspberries: 1 cup
6. Unflavored Gelatin: 2 packet

Method:

1. Dissolve one packet of gelatin in water as per the instructions on the packet and keep it aside.

2. In a separate pan pour the milk and boil it on low-medium heat. Keep stirring so that it doesn't stick to the bottom. Add the cream and mix well.  

3. Add 1/2 cup of sugar to the milk-cream mixture and cook it for 5-6 mins. Check the sweetness and adjust accordingly. Pour vanilla extract and give a nice mix.

4. Add the gelatin to the mixture and stir continously until the gelatin gets dissolved completely.

5. Pour this mixture into individual glasses or ramekins and refrigerate for 2-3 hours or until it sets.

6. In the meanwhile take the raspberries and sugar in the blender and puree it. Strain it through a strainer to discard the seeds.

7. Once the milk-cream mixture is set completely take them out of the refrigerator.

8. Dissolve the other packet of gelatin in water as per the instructions.

9. Mix gelatin with the raspberry puree and pour the mixture into the glasses. Refrigerate it for 2-3 hours.

10. When you are ready to serve garnish it the way you like.

11. Enjoy.

Note:

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Skinny Mango Cheesecake.........A Cheesecake Without Cheese

By now you all know that I have a ginormous sweet tooth. My dinner is not complete unless I have a bowl of anything sweet. But whenever I eat anything sweet I always get a guilt feeling that how much calories its been adding up! This feeling turns me upside down and muddle up the state of bliss.

There was a time when we would gobble up everything without even giving a second thought. That was the time we never thought how would we look like in our profile pic. Well, time changes so do our thoughts. 

I'm a huge fans of Cheesecakes, aren't you? But we all know that cheesecake adds a lot of calories in your waistline.......Sigh :(. So, I decided to cheat these "Caloricious Cheesecakes" without any "Cheese" content in it. Yes, you heard it right: "A Cheesecake Without Cream Cheese". It not only helps you to get rid of that "guilt" but it does full justice to the taste of an original Cheesecake. Isn't that great!

This recipe is very easy and requires very few ingredients. It is also a party pleaser which can be prepared in advance. So let's dig into this recipe of making my version of "Skinny Mango Cheesecakes":

Ingredients:

1. Mango Puree: 1 cup
2. Heavy Whipping Cream: 1 cup
3. Fat Free Yogurt: 1 cup
4. Powdered Sugar to taste
5. Unflavored Gelatin: 2 packets
6. Graham Crackers: 5-6
7. Unsalted Butter(melted): 1/2 cup
8. Vanilla Extract: 1/4 tsp

Method:

Making the crust:

1. Using a food processor or blender grind the graham crackers into fine crumbs. You can substitute graham crackers with digestive biscuits too.

2. Take the graham crackers crumbs in a separate bowl and add the melted butter. Mix it well. 

3.Now take individual greased ramekins or a cake pan and add a layer of graham crackers. Press well and place them in the refrigerator for 15 mins.

Making the filling:

1. Dissolve the gelatin in water as per the instructions on the packet. Mix well and keep it aside.

2. In the meanwhile take heavy whipping cream and whip it until you get soft peaks. At this point add powdered sugar and vanilla extract. Beat it again for a minute.

3. In a mixing bowl take the yogurt, whipped cream and sugar. Mix well until the mixture becomes smooth and creamy. It will take around 2-3 minutes.

4. Add the gelatin in this mixture and mix well until everything is well combined. 

5. Pour this mixture into the ramekins or cake pan. Let it set for 3-4 hours. 

6. In a separate bowl take the mango puree, powdered sugar and add the remaining gelatin mixture. Mix well.

7. Pour this mixture into the ramekins and let it refrigerate for another 3-4 hours.

8. Now hold the ramekins in warm water for 10 seconds. Demold the ramekins on the serving plate.

9. Garnish it the way you like. 

10. Enjoy these skinny cheesecakes without any guilt :)

Note:

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Strawberry Shortcake Shooters......A complete party pleaser

These days my home is filled with gorgeous smell of baking. The nice aroma of freshly baked cakes, cupcakes and cookies is so alluring. I'm not a big fan of cookies and cakes but I do enjoy them during this time of the year to celebrate Christmas and the knocking New Year.

I always feel desserts should be a star of the party because life without sweetness is unthinkable. Having a dessert after appetizer and main course sometimes become challenging so it should be light as much as possible but at the same time no comprise with its taste and looks.

Whenever I have any get-together at my place after preparing the appetizer and main course I hardly have any energy left to work on my dessert. So I usually pick the ones which are instant and hassle free yet gorgeous looking.

There are few things I believe should be kept handy:

• Whipping Cream
• Powdered Sugar
• Vanilla Extract
• Any fresh or frozen fruits

Always have these things handy

If you have these things available in your pantry you can make endless number of desserts. Today I'm sharing "Strawberry Shortcake Shooters" a gorgeous looking, easy to make and hassle free dessert. 

Let's get started:

Ingredients:

1. Vanilla sponge cake: 1 (cut into very small pieces)

2. Whipped cream : 1 cup

3. Strawberry (fresh or frozen): 1 lb

4. Powdered sugar (as required)

5. Vanilla Extract: 1 tbsp

6. Granulated Sugar: 1/2 cup

Method:

1. In a pan put the fresh or frozen strawberries and sprinkle sugar . Let it cook on medium heat for 15-20 mins or the mixture start to thicken. Turn off the heat and let the sauce to cool down.

2. In a mixing bowl pour the heavy whipping cream. Add the powdered sugar. Whip the cream with your hand blender until you get soft peaks. This will take 2-3 mins on medium speed. Add vanilla extract and again beat it until you get stiff peaks.

3. Take the shot glasses and arrange a layer of cake in it. Press the cake gently so that there's no gap left in the glass.

4.  Add a layer of whipped cream and then add a layer of strawberry sauce. Again add a layer of cake and continue this process until your shot glass is full.

5. Garnish it with few mint leaves or sliced strawberries. 

6. Enjoy it right away or refrigerate it and serve cold.

Note:

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Eggless Mango Mousse....No Cook No Bake Mango Mousse

Mango Mousse.......Yes, I know this is not the season of Mangoes but last week when I went out for grocery I saw a can of mango puree which caught my attention. Immediately, chain of "Dessert-full" thoughts ran through my mind because when it comes to Dessert my imaginations get wings and they fly randomly. I have a sweet tooth so does every Bengali and I love to try desserts from every cuisine.

These days fruits and vegetables don't have any season constraints. We can get all our favorite fruits and vegetables all year round but mangoes. We can get them in puree form tough and enjoy its taste throughout the year.

Mango is considered as the king of all fruits and it deserves too. It is also known as national fruit of India where summers are incomplete without them. 

There are endless recipes made from mangoes starting from pickles to sweets. The recipe I am going to share today is Eggless Mango Mousse. It's hassle free and requires very few ingredients.  A Mousse may be sweet or savory. Dessert Mousses are typically made from whipped egg whites or whipped cream and flavored with chocolate or fruit puree. I used Mangoes but you can use any fruit of your choice.

Ingredients:

1. Mango puree: 2 cups (You can use ripe mangoes too and puree it in a blender)

2. Gelatin: 1 tbsp

3. Heavy Whipping Cream: 1 cup

4. Powdered Sugar to taste
5. Strawberries for garnishing (optional)

Method:

1. In a mixing bowl pour the heavy whipping cream. Add the powdered sugar. Whip the cream with your hand blender until you get stiff peaks. You can also use your wire whisk for this. Using electric blender makes your life easy. This will take around 2-3 mins on medium speed.

2. Dissolve the gelatin in water as per the instructions on the packet. Mix well and keep it aside.

3. Now, in a separate bowl take the mango puree. Add the dissolved gelatin and combine well so that the gelatin gets dissolved completely.

4. Now add the whipped cream to this mixture. Fold in the cream very gently. 

5. Check the sweetness and transfer this mixture into a big size serving dish or individual glasses.

6. Refrigerate it for at least an hour or until set. Remove from refrigerator 5 mins prior serving and garnish it as you like.

7. Enjoy your rich and creamy Eggless Mango Mousse  

Note:

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If you want the recipe in Bengali, Gujarati, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Urdu (or any other language) click on the Google Translate button on the left side.