No-bake Mango Cream Tart

The number one and most disappointing failure when it comes to cold, no-baked, gelatin-stabilized desserts is when they do not set. Sometimes, this is simply due to insufficient refrigeration in which case the problem can be easily solved by chucking the runny mess back into the fridge and allowing it more time to chill in remorse and repentance without you uttering a word. Occasionally, when you deal with misbehaving desserts, passive-aggressive silent treatment is the only way to get the message across.

Most of the time, however, the mistake lies within us and is caused by far more complicated factors than insufficient chilling time. In these cases, by the time the failure is found, it's too late to remedy the situation. If the gelatin does not want to set, further refrigeration will not change its mind.


Gelatin psychologists unanimously agree that the top reasons why gelatin-based desserts do not want to set are as follows:

• The recipe is incorrect.
• The recipe hasn't been tested.
• Failure to follow a well-tested recipe.
• Poor choices of substitutes due to a lack of understanding about how proteolytic enzymes in some fruits keep gelatin from setting. (More on how proteases such as bromelain and papain can ruin gelatin desserts.)
• Use of wrong container size: The deeper the container, the more time it takes for the gelatin to set. Certain desserts which rely on the gelatin holding its shape when cut into individual servings, such as the one featured here, can be easily ruined by using a smaller, deeper pan. The filling may set within the safety and comfort of the crust, but as when it exists as part of a stand-alone piece of pie with nothing to support it on the sides, it tends to collapse. The taller the filling, the more wobbly and aesthetically-challenged.

I guess that's my way of saying that the success of this no-bake mango tart recipe assumes that you follow the recipe exactly as written.


Since my main mango source is a local Hispanic market, I always pick up a tub or two of either Crema Mexicana Agria or Crema Mexicana along with my favorite kind of mango. I switch back and forth between these two types of cream depending on what mood I'm in since both of them work very well in this recipe. [Variants of these two types of cream abound and it almost makes so sense to try to nail down the ingredients or preparation methods among or define the various types of Mexican creams as interpreted by different brands. In general, Crema Mexicana Agria is more like sour cream and Crema Mexicana is sweeter like thick, uncultured cream. If you like your mango tart tangy, use the former; if you like your mango tart, well, not so tangy, use the latter.]


Regardless of which cream you use, the cream must be strained overnight to concentrate and thicken it. This can be done by putting the cream into a colander lined with a coffee filter or a piece of cheesecloth and setting the colander on a bowl without its bottom touching or descending too low into the bowl (we want to separate the strained cream in the colander from the whey that drips to the bottom of the bowl). A 16-ounce container of Crema Mexicana or Crema Mexicana Agria yields approximately 12 ounces of strained cream.

[Some brands of Crema Mexicana Agria are pretty thick and salty, in which case you can skip the straining and omit the salt. Here's how to judge whether straining is needed: if the consistency of the cream is so thick that you can scoop it out of the tub with a spoon and it doesn't drip when the spoon is turned face down, it's thick enough to be used as is. If not, strain.]

Good substitutes for Crema Mexicana/Crema Mexicana Agria:

• Equal amount of cream cheese, Neufchâtel, or Mascapone, microwaved on medium until slightly melted (this prevents lumps). If one of the soft cheeses mentioned here is used, there's no need to strain it.
  
• Strained full-fat yogurt or full-fat sour cream.
• Equal amount of unstrained ricotta cheese, but only if you have a high-speed, super blender like a Vitamix; otherwise, the texture of the filling will be too gritty. But to be honest, ricotta doesn't taste so good to me in this recipe.

Not-so-good substitutes:

• Unstrained cream or sour cream: too much liquid affects the setting of the gelatin. The cream must be strained no matter how thick it seems to you.
• Low-fat or nonfat yogurt or sour cream: These ingredients, even when strained, have caused setting failure.
• Strained kefir: I love kefir, but it contains too much liquid for this recipe.
  

No-Baked Mango Cream/Cheese Tart
(Makes one 9-inch tart)
Downloadable Version


One recipe of graham cracker crust (Do not bake; just keep the crust chilled or frozen while you prepare the filling. Use a 9-inch pie plate with a removable bottom. A 9-inch glass pie pan works too, but makes it harder to get individual pieces out without ruining the crust somewhat.)
Exactly 12 ounces of the flesh of very, very ripe mangoes
Exactly 12 ounces of strained cream or one of the suitable substitutes (see post above)
1/2 cup sugar
3 tablespoons water
1/8 teaspoon of salt
1 packet unflavored gelatin powder (1/4 ounce)

• Put the water in a small saucepan and sprinkle the gelatin powder over it; let the gelatin soften while you work on the fruit.
• In a blender, purée the mango and strained cream together until the mixture resembles a thick cream sauce; transfer the purée to a bowl, scraping every bit off the sides of the blender with a rubber spatula; set aside.
• Put the sugar into the gelatin pot and heat the mixture over medium-low heat, stirring almost constantly, until the sugar has melted. The mixture should resemble a white, thick, sticky, syrup. take the pot off the heat immediately; there's no need to heat the mixture beyond the point at which the sugar has melted.
• Pour the gelatin mixture into the mango-cheese mixture, scraping every bit of the gelatin mixture off the sides of the pot with a rubber spatula.
• Add the salt into the fruit-gelatin mixture.
  
• With a spatula or a wire whisk, briskly everything together until you achieve a smooth, homogeneous mass. Pour the filling into the prepared crust, smooth out the top, and chill for 4-5 hours. Chilling time largely depends on how cold your refrigerator is. For best results, chill 6-8 hours or overnight.