In collaboration with Brixton Windmill and using their organic wholemeal flour
The sweetness and lightness of coconut frangipane, the delicate fresh mango flavour and the side-note (little) kick of cardamom sugar make this the perfect springtime dessert.
I found out about the so called ‘Indian mango season’ only in recent years. In Italy there is no such a thing, and yes, surely mango must be in season at some point but it’s usually very expensive and it’s not very common to have it on your table. As a matter of fact, I had never seen or tasted a cake with mango before I moved to the UK. Which is a real shame.
Last year was the year I also found out about Alphonso mango, which was an amazing discovery, if it wouldn’t be for the fact that it happened towards the end of the season and it was already too late to experiment and share any recipes. For those who don’t know it, Alphonso mango are
Anyway, this year I was determined not to miss the season again, so I marked it on my calendar and finally grabbed the first delicious Alphonso mangoes at my local grocery shop right when they started selling them. After that, the only thing that was left to do was to think about the right recipe, one that would elevate the sweet but delicate flavour of the fruit – quite a challenge not to cover this one, but I am always up for a flavour challenge of course.
That’s why, after a bit of thinking, and a little inspiration from one of my favourite curry recipes, I decided to keep it simple and go with one the most classic combinations and came up with this stunning mango, coconut frangipane and cardamom tart.
The tart itself is a rich and buttery shortcrust pastry (pasta frolla) made with wholewheat flour for a comforting homely flavour, then filled with coconut frangipane and fresh mango slices. Final touch, a fun twist with a super-easy-to-make cardamom powdered sugar to dust on top right before serving.
As simple and as delicious as that. And believe me, it works so well and it’s so good that second slices will be on demand.
Fresh fruit tart lover? If’ you haven’t tried them yet, have a go at this stunning blueberry tart, or at my redcurrant, caramel and creme pat tart.
Makes one 23cm tart
Ingredients
FOR THE SWEET SHORTCRUST PASTRY
- 220g wholemeal flour, largest brans sifted out (I used Brixton Windmill)
- 15g corn flour
- 120g cold butter, cubed
- 70g caster sugar
- 30g light muscovado sugar
- 2 large egg yolks (about 50g)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 3g salt
- zest of 1 lemon
FOR THE COCONUT FRANGIPANE
- 180g butter at room temperature
- 180g caster sugar
- 90g almond flour
- 90g fine desiccated coconut flakes
- 3 medium eggs
- 2g salt
TO FINISH AND DECORATE
- 1 large ripe mango (or 2 medium ones)
- 2 Tbsp icing sugar
- 2 cardamom pods
Method
MAKE THE SWEET SHORTCRUST PASTRY (CAN BE MADE ONE DAY AHEAD)
- Combine the flour, corn flour, sugars and salt in a bowl. Drop in the cold butter cubes and rub the butter into the flour (alternatively you can use a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, or a simple food processor) until you get to a sandy and crumbly consistency.
- Add egg yolks and lemon zest, and mix the dough with a wooden spoon (or in the stand mixer on low). As soon as you see the pastry come together, stop mixing, flatten, wrap in cling film and refrigerate for at least two hours, or until ready to use. If looking a bit dry and struggling to come together, add a tsp of ice cold water.
MAKE THE COCONUT FRANGIPANE
- Combine butter and sugar in a bowl and beat on medium speed with an electric whisk or with the paddle attachment of a stand mixer for 4 minutes, until light and fluffy. Pour in the eggs one at the time and beat for a minute more until smooth. Add the almond and coconut flours and fold them into the mixture with a spatula. Transfer to a piping bag and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or until ready to use.
ASSEMBLE THE TART
- While you wait for the frangipane and the pastry to chill, peel and slice the mango. The way you slice it will affect the final look of the tart, but it’s totally up to you. You can slice the cheeks in thin slices, or dice them. It’ll work equally well.
- Pre-heat the oven to 180°C. Take the pastry out of the fridge and leave it at room temperature for 10 minutes. Roll out the pastry to a 5mm thickness between two sheets of baking parchment.
- To line the tart tin, roll the pastry up on the rolling pin and unroll it over it. Lift the edges and encourage the pastry to reach the bottom of the tin. Using a piece of extra pastry, press the rolled pastry into the tart tin, to get all the angles and corners neatly lined. Roll the rolling pin over the tin to cut the extra overhanging pastry. Adjust the thickness of the sides again and trim the last extra edge with a sharp knife. (You can check out one of my quick skill tutorials here)
- Refrigerate the tart base for 10 minutes and at the same time take the frangipane cream out of the fridge. After 10 minutes, take the tart case out of the fridge, prick the base and sides with a fork and pipe the frangipane cream in a spiral all over the base. If necessary, spread it evenly with a spatula. The frangipane should be enough to fill the base completely.
- Arrange the mango slices in a nice pattern all over the tart, leaving a bit of space on the sides and centre for the frangipane to rise while cooking. Transfer the tart tin onto a metal tray and bake in the oven for 40 minutes.
- After the time has passed, check the centre of the tart with a skewer. If it comes out dirty, give the tart another 5 to 10 minutes, covering it with foil if it’s browning too much. In the meanwhile, pop the cardamom pods open and crush the small seeds with a pestle or the bottom of a pan to make a powder. Add it to the icing sugar and mix to disperse evenly.
- Once the tart is ready, take it out of the oven and let it cool in the tin for 30 minutes, before unmolding and transferring onto a wire rack to cool down completely. Dust with cardamom sugar and serve immediately!