Mango, strawberries, cardamom syrup, sesame, mint and biscuits

1:00 AM Wednesday Oct 12, 2011

Serves 4

1 cup white sugar
1/2 cup water
6 cardamom pods - bruised with the flat surface of a kitchen knife
1 cinnamon stick
1 large mango (or 2 small ones)
20 strawberries
12 savoiardi biscuits
Icing sugar
Cream, gently whipped, to serve
1 Tbs sesame seeds, lightly toasted
Fresh mint leaves

1 To make the syrup, pour the sugar and water into a saucepan. Add the cardamom pods and cinnamon stick.

2 Bring to a simmer and stir until the sugar has dissolved. Continue simmering for a further 15 minutes or until the mixture begins to thicken. Remove from the heat and let cool.

3 Slice the mango into wedges then peel. It can be difficult to peel a whole large mango without it becoming slippery. Once it is peeled, slice each segment into slices.

4 Arrange slices of mango with the strawberries on each plate. Add the savoiardi biscuits, dusted with icing sugar.

5 Add cream topped with toasted sesame seeds then pour over a little syrup and garnish with mint leaves.