I love autumn.
I love autumn deserts.
I also love mango and happened to have some lying around, so I concocted a mango crisp thingy or whatever.
Basically, I cut the fruit into medium sized pieces ( small enough to fit into a ramekin, but big enough to hold their shape and not turn to total mush). It was a little firmer than I would normally eat raw, but I figured that would be okay (it wasn't, I'll address this later).
Since I was just making this up on the fly I wasn't exactly sure which spices would go well with mango, and really bring out the flavor. I sniffed around the spice cabinet and just kinda threw in anything that smelled good plus a few weird things. Cinnamon (of course), ground cloves, cardamom, and a couple kernels of freshly ground black pepper corns (just for kicks...maybe). I also added in fresh ginger for a crisp taste and a little zip. And a little more ginger because I love it and it smells absolutely heavenly. Also to the mango I added a splash of vanilla and a splash of dark rum.
Now for the topping, which will steal the show if you let it, so you have to be careful not to make it overbearingly sweet or thick or the poor fruit will be forgotten. Since I go by more of a guess n' check method of cooking, I don't exactly have any measurements to share with you, but I'll try my best to describe what it should look and feel like. Basically I started with a good handful of flour, and a good hand full of brown sugar, and a table spoon (maybe less) of cinnamon. To that I added maybe half a teaspoon of salt and butter. Lots of butter. And vanilla extract. Oh, and also some sliced almonds that were hanging out in the freezer and a smallish handful of plain oats. If you mix all these ingredients up with your hands real well, the mixture should be like a dryer, more crumbly, cookie dough consistency.
Put the fruit in the ramekins and top it with the crumbly stuff and pop those little guys into the oven to bake at 350 degrees for about 25-30 minutes.
They smelled so delicious baking, but when I tried one I scalded my mouth off and was a little disappointed with the lack of the tangy, mango flavor that I had been hoping for. Here's where I will address the possible mistake of cooking with an under ripe mango. Unlike other fruits that can be cooked under ripe or eaten under ripe and still have tons of flavor, a mango seems to gain a lot of its flavor through the ripening process. I Think next time I do this, I'll use a perfectly ripe mango and maybe I'll add in a few cranberries or something tart to give some extra tang. Another thing that was disappointing was the way the topping seemed to overpower the desert and almost make it too rich. Perhaps this just seemed this way because the mango was so flavorless, but I think next time I'll look for a way to tone down the crust to compliment the fruit. All in all, this was a sort of yummy, but fantastic smelling learning experience.
