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

Pavlova is meringue based dessert usually filled with cream and fresh fruits. It is very light and delicious.  The challenge this month had us make a chocolate version filled with chocolate mousse and drizzled with  a Mascarpone Cream that use Crème Anglaise as a base.  It was very good.  I decided to make mini pavlovas. I also had a bit of chocolate mousse and mascarpone cream left which turned into an amazing cake!  Will post pictures!  I hope you try this recipe. It was way worth it. There will be 4 recipes here. The first will be the meringue for the pavlova shell. Second will be the chocolate mouse. Third and Fourth will go together. You need to make Third (Crème Anglaise) so you can make recipe four which is the Mascarpone Cream

Recipes are adapted from the Daring Kitchen Arquives

Recipe 1: Chocolate Meringue (for the chocolate Pavlova):

3 egg whites
½ cup plus 1 tbsp granulated sugar
¼ cup powder sugar
1/3 cup cocoa powder

Line two baking sheets with silpat or parchment and set aside. Preheat the oven to 200º F.

In the mixer, whip the egg whites 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.)

Sift the powder sugar and cocoa powder over the egg whites and fold the dry ingredients into the white.

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!) As you can see I made little cups.  I used the star tip and just piped the bottom as a circle, then piped one more time around creating the edge.

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:

1 ½ cups  heavy cream
grated zest of 1 average sized lemon
9 ounces 72% chocolate, chopped
1 2/3 cups mascarpone
pinch of nutmeg
2 tbsp orange juice

Put ½ cup 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.

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 orange juice and whip on medium speed until it holds soft peaks. (DO NOT OVERBEAT AS THE MASCARPONE WILL BREAK.)

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.  Pipe or fill your meringue shells.

Recipe 3: Crème Anglaise (a component of the Mascarpone Cream below): (I made half of this recipe)

1 cup whole milk
1 cup heavy cream
1 vanilla bean, split or 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
6 large egg yolks
6 tbsp sugar

In a bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and sugar until the mixture turns pale yellow.

Combine the milk, cream and vanilla in a saucepan over medium high heat, bringing the mixture to a boil. Take off the heat.

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.

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.

Recipe 4: Mascarpone Cream (for drizzling): (also made half of this recipe)

1 recipe crème anglaise
½ cup (120 mls) mascarpone
2 tbsp orange juice
½ cup (120 mls) heavy cream

Prepare the crème anglaise. Slowly whisk in the mascarpone and the orange juice 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.

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.

Here is the cake idea I made with the leftovers.

It is a chocolate cake filled with chocolate mouse and mascarpone cream. Covered with Chocolate mouse. Topped with bitters sweet chocolate mouse, chocolate mouse, raspberries. Sides are crushed pavlovas and drizzled with mascarpone cream.