
Mango Mousse
A light, silky mousse of ripe mango puree folded into softly whipped cream. It sets in the fridge, so it is an easy make-ahead dessert for mango season.
Published 1 Oct 2026Tested by Hina Ikram
Ingredients
Equipment: Blender or hand blender, small saucepan, mixing bowls, electric whisk, spatula, 6 serving glasses
Method
Pour the cold water into a small bowl and sprinkle the gelatin over the surface. Leave it to soak until spongy and absorbed, with no dry powder left.
While the gelatin soaks, blend the 3 whole mangoes with the lemon juice until completely smooth. You need about 450 g of puree. If the mango is fibrous, push the puree through a sieve. Dice the ½ mango for topping and keep it covered in the fridge.
Put 100 g of the puree and the caster sugar in a small saucepan. Warm over low heat, stirring, until the sugar dissolves and the puree is hot to the touch but not boiling.
Take the pan off the heat and stir in the soaked gelatin until it melts completely and the mixture looks smooth, with no grains on the spoon.
Stir this warm mixture into the rest of the mango puree in a large bowl. Leave it to cool to room temperature, stirring once or twice. Meanwhile, put the cream and a mixing bowl in the fridge to stay cold.
In the chilled bowl, whisk the cream, icing sugar and vanilla to soft peaks. The cream should hold a gentle curl when the whisk is lifted, not stiff peaks.
Fold a third of the cream into the mango puree with a spatula to loosen it. Fold in the remaining cream gently until no white streaks remain, keeping as much air as you can.
Divide the mousse between six glasses. Cover and chill until set and spoonable, with a soft, wobbly texture. This takes about 4 hours.
Just before serving, top each glass with the diced mango and a mint leaf.
Cooking tips
- Use very ripe, sweet and fragrant mangoes such as Sindhri, Chaunsa or Anwar Ratol. Pale, under-ripe fruit gives a dull, sour mousse.
- Let the gelatin mixture cool before folding in the cream. If it is too warm it will melt the cream and the mousse will be thin.
- Make sure the cream and bowl are cold before whipping, and stop at soft peaks. Over-whipped cream turns grainy when folded in.
- Taste the puree before adding sugar. Very sweet mangoes may need only 30 g.
Substitutions
- Gelatin: use 1½ tsp agar-agar powder, boiled with the 100 g of puree for 2 minutes, for a vegetarian mousse. The set will be slightly firmer.
- Fresh mango: use 450 g of canned mango pulp (such as Kesar or Alphonso) and reduce the sugar to 1–2 tbsp.
- Whipping cream: use chilled, full-fat dairy cream. Pre-sweetened whipped topping also works; leave out the icing sugar.
- Lemon juice: lime juice works equally well.
Serve with
Serve chilled in glasses topped with diced mango and mint. It goes well with crisp biscuits such as shortbread, or a few toasted pistachios and a drizzle of passion fruit pulp.
Storage
Keep covered in the fridge for up to 2 days. Add the fresh mango topping and mint only just before serving. Not suitable for freezing in glasses.
Reheating
Serve cold. If it has been in the fridge for more than a day, leave it at room temperature for 5 minutes for a softer texture.
Nutrition per serving, estimated
Estimated from the ingredient list. Values vary with brands and portion size.
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