from my orchid kitchen

This homemade dessert is nothing more than pure and ripe mango puree with a bit of natural pineapple juice combined with gelatin and prepared in a pudding mold.

In these summer days, fresh desserts are always more prevalent, but sometimes they aren't the healthiest ones. Children mainly love fresh jellies and puddings but for the most part, there is no real fruit involved, just color and artificial flavors.

It is not the case of this mango pudding made only with fresh fruit, yogurt, and little (if any) sugar.

The ingredients

• Mango - in the pudding you see here was used fresh ripe mango, however, it can also be made with canned mango pulp.
• Pineapple juice - in this recipe I used this juice but you can use any other as long as it is from real fruit. It is not recommended to use pineapple-flavored soda because, in addition to being nothing more than a liquid full of sugars/sweeteners and additives when exposed to heat, it will undergo changes that can be harmful to health and also the taste may change.
• Yogurt - as I had no yogurt in my fridge, I replaced it with 0% quark cheese that has approximately the same consistency, but both natural flavored and/or vegan yogurts, as well as those with mango or pineapple flavor.
• Sugar - the amount of sugar used will depend on several factors: if the pineapple juice has sugar, if the yogurt is sweetened, the natural sweetness of the mango, and finally, the personal liking of each one of us.
• Agar-agar - when it comes to preparing this type of fresh puddings, I prefer to use agar-agar algae instead of gelatin sheets not only because they are of vegetable origin (unlike gelatin sheets that are of animal origin) but also because they set better and its structure and consistency better withstand not so cool temperatures.

How to make

• If using natural fruit (as I did), start by peeling the mango and removing the stone.
• All the pulp pieces are crushed, using a food processor, blender, or hand mixer, yielding approximately 400ml of mango puree.
• The puree is then passed through a strainer in order to remove the filaments that may have escaped the blending (this step is optional and depends on the blending method and equipment used).
• If you prefer to use the canned pulp, just measure the same amount that I obtained from the fruit.
• Add the puree to the yogurt (or quark) and mix well.
• Sweeten it with some sugar to taste (depends on the amount of sugar present in the ingredients used).
• In a proper container, bring the water together with the agar-agar to the heat, stirring constantly to dissolve well.
• Let it boil for approximately 1 minute.
• Turn off the heat and pour in the pineapple juice, stirring constantly.
• Without stopping stirring, add the 2 preparations (agar-agar with pineapple + mango with yogurt) until everything is homogeneous.
• The interior of a pudding mold is rinsed with water, and then the prepared mixture is poured into it.
• Place in the refrigerator until solid, at least 4 hours.

Fresh mango pineapple pudding recipe

1. Peel the mango and remove the core.
2. In a food processor, blender or hand mixer, grind the pulp well.
3. Pass the pulp through a strainer to remove filaments that have not been crushed (optional).
4. Add the pulp, sugar, yogurt or quark and mix well.
5. In a saucepan, bring the water to a boil together with the agar-agar, stirring constantly so that it dissolves well.
6. Let it boil for approximately 1 minute.
7. Turn off the heat, and stirring constantly, add the pineapple juice.
8. Always stirring, preferably with a whisk, add the 2 preparations until everything is homogeneous.
9. The interior of a pan is rinsed with water, and then the prepared mixture is poured into it.
10. Place in the refrigerator until solid, at least 4 hours.

The ingredients

• Lemon - for the preparation of this curd, it's required freshly squeezed lemon juice but also its zest, the latter providing the lemon flavor and aromatics.
• Egg - most lemon curd recipes use only egg yolks, but this recipe uses a large whole egg. For the curd to be bright yellow, it is advisable that the eggs have yellow-orange yolks, because, with light yellow yolk eggs, the lemon curd will become paler in color.
• Butter - along with the egg, will give that creamy characteristic of lemon curd and also when cooling will also give consistency to it. Can be used butter with or without salt, but if using salted, always be aware that there are brands with a higher salt content than others (and so it isn't necessary to season with a pinch of salt).
• Sugar - the amount presented here doesn't make it very sweet but just enough to counterbalance the acidity of the lemon; however, you can add a little more sugar, (I use 100gr of a sugar-stevia blend which will be equivalent in terms of sweetness to 200gr of common sugar.)

How to make

• Start by zesting one or more lemons, and then squeeze its juice until the necessary amount is obtained.
• In a bowl, or even directly in a saucepan or casserole, beat the egg along with the sugar, the pinch of salt (if you use unsalted butter, if you use one with salt you can omit the pinch) and the lemon zest.
• Gradually, and always stirring with a whisk, add the lemon juice.
• It is then taken to low heat, stirring continuously until it starts to thicken after about 8 to 10 minutes. The heat should be really low, and the process should not be accelerated because the end result will not have the right texture if the egg cooks too quickly. For me, the most reliable way is to use a cooking thermometer and stir the mixture slowly until it reaches 75ºC.
• Remove the pan or casserole from the heat, add the butter in pieces (to melt faster) and whisk it until completely melted.
• While still hot, the cream is passed through a strainer into a bowl in order to remove the pieces of zest, which has already released all the flavor to the curd and so that the cream becomes thinner and smoother.
• Place a piece of cling film directly on top, so that it touches the surface of the cream (this prevents a skin from forming on top).
• Allow to cool to room temperature and once cold, the plastic can be removed. Then it can be stored in a previously sterilized jar and placed in the refrigerator for the cream to thick (as in puddings).
• The shelf life is about 2 weeks in the refrigerator, but it can also be frozen for future uses.

Lemon curd recipe

1. Beat egg with sugar, and the zest.
2. Gradually add the lemon juice.
3. In a casserole or pan, bring this mixture to low heat, stirring constantly with a whisk.
4. Let it slowly reach the temperature of 75° C, still stirring.
5. Remove from the heat, and add the butter, mixing well until melting completely.
6. With the help of a fine sieve, strain the cream into a bowl.
7. Cover with film, but so that it touches the surface of the cream (so that it has a uniform creamy texture and does not get a thin solid layer on top) and take it to the refrigerator for a few hours.
8. Place in an airtight jar and store in the refrigerator after each use.