Jun 27, 2010

Pavlova- Daring Bakers


This time for the Daring Bakers challenge I was introduced to yet another new dessert. 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.



This is an extremely rich dessert and everyone enjoyed it immensely. The crispy meringue and the smooth luscious mousse go so well together! In Australia, the pavlova is traditionally topped with some fruits. So I thought they would be perfect with some cherries on top.




I stuck to the basic recipe and the only change I made was the use of white chocolate in the mousse. It was my first time making meringues and I must admit it gave me some trouble. They turned out a little crisp but tasted great so I went ahead and used them anyways. And the rest of the components were a breeze! The mousse and the cream are to die for!








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

Directions:

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.

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)

Directions:

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 untilwell 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

Directions:

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

Directions:

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.

25 comments:

Unknown said...

Congratulations! Your pavlovas look gorgeous! Your mousse looks very smooth - I wish mine had been. Chocolate and cherries - YUM!

Liz said...

Mmm, looks delicious. I'll have to try a white chocolate mousse next time.

Unknown said...

Your pavlovas look delicious! Wonderful job on this challenge!!

Aparna Balasubramanian said...

Despite the trouble you mentioned, your pavs seem to have turned just fine. Very good, actually.

Audax said...

Well they look perfect to me and the cherry on top is the icing on the cake LOL LOL Wonderful result and a great effort on this challenge. Cheers from Audax in Sydney Australia.

baking rush said...

Beautiful pavlovas and pictures, I used cherries too.

hugshugs

ana

Poonam said...

thanks a lot everyone! :))

Anonymous said...

I love your presentation! I just want to pop one in my mouth! Great job!

tease-spoon of sugar said...

What great pictures! I love your presentation. And I think that white chocolate mousse sounds better than what the recipe called for. Great job.

Mary said...

They look wonderful! I like the contrast of the white and dark chocolate. I used cherries too--yum!

The Betz Family said...

Those look great! I love ethe way the cream is running down and the cherries are sitting so pretty on top. Nice job on the challenge!

Chef Dennis Littley said...

your pavlovas look amazing....works of art! I like the white chocolate mousse too!
thanks for sharing!

Pavithra Elangovan said...

Beautiful work and u have done so well for the challenge...

Lorraine @ Not Quite Nigella said...

They look adorable! I love the cherry in the centre too! :D

Shaheen {The Purple Foodie} said...

The pavlova looks so goos, Poonam! I used to love the DB challenges. Will join again, hopefully.

Renata said...

Love the idea of the white chocolate for the mousse! Looks so delicious! Well done!

Nachiketa said...

absolute delight is all i can they....
they look amazing.... :)

cheers,
The Variable, Crazy Over Desserts - Nachiketa
Catch me on facebook @ Crazy Over Desserts

Deeba PAB said...

Classic and beautiful Poonam, love your pavlovas. Well done on the challenge indeed!

Lisa said...

You'd never know you had even a modicum of trouble seeing how gorgeous your little pavlovas turned out. Love your presentation@

Unknown said...

wud love to make this dessert at home will def makie it and have it for sure it looks so tasty and tempting n will also give u feeedback on how it went

Poonam said...

Thanks a lot dhaval! pls do let me know how it went :)

Reshmy said...

This looks fabulous. Bookmarking the recipe to try out soon. Wish me luck!

Anonymous said...

awesome cake yah know omg!!!!!!!!!!!!

Anonymous said...

yummy yummy yummmy in my tummmy even thogh i have never triedd it :}

Anonymous said...

yummy yummy yummmy in my tummmy even thogh i have never triedd it :}