Chocolate Pavlova with Chocolate Mascarpone Mousse

So what’s the challenge for June 2010? I opened my daring baker's forum having this question in my mind. O Wao what a challenge making of chocolate Pavlova with mascarpone chocolate mousse. Before opening the forum I never thought that i will try this desert any time in my life. To be very frank I never listen the name of this dessert since two years before or may be 1 -1/2.


What is Pavlova?

Pavlova is a meringue-based dessert named after the Russian ballet dancer Anna Pávlova. Colloquially referred to as "pav", it is a cake similar to meringue with a crispy crust and soft, light inner

The dessert is believed to have been created to honor the dancer during or after one of her tours to Australia and New Zealand in the 1920s. Where it was created and the nationality of its creator has been a source of argument between the two nations for many years, but research indicates New Zealand as the source.

The dessert is a popular dish and an important part of the national cuisine of both countries, and is frequently served during celebratory or holiday meals such as Christmas lunch.

Pavlova is made by beating egg whites (and sometimes salt) to a very stiff consistency before folding in caster sugar, white vinegar, cornstarch, and sometimes vanilla, and slow-baking the mixture similarly to meringue. This makes the outside of the Pavlova a crisp crunchy shell, while the interior remains soft and moist. The Pavlova’s internal consistency is thus completely different from that normally associated with meringue, having more of a soft marshmallow texture. This difference is due to the addition of cornstarch, the use of which is the defining feature of a Pavlova recipe.

Pavlova is traditionally decorated with a topping of whipped cream and fresh fruit of sweet/tart flavors, such as strawberries and kiwifruit, or passion fruit and banana or berries and peach slices. Raspberry is a popular topping in the United Kingdom, with the tartness of raspberries contrasting with the sweetness of sugar. Information source

What about challenge? Ok ok back to the challenge

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

The recipe is comprised of three parts, four if you include the crème anglaise. We must make the chocolate Pavlovas, the mascarpone mousse and the mascarpone cream using the recipes provided.

We are allowed to substitute orange juice for the Grand Marnier in the mousse if we don’t use alcohol we can omit the sambucca from the mascarpone cream. We may use crème anglaise recipe of our choice.

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.

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. (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.

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 (I used milk chocolate)

1 2/3 cups (390 mls) mascarpone

Pinch of nutmeg (I didn’t used)

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 until well incorporated. Fill a pastry bag with the mousse. Again, you could just free form mousse on top of the Pavlova.

Mascarpone Cream (for drizzling):

1 recipe crème anglaise

½ cup (120 mls) mascarpone

2 tbsp (30 mls) Sambucca (optional)(I didn’t use)

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.

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. Just play with mousse, meringue and cream.

Recipe was very delicious I really like the chocolate mascarpone mousse and mascarpone cream my meringue came out dark in color with nice chocolaty taste but texture was not good enough, may be I didn’t beat well my egg whites or I over worked when folding any how then I decide to give another try for meringue with more sugar and less cocoa. Then I got lighter color meringue with nice cracked texture as it should be. Assembly of Pavlova was great fun for me I tried different ways in platter, in bowl, glasses you can see.