Recipe: MasterChef winner Diana Chan's tropical mango cheesecake with ginger snaps

Friends know me as one of the most spontaneous people ever, and I’m a feeder. I often come up with impromptu dinner parties, where I call a few mates and invite them, not knowing what to cook. I do like cooking under pressure, after all. The entrees and mains are usually easy – I’ll pop down to the market and pick up what’s in season. But when it comes to dessert, I have to rack my brain to think of something quick and easy.

I always find myself stuck trying to create a dessert that takes more than an hour. The idea of this recipe is to show how you can make something simple and turn it into something decadent in minutes. All you need are a few staples, some beautiful glasses and any toppings available in your pantry.

I’ve used freeze-dried raspberry powder from speciality stores and I’ve made my own candied lemon wheels that can be stored in an airtight container for a few months. I’ve also cheated and used frozen mangoes. Of course, fresh is always better.

Instagram: @diana.chan.au

Ingredients (Serves 6)

• 200g ginger snaps
• 60ml melted butter
• 250ml thickened cream
• 60g caster sugar
• 250g diced mangoes
• 200g cream cheese
• 100g mascarpone
• Zest and juice of 1 lemon
• ½ cup icing sugar
• Pulp of 3 passionfruit
• Freeze-dried raspberry powder (optional)
• Lemon wheels
• 1 whole lemon, thinly sliced (cross section)
• Caster sugar

Method

• For the candied lemon wheels, put them on a lined baking tray and sprinkle liberally with caster sugar. Set the oven to 90C and let them dehydrate until the sugar has melted and dried. This should take 45 minutes. Remove and set aside to cool.
• Meanwhile, place the melted butter and ginger snap biscuits into a food processor and blitz to resemble coarse bread crumbs. Set aside in a small bowl.
•  Next, place the thickened cream into a medium-sized bowl and add the sugar. Whisk together until the cream thickens. Be careful to not over-whip. You want to achieve soft peaks and the cream should start to thicken in under five minutes.
• To make the cheese mixture, blend together cream cheese, mascarpone, lemon juice and zest and icing sugar together until smooth. Set aside in the fridge to cool.
• To assemble, place two tablespoons of crushed ginger snaps at the base of the glass. Add in two tablespoons of the cream cheese and mascarpone mixture. Now add in four or five pieces of the diced mangoes. Top with a heaped tablespoonful of the cream and pour over a few drops of the passionfruit pulp. Sprinkle over some freeze-dried raspberry powder and serve with a candied lemon wheel.