Tropical Fruit Sundaes

While flipping through my newest issue of Food and Wine magazine I found a picture and recipe that looked absolutely delicious!  I didn't have an Easter dessert yet - it seemed like a sign.

Tropical Fruit Sundaes
Originally by: Food and Wine; mildly adapted by Amy's New Kitchen
Serves 12


Ingredients:
2 cups Heavy Cream
1 cup Milk
1/3 cup Ginger- peeled and finely grated
6 1/2 Tbsp sugar
3 1/2 tsp powdered gelatin-from 2 envelopes  (I used raspberry for added color)
9 oz Mascarpone Cheese
1 cup Dried Unsweetened Coconut Flakes
1 Pineapple- peeled, cored and diced
2 large Mangoes- peeled, pitted and diced
1/2 cup Light Brown Sugar
1 tsp Lime Zest
1/4 cup Lime Juice
2 pints raspberries (I used sliced strawberries instead)
2 pints Vanilla Ice Cream
Whipped Topping


In a large saucepan combine the cream and milk with the freshly grated ginger and bring to a simmer.  Remove from the burner, cover and let stand 30 minutes.


Strain the cream into a bowl.  Return the cream to the saucepan and again bring to a simmer.  Remove from the burner and whisk in the sugar and gelatin.  Let the cream cool to room temp, then whisk in the mascarpone cheese.  Spoon the mousse into 12 glasses or bowls and refrigerate to set.  (Approx 60-90 minutes)


Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Spread the coconut flakes in a pie plate and toast 3 minutes or until golden.  Let cool.  (I couldn't find the dried coconut so we used sweetened coconut and skipped this step.)


In a large bowl toss the pineapple and mangoes with the brown sugar, lime juice and lime zest.  Scoop 2 scoops of ice cream into each bowl, spray some whipped topping and top with the pineapple mango mixture and raspberries. (Or in my case-strawberries.)  Garnish with the toasted coconut and serve with shortbread cookies.

This is such a colorful dish and serves up beautifully in a clear bowl.  The original recipe is heavy on the ginger, so next time I will use 1/3 cup instead of 1/2 cup, which I have already changed in the recipe above.  The mango was a nice little treat for the beginning of spring.  I would highly recommend this delicious dessert.