MANGO COCONUT TAPIOCA PARFAIT

HAPPY PHILIPPINES INDEPENDENCE DAY - June 12 !! SUMMER is officially here with plenty of 😎 days ahead along with a plethora of delicious summer fruit! What better way to celebrate two wonderful events, than to eat a delicious dessert combining the fruits of the sun! MANGOES AND COCONUTS!

While living in Manila, I could not get enough of the mangoes and pineapples found almost all year round! Mangoes 🥭 are literally my drug! I could very easily eat 5-8 large mangoes a day - in smoothies, pies, sorbets and just plain! I feel the withdrawal symptoms now, as they’re a rarity in most of Japan - or at least at a reasonable price! 😛 One scrawny little mango is a minimum of JPY 600+ per piece!! To make matters worse, many times, they don’t even ripen well, as they are picked far too early before shipping.

So when I’m desperate to get my fix, I’m always sure to have a stock of frozen mango chunks in my freezer at all times! This ensures a regular flow of mango 🥭smoothies and desserts to satisfy and ease my soul! 😂

Not only are mangoes delicious, they are low in calories, high in fiber - aiding in digestion and assisting in potentially maintaining a healthy gut; contain a good amount of vitamins A and C - which both play a significant role in slowing down the aging process; and contain several anti-inflammatory phytonutrients that one study conducted in 2016, claims keeps the heart healthy!

DRIED MANGO VS. FRESH MANGO: I almost enjoy dried mangoes as much as I do fresh ones. Not only for their flavor, but also for their addictive chewy texture! HOWEVER... if you are calorie and sugar-conscious, you may want to hold off on the dried mango. Dried mangoes contain approximately 300 calories per 80 grams, whereas fresh mangoes have around 53 calories for the same portion. In terms of sugar, dried mangoes contain over 4 times the amount of sugar compared to fresh mangoes.

Numbers put aside, fresh, frozen or dried, mangoes will continue to fill my freezer and cupboard, and will forever be my go to dessert / snack buddy. 😊 To celebrate the Philippines Independence Day, and remind myself of my wonderful, warm and FABULOUS Filipino friends, I decided to make a very tropical dessert - MANGO COCONUT TAPIOCA PARFAIT topped with summer berries - representing the colors of the Filipino flag 🇵🇭! It’s a refreshing dessert perfect for welcoming the SUMMER months!

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SERVES 4: 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 cup small tapioca pearls

5 cups water (for boiling tapioca)

400 g frozen mango chunks

200 ml coconut milk (just the top creamy part)

3 tsp sugar (or to taste)

Handful of cherries

Handful of blueberries

METHOD:

boil the tapioca pearls for 15 - 20 minutes, until almost entirely translucent. Drain and wash under cold water. Then place into a bowl filled with cold water while you prepare the remaining ingredients.
Scoop only the top hardened white layer of the coconut milk (leaving the more liquid part in the can - you will use this in step 3) into a bowl and add the tapioca and sugar stirring until well mixed.
Using a food processor or blender, blend the frozen mango chunks (or fresh - if you’re lucky enough to find them easily! So jealous!) until smooth. If you need a little extra liquid to assist in the mixing process add a bit of the left over coconut milk, little by little, to ensure that your mango purée doesn’t become to thin.
Take 4 of your prettiest transparent glass cups, and start by spooning a first layer of mango purée onto the bottom, followed by a layer of the coconut/tapioca mixture and finishing off with a final layer of mango purée. If you find your coconut milk mixture - in the middle layer - to be too runny (thus causing the final mango layer to sink into it), I recommend to keep the first 2 layers in the fridge for about an hour to two hours before finishing off the top layer.
Top with fresh blueberries and a cherry to add some color (and to represent the colors of the Filipino flag!)