Mango Cheesecake

Mango Cheesecake... light, silky, and utterly irresistible.  Hued with pale orange and combined with a delicate mango twist, our Easter 2012 dessert left hints of the tropics on our quickly emptied plates.  Not as dense or rich as many cheesecakes, even my "I can't eat cheesecake" husband cleaned his plate after telling me his piece was far too large.

Epicurious provided the base recipe for this luscious treat which I adapted to our tastes with a few changes.  Watching my waistline as we enter spring and feeding the diabetic grandparents, we reduced some of the fat as well as some of the sugars from the original version without sacrificing any of the taste or texture.

Trader Joe's provided an unexpectedly perfect crust with crushed "Cat Cookies" combined with butter and a touch of brown sugar.  A household favorite for years, I pulled our ever present container off the shelf when I realized I had forgotten to even think about a crust ingredient for our cake.  Low in fat themselves, they suited my "healthier" dessert path and produced a crust I will now be using regularly.

Reviews on the original recipe brought many comments of "not much mango flavor", and I have to agree, the mango flavor is light.  Reviewers commented that fresh mangoes actually brought the least amount of flavor, while frozen and canned mango chunks or pulp seemed to kick it up a notch.  And though I had 3 beautiful, fresh, champagne mangoes ripe on the counter, I turned once again to Trader Joe's with a bag of frozen mango chunks from my freezer.  Easily pureeing the chunks into that beautiful orange hued blend, a squeeze of fresh lime juice provided just the touch to intensify the flavors.

Producing a beautiful mango kissed cheesecake, the puree brought a delicate and not extremely pronounced mango flavor, but a light springy dessert that perfectly suited our Easter meal.  Served with fresh fruit, this dessert is one that has left us wanting more.

Mango Cheesecake

adapted from Epicurious

Crust

1 1/2 cups crushed Trader Joe's Cats Cookie crumbs (or graham cracker crumbs)

1/4 cup brown sugar

1-2 Tbs granulated sugar

6 Tbs unsalted butter, melted

Filling

14 ounces (about 1 3/4 cups) mango puree (fresh, frozen or canned)

juice from 1/2 lime

1 8-ounce packages reduced fat cream cheese, room temperature

1 8-ounce package cream cheese, room temperature

1 cup (scant) granulated sugar
pinch of salt

1 1/2 Tbs all-purpose flour

1 Tbs cornstarch

2 tsp vanilla extract

4 large eggs

Preheat oven to 325º.  Prepare a 9 or 10-inch springform pan by rubbing the cut end of a butter stick over the bottom, corners and sides.  Set aside

In a large zip top bag combine the cookie crumbs, sugars and melted butter.  Zip the top and squeeze the bag to combine all of the ingredients.

Pour the crumb mixture into the prepared pan, tamping down with the bottom of a juice glass.  Set aside.

In a stand mixer or with an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese sugar, pinch of salt and vanilla until smooth.  Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.  Add the flour and cornstarch and mix just until blended.  Add mango puree along with the juice of 1/2 of a lime and mix again, just until blended.'

Pour the batter into the pan and place into the preheated oven.

Bake cake until set and puffed and golden around edges (center may move very slightly when pan is gently shaken), 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes.  Cool cake 1 hour.  Refrigerate uncovered overnight.  Run small knife between cake and sides of pan to loosen. Remove pan sides. Transfer cake to platter. Cut into wedges and serve with mango puree, fresh fruit or sliced mangoes.