June Daring Bakers: Pavlovas with Chocolate Mascarpone Mousse

Yeah. I forgot to take a final picture until I was almost finished eating. Again. You get the idea-
Delicious, messy, gooey, deliciousness so good, you can't even wait to put it on a plate.

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.

I'm not one of those picky eaters who restricts themselves to the baked chicken on the menu and breaks into a sweat at the thought of sushi or curry. But I do have a weirdness about chocolate. Don't get me wrong, there are times when nothing will do but a good chocolate bar; but I've never been one for desserts that have "chocolate" mentioned more than once in the title or heavily chocolate things like flourless chocolate cake and chocolate ganache fillings. There has to be a balance. I want a glass of milk just thinking about it. Another thing that makes me nervous are meringues. I've never met a meringue I like. They always have this weird sort of fake flavor and a chalky texture and do nothing to make you feel satisfied for giving yourself that crazy insulin spike. So the idea of making a giant chocolate meringue with chocolate mousse made think twice about the challenge. But two things made me stick with it:

1. Upon doing some research pavlovas a whole 'nother animal from meringues. While they are the same ingredients and set up, the pavlova is bigger and thicker; it's not as cooked through, giving you a delicate sort of crust filled with sugary marshmallowy goodness.
2. I could omit the chocolate from pavlova part.

Want to work those biceps? Make a pavlova! And then ruin it all by eating said pavlova.

And on the most humid day of this summer so far, I decided to give it a try. The pavlova itself turned out beautifully. The creme anglaise was so good, I could eat it with a spoon by itself like soup. And there was enough of it to do so. The mousse was... alright. Still a little too chocolatey and acidic for my tastes and I had to scale way back on it to keep some sort of sweet/rich balance. Maybe it would have gone better with a lighter chocolate? I'm tempted to try this again but with a Strawberry coulis or some sort of fruit sauce with the same creme anglaise.

My partner in destroying this dessert was my boyfriend, again. He pretty much ate the whole thing in the time it took for me to put away the mixer. I guess he liked it.
The recipe is below and my tweaks are in italics. There was a whole ton of creme anglaise left over from this. If you're more proficient in math than I, you might want to cut it down. If you're not and you're still on a meringue high, try making Floating Islands- the Ina Garten way or the Julia Child/Wolfgang Puck way if you're feeling sassy.

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
I omitted the cocoa and doubled the sugar and added an egg white

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.
I made one giant pavlova to capitalize on the marshmallow insides. Also, a tip I found on the internet- Let the pavlova cool in the oven. Turn the heat off and crack open the door. This will keep the pavlova from cracking or collapsing.

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 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

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.