Thai Tea and Mango "Tiramisu" at Batch

On West 10th Street next door to his eclectic restaurant P*ong, Pichet Ong sells takeout cupcakes, cookies, and other sweets at Batch. True to the shop’s name, desserts are made in small quantities and are featured until they run out; this gives Ong the opportunity to cook whatever he wants. The chef currently features a variation of tiramisu made with mangoes and Thai tea, and plans to offer it for the entire summer.

The base of this 4 oz. pudding is made from Indian Alphonso mangoes, which are currently in season. The cake layer of the “tiramisu” is soaked with burnt sienna-colored Thai Tea; Ong uses a strong brew free of food colorings. A fair amount of tiramisu-style cream follows, and the pudding is piqued with some lime zest. Just as refreshing as a similarly-priced iced tea, much lighter than a piece of cake, and more portable than both. You can even reuse the plexiglass container to kickstart a bumper crop of sea-monkeys.

$4.50, at Batch