Mango mania!

Mango. There is no other fruit I associate more with the season of summer than the mango. Despite the fact that the mango has become an all-season, all year-round fruit, it is still at its sweetest and most bountiful during summer. For someone who has tasted the only other contender for the sweetest mango in the world, the Thai mango, and someone who loves Thailand very much, I proudly declare that the Philippine carabao mango is truly the sweetest mango in the world.

I assume that a lot of Filipinos believe the same thing, because, this summer, I found a lot of delicious mango creations, particularly cakes and desserts, and they make full use of the Philippine mango. Sweet, delicious, bountiful and affordable, the mango delights the palate no end — and it is time to take full advantage of the season's bounty.

Here are some outstanding selections:

New for summer

Consuelo's, best known for its Ube Pastillas Cake, has just released its new cake, Mango Kasuy Sans Rival, for summer. Taking full advantage of luscious mangoes, it has layers of cashew dacquoise filled with toasted cashew nuts and fresh mango cubes, finished with mango buttercream icing and mango jam. It comes in an eight-inch round whole cake (P1,200) and in a three-inch baby cake (P250). For orders, message Consuelo's Facebook and Instagram pages

@consuelosartisancakes.

At its 'mango-est' best

Mango ice cream cannot get any "mango-er" than Sebastian's Ice Cream's Manggang Mangga flavor. "This is the mango-est ice cream available, using the best mangoes in the world. You get the rich, creamy mango flavor in the mango ice cream, the additional bright and refreshing intensity from the mango sorbet ripple, and the texture from the mango chunks," says Ian Carandang, the genius behind Sebastian's.

A limited-edition flavor, Manggang Mangga is available in pints for P405 via the online store (sebastiansicecream.com) and by the scoop (P135) at Sebastian's flagship store at The Podium.

Layered mango flavors

For Nords, an urban style bakery and café that offers Western Filipino fusion dishes, chef Richell Go Luna baked two awesome cakes — Mango Marjolaine (dacquoise layers with mango chunks, whipped cream, buttercream and dulce), Mango Tres Leches (vanilla chiffon soaked in vanilla tres leches, mango mousse and mango chunks, surrounded by homemade broas) and Silvanas (mango buttercream with mango chunks, coated with crushed grahams).

To each its own

Over at The Alley by Vikings, the challenge posed by corporate executive chef Michael Santos for their May Festival was for each branch to come up with their own mango desserts. Why mango? "In the Philippines, summer has officially begun when mangoes are in season," chef Mike says.

Obliging, The Alley Cloverleaf made Mango and Cheese Stick Spring Rolls (turon with fresh mango and cheese filling, served with mango sauce) and Mango Crepe a la Mode (crepe filled with mango and mango sauce, topped with house-made mango ice cream) available to the dining public. The Alley BGC decided to make Mango and Peaches ala Mode (whipped cream or ice cream in buko shell, bathed with caramelized mangoes and peaches, and topped with ground Grahams and cornflakes). The Capitol Commons branch came up with Mango Cheesecake (topped with mango flavored whipped cream and mango balls). The other branches have their own mango-based treats to offer.

Mangoes! Aren't they just marvelous?