Gateau Opera as Today's Sweet

http://www.keioplaza.co.jp/

Recipe

1. Heat the oven to 220°C/gas mark 7 and line 2 lipped baking trays with non-stick baking parchment.

2. In a clean bowl whisk the egg whites and caster sugar until stiff peaks form. In a separate bowl mix together the almonds and icing sugar, then add the eggs and whisk until pale and doubled in volume. Sieve in the flour and fold to incorporate, then gently fold in the egg whites followed by the melted butter.

3. Divide the mixture between the baking trays and spread out evenly. Bake for 7-10 minutes, but watch carefully as it cooks quickly.

4. For the coffee buttercream, mix the sugar and 30g water in a pan and heat to 120°C, or until syrupy and almost a caramel. Add the vanilla to the syrup once the mixture is thickening then remove from the heat. Whisk the egg and egg yolk in a bowl then pour on the hot syrup with the beaters still running. Once the mixture is fluffy allow to cool a little then beat in the butter. Stir through the coffee then leave to cool.

5. For the ganache, heat the cream and milk and when almost boiling pass through a sieve onto the chocolate. Stir until melted, smooth and thick.

6. To assemble, using the base of a 20cm cake tin as a stencil, cut 2 discs from the sponge sheets, and a third one made from 2 halves cut from the remainders of the sponge sheets. Place the first disc in the bottom of the 20cm mould then mix together the coffee, rum and sugar and brush over the sponge. Cover with a layer of ganache then add the second sponge disc – the 2 halves at this point. Brush again with the rum mixture then add the coffee buttercream. Top with the final disc then brush with rum mix and spread the ganache over the top. Chill in the fridge for 30 minutes to set.

7. To decorate, melt the white chocolate and dark chocolate in 2 separate bain maries. Add the clarified butter to the dark chocolate and stir to combine. Remove the gateau from the fridge and pour the dark chocolate mixture over. Allow to set then remove the mould from the gateau using a blow torch or the heat of your hands.

8. To finish, spoon the melted white chocolate into a piping bag or food bag with a hole snipped in the end. Pipe the word 'opera' onto the gateau and serve.

Mango as Today's fruit

http://www.kudamononavi.com/zukan/mango.htm

Mango fruit nutrition facts

“The king of the fruits," mango fruit is one of the most popular, nutritionally rich fruits with unique flavor, fragrance, taste, and heath promoting qualities, making it numero-uno among new functional foods, often labeled as “super fruits."

Mango is one of the delicious seasonal fruits grown in the tropics. The tree is believed to be originating in the sub-Himalayan plains of Indian subcontinent. Botanically, this exotic fruit belongs within the family of Anacardiaceae, a family that also includes numerous species of tropical-fruiting trees in the flowering plants such as cashew, pistachio,...etc.

Mango is a tropical tree cultivated in many regions of India, and now its farming has been extented wide across the world in many continents. After flowering its fruits generally grow at the end of a long, string like peduncle, with sometimes more than one fruit to a peduncle.

Each fruit measures 5 to 15 cms in length and about 4 to 10 cms in width, and has typical “mango” shape, or sometimes ov...al or round. Its weight ranges from 150 gm to around 750 gm. Outer skin (pericarp) is smooth and is green in un-ripe mangoes but turns in ripe fruits into golden yellow, crimson red, yellow or orange-red depending upon the cultivar type. Fresh mango season lasts from April until August.

Mango comes in different shapes and sizes depending upon cultivar types. Internally, its flesh (mesocarp) is juicy, orange-yellow in color with numerous soft fibrils radiating from its centrally placed flat, oval-shaped stone (enveloping a single large kidney-shaped seed). Its flavor is pleasant and rich, and tastes sweet with mild tartness. A high-quality mango fruit should feature no or very less fiber content and minimal tartness. Mango seed (stone) may either has a single embryo, or sometimes polyembryonic.

Health benefits of Mangoes

Mango fruit is rich in pre-biotic dietary fiber, vitamins, minerals, and poly-phenolic flavonoid antioxidant compounds.

According to new research study, mango fruit has been found to protect against colon, breast, leukemia and prostate cancers. Several trial studies suggest that polyphenolic anti-oxidant compounds in mango are known to offer protection against breast ...and colon cancers.

Mango fruit is an excellent source of Vitamin-A and flavonoids like beta-carotene, alpha-carotene, and beta-cryptoxanthin. 100 g of fresh fruit provides 765 IU or 25% of recommended daily levels of vitamin-A. Together; these compounds have been known to have antioxidant properties and are essential for vision. Vitamin A is also required for maintaining healthy mucos and skin. Consumption of natural fruits rich in carotenes is known to protect from lung and oral cavity cancers.

Fresh mango is a good source of potassium. 100 g fruit provides 156 mg of potassium while just 2 mg of sodium. Potassium is an important component of cell and body fluids that helps controlling heart rate and blood pressure.

It is also a very good source of vitamin-B6 (pyridoxine), vitamin-C and vitamin-E. Consumption of foods rich in vitamin C helps the body develop resistance against infectious agents and scavenge harmful oxygen-free radicals. Vitamin B-6 or pyridoxine is required for GABA hormone production within the brain. It also controls homocystiene levels within the blood, which may otherwise be harmful to blood vessels resulting in coronary artery disease (CAD), and stroke.

Further, it composes moderate amounts of copper. Copper is a co-factor for many vital enzymes, including cytochrome c-oxidase and superoxide dismutase (other minerals function as co-factors for this enzyme are manganese and zinc). Copper is also required for the production of red blood cells.

Additionally, mango peel is also rich in phytonutrients, such as the pigment antioxidants like carotenoids and polyphenols.