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.
Okay, I have to admit that I did not partake in the entire challenge. This is the third recipe in the 6 months of 2010 that included some sort of citrus. Ick! I like citrus alone, but not mixed into my chocolate or into my caramel. Here's hoping the remaining 6 months of this year are citrus-combo-free!
I did make the chocolate Pavlovas. I never knew the name of these little treats. I always just thought they were meringue cookies. In fact, I make these Santa Hats each year with a similar recipe, minus the chocolate!
The pavlova was extremely chocolaty- I couldn't imagine covering this richness with more chocolate as the challenge required! So I served the pavlova as a cookie adorning a bowl of vanilla ice cream, topped with fresh berries picked from my yard. What a tasty treat! (My husband thinks it tastes like Cocoa Puffs!)
Chocolate Meringue
3 large egg whites
1/2 cup plus 1 tbsp white granulated sugar
1/4cup confectioner’s (icing) sugar
1/3 cup cocoa powder
Directions:
1. Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 200ºF 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.
If you'd like to see the full recipe for the Chocolate Pavlovas and Chocolate Mascarpone Mousse, check out the results on other Daring Bakers blogs!
4 comments:
Wow beautiful art in there..looks yummy and wonderful job.
What an artful way of serving the challenge recipe and I love you hubby's reaction "it tastes like coco pops" that is an astute observation. Cheers from Audax in Sydney Australia.
Is there something odd about the fact that my first thought was "wow, those berries look amazing!"? I likwe that you made the challenge work for you...! Here's hoping the next one if something you are more in tuned with!!
Wow that looks delicious, love the fresh berries too! I found the whole thing quite chocolatey too and rich, rich , rich!
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