Nutty Cherry Mango GF Verrines ... too refreshing, too delicious!

E:\# EOS January 2026\Nutty Cherry Mango GF Verrines

Nutty Cherry Mango GF Verrines … because summer is for stone fruit and stone fruit make the most fabulous desserts. When I served this particular dessert, the feedback was amazing – this is so light, it’s refreshing, is very delicious, all the elements come together like one etc. The best compliment? It tastes better than it looks and it looks quite nice! I was quite elated.

Refreshingly simple and simply delicious, this quick eggless, pretty, gluten free layered dessert recipe, Nutty Cherry Mango GF Verrines, celebrates the goodness of mangoes, cherries with the added goodness of toasted nuts! It’s been years and years and I’ve always looked forward to summer because here in the hot plains of North India, we are blessed with loads of the most gorgeous produce every summer beginning with the quintessential king of fruits, mango. Throw in some gorgeous cherries and now we’re talking!

While mangoes with cherries is one of my favourite stone fruit pairings, there is just so much you can make through the season from mousse to chutneys, sorbets, kulfi, coolers, puddings, cakes, verrines, breakfast crumbles, kheer, trifle bowls, gluten free crumbles …

Summer is for stone fruit, North Indian Summers

Then think cherries, peaches, apricots, plums, sometimes an odd batch of nectarines too. The season lasts a good 4 -5months, spoiling us with an endless variety, it’s enough to refresh our lives, give us a burst of colour, keeping me inspired and how!

I often make my layered glass desserts like these Mixed Berry Walnut Verrines with digestive biscuits instead of cake since biscuits are quite handy to use, create a quick, fuss free dessert with a nice texture, a packet or two of which are always in the pantry. I do also always like to add in some nuts for added texture, good omega 3 fats and a little protein. When in London last month, I bought whipping cream and punnets of fresh raspberries from Sainsbury’s to make a raspberry cream verrine since raspberries were in season and were really lovely.

The husband surprisingly said he’d rather not have biscuits in his dessert if possible since he didn’t enjoy them too much. I thought for a bit and packed him off to get me some Jameson and eventually made a Scottish dessert I had wanted to make forever, cranachan.

It was definitely more work than I intended, his tiny kitchen all cluttered and loads of dirty dishes! Well we managed dessert and it was really quite nice, toasted oats and all, British dairy really working well with the ruby red fresh seasonal raspberries. Interestingly, Cranachan, referred to as the dessert of cream and fresh seasonal raspberries, is bolstered by Scottish oats and whisky and has been called ‘the uncontested king of Scottish desserts’.

The ‘no biscuits if possible‘ thought remained in my head. and I made a mental note, something to work on, more inspiration, food for thought! On the flight back home from Heathrow to Delhi, the stewardess in my cabin was an old dear friend who had worked with me when I was with customer services in British Airways 30 odd years ago.

We got talking and she told me she still remembered me baking batches of gluten free cookies back then for her nephew who they discovered had a gluten intolerance. I couldn’t believe that she still remembered those cookies I had baked after all these years. We had met that day after 34 years and she was still the sweetest person as I remembered her. Such a small world and such lovely memories. Now with ‘no biscuits’, gluten free additionally stuck in my head! It was a sign.

With so many thoughts of ‘no biscuits please‘ and gluten free biscuits, I decided that I would try and make a no biscuit gluten free dessert sometime soon. Opportunity presented itself quite soon since my sister was visiting and brought me this huge box of the most delicious and juiciest cherries ever. Honestly, they were the best I’ve ever tasted.

Tiramisu Inspired Cherry Biscuit Pudding

Made a large batch of compote to extend their life even though thankfully cherries are quite hardy and not as perishable as berries in summer. I also made a finger licking good Tiramisu Inspired Cherry Biscuit Pudding and hopefully will share that recipe soon too!

That the cherries were inspirational are an understatement, and that they were pretty delicious meant they were disappearing rather fast. That compote found several uses, often in a layered breakfast parfait with Skyr yogurt, my peanut butter granola and the seasons juiciest mangoes. Ladled over scoops of vanilla ice cream with a sprinkle of toasted nuts was also another destination. There’s always so much to when the produce is good, and these Nutty Cherry Mango GF Verrines were quite exceptional.

The concept was very simple and I always have loads of nuts on hand in the fridge. Did you know nuts keep a lot fresher and for longer if refrigerated? They also keep really nicely in the freezer and can be used straight out of there. That’s my favourite way!

Also if you use no biscuits in the layers, using just nuts with a dash of sugar toasted in ghee or butter, then the dessert turns gluten free and quite a bit more nutritional because of the nutrient dense nuts. It’s also plenty delicious with the added bite much like this amazing 4 Ingredient Gluten Free Walnut Chocolate Pudding. So here’s the recipe for these very simple Nutty Cherry Mango GF Verrines.

Nutty Cherry Mango GF Verrines

Refreshingly simple and simply delicious, here's a quick, pretty, eggless and gluten free layered dessert recipe, Nutty Cherry Mango GF Verrines, that celebrates the goodness of mangoes, cherries and nuts!

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Prep Time 15

Cook Time 15

Chilling 1

Total Time 1 30

Course Dessert

Cuisine British, French

Servings 4 servings

Equipment

1 saucepan
1 Knife/Chopper
1 Electric hand blender
1 Bowl
1 Piping bag

Ingredients

Toasted nuts

75 g dry fruits pecans, walnuts, pistachios
1 tbsp castor sugar
1 tsp ghee

Vanilla cream

150 g whipping cream chilled
150 g mascarpone chilled
3-4 tbsp castor sugar
1/4 tsp vanilla bean extract

Cherry compote

200 g cherries pitted
3-4 tbsp water
1 tsp cornflour / cornstarch
3 tbsp castor sugar
1 tbsp lime juice

Others

1 large ripe mango diced

Instructions

Toasted nuts

Dry roast the nuts over low heat until toasty and fragrant, sprinkle over the sugar and ghee. Roast over low heat until light, golden brown. Leave to cool completely, then chop.
{This can be made ahead of time. You can make a double batch and add some to parfaits, sprinkle over ice cream etc. Store in an airtight jar. Refrigerate if the weather is warm and humid.}

Vanilla cream

In a large bowl, using an electric hand blender, whip the cream with the sugar to medium peaks. Whip in the mascarpone and vanilla bean extract, and transfer to a piping bag.

Cherry compote

Add all the ingredients to a small saucepan and stir well to mix. Simmer over low heat until the cherries begin to release their juices, soften up but still hold shape. The juices should have thickened nicely. Cool and reserve.

Assemble

Pipe in a layer of cream at the base of the dessert glass. Top with toasted nuts, then diced mango chunks.
Pipe over another layer of cream, followed by the cherry compote.
Sprinkle over a layer of toasted nuts and finish off with a layer of cream.
Garnish with toasted nuts, cherries and diced mango.

Keyword cherries, cream, dessert, eggfree, eggless, fruit, glass dessert, gluten free, glutenfree, layered desserrt, mangoes, no bake, no eggs, no gelatine, nobake, nuts, one bowl, simple, small desserts, stovetop, summer dessert, sweet, tropical, vegetarian dessert, verrine

What does gluten free mean?

Gluten is a protein present in plant foods or ingredients like wheat, rye, barley and triticale. An auto immune condition called Celiac Disease means that eating anything with gluten damages the small intestine. In addition, there are people who have a gluten sensitivity, not celiac disease, and consuming foods with gluten causes them digestive problems like bloating, intestinal discomfort, pain, tiredness etc. Anything gluten free is alright for them to consume. Care must be taken to read labels properly and make sure the product hasn’t been processed in a factory where gluten is processed too to avoid the risk of cross contamination.

Wheat includes all variants like semolina, durum, maida, dalia, aata and rye or barley can be found in malt, malt vinegar, beer etc. so these are to be avoided. Read the label!

What can you eat if you have gluten sensitivity?

All fruits, vegetables, dairy, proteins like seafood, meat, chicken, pulses, nuts, seeds etc, pulses, grains like millets, rice, corn, quinoa, sorghum, buckwheat are all good. All raw nuts and seeds are completely gluten free, a great source of good fats and protein and can be processed into nut flours. The can also added raw or toasted to parfaits, smoothies, chutneys, desserts etc.