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 month's chocolate pavlova is not a new dish for me. The national dessert of Australia, named after a famous ballerina, and one of the worlds most under appreciated desserts, has always been a favourite of mine. Never heard of it? Well, its a meringue - a simple whipping of egg whites and sugar, spread into a puffy disc and baked long and low in the oven until it cracks and dries. Deep inside it retains a puffy, chewy, marshmallow like centre. Hmm... this sounds like a friend of mine... This disk of non fat goodness gets smothered with whipped cream and then piled high with fresh fruit. Even if its sometimes a hard sell on paper, its always a hit once served. I've made many a version, some chocolate, some vanilla, covered in canned fruit or frozen raspberries, but usually with local fruit at the height of summer, after all this really is the perfect summertime dessert. I've filled them with the classic whipped cream, pastry cream, chocolate sauce and all manner of ice cream and sorbet, my favourite way indeed. Coincidentally last month I enjoyed a perfect example crafted by my friend, Bryan, done to such complete perfection it would have made any Aussie proud. It was a showstopping plateful of crispy, craggy, golden tinged meringue - marshmallow-y in the middle, just as it should be - covered with barely sweetened whipped cream and then generously strewn with jewel coloured papaya, kiwi, strawberries and passion fruit. The fact that 6 of us easily polished all 10 inches of it is testament to its tastiness factor, but also to its lightness.
This version definitely has a little more "oomph" to it and would satisfy any manner of chocophile. Its chocolate based meringue deepens as it cooks providing the perfect crunchy base for the bittersweet chocolate mousse its served with. The mascarpone cheese in the mousse adds body while keeping the sweetness down. The entire thing is doused in custard, a break if you will from all that chocolate, but also a pleasing contrast in colour. I tend to love a little fruit with my chocolate desserts, so the creme anglaise also goes beautifully with the fresh strawberries I chose to serve alongside. With berries this beautiful there was simply no way they weren't going to weasel their way onto this plate!
This challenge wasn't one of my favourites, although that's no fault of the dish itself or the recipe. I just tend to be in the minority as someone who really doesn't consider
a chocolate based dessert my desert island sweet of choice. But as with
every one of these Daring Bakers challenges, I come away either
learning something completely new or re discovering something in my
repertoire. And this one was no different. I was excited to practice my cheese making abilities, and had the opportunity to make mascarpone cheese for the second time. And let me tell you a little secret: it's really not so difficult. In fact, its a shame the dairy industry has convinced us to buy it rather than make our own. The flavour is pure cream, as it should be without the oh so attractive xantham gum and stabilizers, and the effort is basically heating up cream, stirring and draining. That's it! Shh... don't tell!
I also was reminded of how much I really I do love a crispy base of meringue and that I don't make them enough. As an avid maker of ice cream, custards and sweet tart doughs, all of which require yolks only, I always have a problem of having too many egg whites cluttering up my freezer. Indeed I believe I have not been without a supply for 6 years! These are so easy to make, practically cooking themselves, and keep beautifully. The bonus is the use of large amounts of egg whites. So thank you Daring Bakers, for reminding me to keep making those
meringues and pavlovas. Wouldn't you agree that nothing dresses up a simple scoop of ice cream or sorbet than this lovely edible dish? The chocolate sauce doesn't hurt either!
