Tropical Mango Cheesecake
Hella Mango: eating this fruit always reminds me of vacationing in Philippines, Thailand, and Hawaii. Growing up, my family had dried mangos stocked all the time, which probably started my obsession. Today, I combined them with one of my favorite desserts and made a Tropical Mango Cheesecake. Creamy, fluffy, and surprisingly not too sweet even when using really ripe mangos!
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups graham crackers crumbs
2 tablespoons light brown sugar
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
3 ripe mangos (I used the Tommy Atkins variety), peeled and pitted
20 ounces of full-fat cream cheese, room temperature (this is important)
1 1/4 cups granulated white sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
4 large eggs, room temperature
Special Equipment:
9 inch springform pan
Steps:
Preheat your oven to 325 degrees (non-convection) with a rack in the center.
Make the crust. In a large bowl, combine the graham cracker crumbs, brown sugar, and melted butter. It should look like wet sand. Parchment-lined and buttered your springform pan. Add the crumb mixture and press it against the bottom of the pan in an even layer. I used the back of a measuring cup to flatten it. Bake for 13 minutes, remove from oven, and set aside to cool.
Make the filling. In a food processor, add all the mango, and purée until completely smooth. Measure out 2 cups of the purée and save the rest for another use (hint: great in a cocktail). In a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese, sugar, vanilla until smooth. Slowly add in the eggs one at a time. Add in the mango purée, and mix until all is combined. Add the filling to the pan with the cooled graham cracker crust.
If you have a ramekin, fill it with water and place in the oven with the cheesecake. This will prevent the cake from splitting. However, if you don’t have one, no worries. If the cake splits, it’ll be rustic. Bake for 1 hour 30 minutes. Use a cake tester to check if it’s done (note: the center will still be ever-so-slightly giggly).
Let the cheesecake cool in the pan on the counter for an hour. The cake will depress as it cools, so don’t worry. Move it to the refrigerator to chill for at least 4 hours. Once completely cooled, remove the springform, slice, and garnish with extra mangos.
