Tropical White Chocolate Dessert

Folks have probably noticed a recurring theme when I blog of things baked and sweet. They are always tales of woe.
Successful dessert-making still eludes me. Might it have to do with the fact that I do not have a sweet tooth? Who knows. Beautiful dessert creations I've seen in books and other blogs constantly inspire and challenge me, though. I am also always on the look-out for something to appease the hubby's major love of sugar. So I persevere...

A kitchen tea was held at my house on the weekend and I had my heart set on making a tart. This was to be a good chance to practice making a crust, rolling it onto the tart pan and avoid shrinkage (which happens to me too often, even when I refrigerate the crust overnight prior to baking!). Anyhow, I find a decent (or so I thought) recipe for White Chocolate Mousse tart. I wanted to put my spin on it so I thought I'd throw in some dessicated coconut in the mix and then top it with mangoes.

The recipe for the filling called for thick cream, white chocolate and condensed milk. I had my reservations right from the start, wondering how the filling was supposed to set. I saw a few other similar recipes for mousse tart on the net which left me assured that mine should set after a four-hour stint in the fridge. Still, come the time when I made it, I actually used a teaspoon of gelatine just to be sure.

Everything was planned out for the day. I would make the crust first thing in the morning. By the time it has cooled down a bit, my filling should also be at room temperature and I could proceed to assembling my lovely dessert. This gives me five hours to let the tart set for a 2PM start.

2PM came and this is how the tart looked:
Ta dah!


Pretty heh?
Problem was, it couldn't be cut up. The filling was not set. A brave friend tried. Swoosh went the filling in every direction. 'Still tastes great', they said. 'We can eat it with a spoon', they tried to console. No, I wouldn't even touch it.
Still, after everyone has left, I didn't have the heart to throw it away.

The following day, my sister invites me to a small pool party at hers. What to bring, what to bring? I decided to scoop the filling out of the tart base. I cut up some mangoes, cubed some left-over madeira cake and threw everything into small tumblers. My sisters' guests enjoyed them, complete with oohs and aahs as they spoon the last of the 'custard' out of the glasses.
Whew!

Now I'm going to be cheeky and still send this over to Cook Sister as my entry for this edition of Waiter, There's Something In My... . This popular food event's them for this month is 'tarts'.
Hey, this dessert started off as a tart. I hope they accept it.....
There might be a reader out there who'd like the idea and know exactly how to fix the non-set filling. I will certainly try it out again and add more gelatine next time.


Tropical White Chocolate Dessert

makes 8 portions

White Choc filling
2 c thick whipping cream
1 tsp gelatine granules
180 g white cooking chocolate, broken into small pieces
390g tin condensed milk
1/2 c toasted dessicated coconut


2 c madeira or pound cake, cut into 1cm cubes
2 c cubes of mangoes
zest from 2 limes
1 kiwi fruit for decoration

To make the cream filling, fill a metal bowl with 150ml of the cream. Sprinkle the gelatine over the cream.
Sit the bowl on top of a slowly-simmering pot of boiling water, stirring until the cream is hot (but do not let it boil). Take the bowl off the heat and add the chopped white chocolate. Whisk until the chocolate has been incorporated. Mix in the condensed milk and dessicated coconut. Let cool to room temperature.

Meanwhile, whip the remaining cream until stiff peaks form.
Slowly fold into the white chocolate mixture once it has cooled.

To assemble the dessert, spoon some of the filling into a cup or wine glass. Add a layer of madeira cake and then a layer of mango. Sprinkle zest of lime over the mangos and then top with a slice of kiwi fruit.