The Mango, The Pineapple, The Rum, And The Rain

1. 1

   Pour the lime juice into a liquid measuring cup. Add enough water to make 1 cup of liquid. Place the sugar and lime juice/ water into a saucepan over low to medium heat. Stir to dissolve the sugar, and allow to simmer until the syrup thickens a bit. Add the mango slices, and cook for about 5 minutes, then add the 1/2 lime zest and cook another 5 minutes. Take off the heat and allow to cool for about 10 minutes.

2. 2

   With a slotted spoon, lift the mango slices out of the syrup and place in a food processor. Add 1/4 cup of the syrup, and process until you get a smooth puree. You should have about 1 cup of puree. Reserve the remaining syrup. Place both the puree and the syrup in the refrigerator; overnight if possible. The puree will set nicely, and the syrup with get somewhat thicker.

3. 3

   In a saute pan, place the pineapple slices over medium heat. Allow to sear for about 90 seconds. Add the rum and flame if you feel like it. Turn the pineapple slices over, and sear on the other side, until the slices are golden brown. Remove from the heat, allow to cool, cut out the cores, and halve the slices. Then, cut 4 chunks from each half slice. Set aside.

4. 4

   Combine the vanilla yogurt and mascarpone cheese. Add a tablespoon of the lime syrup and stir.

5. 5

   Assemble: Place a teaspoon of the mango puree in the bottom of each coddler. Then press 4 chunks of pineapple equidistantly around the sides of the coddler. With your fingers, press a bit of lime zest into the side spaces between each pineapple chunk.

6. 6

   Place 3 teaspoons of yogurt/mascarpone filling in the coddler. Teaspoon 1: Crosswise into the coddler; Teaspoon 2: Crosswise in the other direction; Teaspoon 3: To fill in the gaps. Tap the coddler to settle the filling into any air pockets. Smooth the final teaspoon of filling so you have a smooth and level surface.

7. 7

   Place 2 teaspoons of mango puree atop the filling, and smooth out the surface. To garnish, place a scant half teaspoon of filling atop the puree, sprinkle with a little lime zest, and then add a scant 1/4 teaspoon of syrup.

8. 8

   Note: If you don't have the time or inkling to press lime zest on the sides of the serving dish - don't! I attached a photo of each variation.

No additional tips available.