daring bakers, june.
The making of meringue is a beautiful thing: cracking, separating, whipping, whipping whipping. It's a task that sheds light on process - you begin to see it take shape, make connections between your effort and the slowly growing mass of voluminous white in your bowl. Unlike melting chocolate or baking a cake, egg white comes to life under your whisk, seems to take on the energy you put into it. It's gratifying and gives the most delicate reward for your attentions.
I had a little help on the challenge this month, in the form of a lovely ten-year-old named Daisy. Together we planned to take this assignment for pavlovas with chocolate marscapone mousse and deconstruct it (my words, not hers) into a chocolate-strawberry Eton mess of sorts. Many pencil-on-paper diagrams later, we'd decided on mousse, followed by strawberries, followed by cream, and crumbled meringue stacked in a glass tumbler. And after a long day of work and school for us, they not only satisfied our sweet teeth, but left us vaguely comatose with cream and sugar.
The June 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Dawn of Doable and
Delicious. Dawn challenged the Daring Bakers’ to make Chocolate Pavlovas and Chocolate
Mascarpone Mousse. The challenge recipe is based on a recipe from the book Chocolate Epiphany by
Francois Payard
*****
Preparation time:
The recipe can be made in one day although there are several steps involved.
While the pavlovas are baking, the crème anglaise should be made which will take about 15
minutes.
While it is cooling, the chocolate mascarpone mousse can be made which will take about 15
minutes.
There will be a bit of a wait time for the mascarpone cream because of the cooling time for the
Crème Anglaise.
If you make the Crème Anglaise the day before, the dessert should take about 2 hours
including cooking time for the pavlovas.
Equipment required:
Baking sheet(s) with parchment or silpat
Several bowls
Piping bag with pastry tip
Hand or stand mixer
Recipe 1: Chocolate Meringue (for the chocolate Pavlova):
3 large egg whites
½ cup plus 1 tbsp (110 grams) white granulated sugar
¼ cup (30 grams) confectioner’s (icing) sugar
1/3 cup (30 grams) Dutch processed cocoa powder
1. Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 200º F (95º C) degrees. Line two baking sheets
with silpat or parchment and set aside.
2. Put the egg whites in a bowl and whip until soft peaks form. Increase speed to high and
gradually add granulated sugar about 1 tbsp at a time until stiff peaks form. (The whites should
be firm but moist.)
3.
Sift the confectioner’s sugar and cocoa powder over the egg whites and fold the dry ingredients
into the white. (This looks like it will not happen. Fold gently and it will eventually come
together.)
4. Fill a pastry bag with the meringue. Pipe the meringue into whatever shapes you desire.
Alternatively, you could just free form your shapes and level them a bit with the back of a spoon.
(Class made rounds, hearts, diamonds and an attempt at a clover was made!)
5. Bake for 2-3 hours until the meringues become dry and crisp. Cool and store in an airtight
container for up to 3 days.
Recipe 2: Chocolate Mascarpone Mousse (for the top of the Pavlova base):
1 ½ cups (355 mls) heavy cream (cream with a milk fat content of between 36 and 40 percent)
grated zest of 1 average sized lemon
9 ounces (255 grams) 72% chocolate, chopped
1 2/3 cups (390 mls) mascarpone
pinch of nutmeg
2 tbsp (30 mls) Grand Marnier (or orange juice)
1. Put ½ cup (120 mls) of the heavy cream and the lemon zest in a saucepan over medium high
heat. Once warm, add the chocolate and whisk until melted and smooth. Transfer the mixture
to a bowl and let sit at room temperature until cool.
2. Place the mascarpone, the remaining cup of cream and nutmeg in a bowl. Whip on low for a
minute until the mascarpone is loose. Add the Grand Marnier and whip on medium speed
until it holds soft peaks. (DO NOT OVERBEAT AS THE MASCARPONE WILL BREAK.)
3. Mix about ¼ of the mascarpone mixture into the chocolate to lighten. Fold in the remaining
mascarpone until well incorporated. Fill a pastry bag with the mousse. Again, you could just
free form mousse on top of the pavlova.
Recipe 3: Mascarpone Cream (for drizzling):
1 recipe crème anglaise
½ cup (120 mls) mascarpone
2 tbsp (30 mls) Sambucca (optional)
½ cup (120 mls) heavy cream
1. Prepare the crème anglaise. Slowly whisk in the mascarpone and the Sambucca and let the
mixture cool. Put the cream in a bowl and beat with electric mixer until very soft peaks are
formed. Fold the cream into the mascarpone mixture.
Recipe 4: Crème Anglaise (a component of the Mascarpone Cream above):
1 cup (235 mls) whole milk
1 cup (235 mls) heavy cream
1 vanilla bean, split or 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
6 large egg yolks
6 tbsp (75 grams) sugar
1. In a bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and sugar until the mixture turns pale yellow.
2. Combine the milk, cream and vanilla in a saucepan over medium high heat, bringing the
mixture to a boil. Take off the heat. .
3. Pour about ½ cup of the hot liquid into the yolk mixture, whisking constantly to keep from
making scrambled eggs. Pour the yolk mixture into the pan with the remaining cream mixture
and put the heat back on medium. Stir constantly with a wooden spoon until the mixture
thickens enough to lightly coat the back of a wooden spoon. DO NOT OVERCOOK.
4. Remove the mixture from the heat and strain it through a fine mesh sieve into a bowl. Cover
and refrigerate until the mixture is thoroughly chilled, about 2 hours or overnight.
Assembly:
Pipe the mousse onto the pavlovas and drizzle with the mascarpone cream over the top. Dust with
confectioner’s sugar and fresh fruit if desired.
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