I wanted to take the traditional aamras and include it in a Western-style dessert. I achieved it with this mousse. The combination of mango and white chocolate is just heavenly, and you get a crunch from the phyllo layers, all of which makes this a flavourful and textured treat.

  • Serves

    4

  • Cook Time

    02 h 00 m

    Plus 6 hours for mousse to set

Ingredients

  • 350 gm heavy cream, whipped to soft peak stage
  • 150 gm white chocolate
  • 150 gm mascarpone cheese, whipped
  • 50 ml melted butter
  • 2 tsp icing sugar
  • 1 tsp cardamom powder
  • 8-10 sheets frozen phyllo pastry sheets
  • 4 egg yolks
  • 3 ripe Alphonso mangoes, puréed smooth

Preparation

For Phyllo Layers

  1. Cut each phyllo sheet into 10 discs (2½ inches each) or 10 squares. You should have between 80 and 100 such discs or squares. 
  2. Brush the phyllo discs with melted butter and bake in a preheated oven at 180℃, till golden brown and crispy.

For White Chocolate Mango Mousse

  1. Melt the white chocolate in a double boiler on medium heat. Remove when done. 
  2. Whip the heavy cream until soft peaks are formed. Set aside. 
  3. Add the egg yolks to the hot molten chocolate and whisk well. 
  4. Into this chocolate, first fold in the soft, whipped mascarpone cheese, and then the whipped cream. After each stage, combine well.
  5. Finally, fold in the mango purée with a pinch of cardamom powder, reserving about a tablespoon or two of the purée for garnish.
  6. Chill the white chocolate mango mousse in the refrigerator.
  7. If you’d like, add some pieces of whole ripe mango to the mousse to get some textural variation.

To Serve

  1. Construct the Napoleon just before serving. Else, it will get soggy.
  2. Place a stack of 3-5 phyllo discs or squares in the centre of a chilled plate and spoon (or pipe) a dollop of the mango mousse on top.
  3. Layer another 3-5 phyllo discs or squares on the mousse and repeat the layering process till you get three layers of mousse and phyllo, finishing with a phyllo layer at the end.
  4. Dust some icing sugar through a tea strainer onto the plate.
  5. Drizzle some mango purée around the Napoleon.
Written by

Rahul Akerkar

Rahul Akerkar, the chef-founder of Qualia in Mumbai, was Scroll Food’s Chef of the Month for June. He started his culinary journey 35 years ago in the US, returning to India in 1989. Since then, he has been busy changing the way we eat. Known for setting industry trends with his creative, ingredient-driven cuisine, and warm attentive hospitality, Rahul’s award-winning restaurants secured his position as one of India’s first successful, chef-restaurateurs. In his career, he has won many accolades – he was featured in Asiaweek’s Survey of “Kitchen Gods” in 2001 and was 28 on San Pellegrino’s List of Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants in 2013. More recently, he won Chef of The Year at the Times Food Awards 2016, Mumbai. He has been guest chef in several kitchens around the world, authored numerous articles, and frequently consults to the food and hospitality industry.

See more by Rahul Akerkar