A Melting Mess, who wants to clean the kitchen?

It's about 90*F out today and the air conditioner is failing to push the air downstairs. Hot or not, I needed to get my Daring Bakers challenge done before I head out to the big MN.

The June challenge was to make Chocolate Pavlov with Chocolate Mascarpone Mousse. The recipe is based from the book Chocolate Epiphany. The recipe was comprised of three parts: chocolate pavlovas, mascarpone mousse and mascarpone cream.

I ended up making my mascarpone mousse into a Greek Yogurt mousse instead. For some reason, the grocery store I went to decided to not have mascarpone. Who does that? I have a challenge to complete here. The only problem with using the yogurt is that it didn't get as thick as it should have. It tasted similar to mascarpone though. I'm still trying to figure out how I'm going to bring it to my co-workers in the morning. Yowsa.

Here's how it's done:

Chocolate Meringue (for the chocolate Pavlova)

3 large egg whites
1/2 cup plus 1 T. white sugar
1/4 cup powdered sugar
1/3 cup cocoa powder

Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 200*F (seems low, but it's true). Line two baking sheets with silpat or parchment paper and set aside.

Put the egg whites in a bowl and whip until soft peaks form. Increase speed to high and gradually add white sugar about 1 T at a time until stiff peaks form.

Sift the powdered sugar and cocoa powder over the egg whites and fold the dry ingredients into the white. Fill a pastry bag (or the sweet piping tool that my mom got me for Christmas) with the meringue. Pipe the meringue into whatever shapes you desire. I would recommend making them larger shapes than I made.

Bake for 2-3 hours (yes, you can clean the kitchen and living room and maybe your car) 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 heavy cream
grated zest of 1 average sized lemon
9 ounces chocolate, chopped
1 2/3 cups mascarpone
pinch of nutmeg
2 tbsp Grand Marnier (or 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 Grand Marnier 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. Again, you could just free form mousse on top of the pavlova.

Mascarpone Cream (for drizzling)

1 recipe crème anglaise

½ cup mascarpone

2 tbsp Sambucca (optional)

½ cup heavy cream

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.

Creme Anglaise (a component of the Mascarpone Cream above)

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.

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.

Notes from me: I used Brandy instead of Grand Mariner and I added some Hershey's chocolate for color. The meringue melts in your mouth. Seriously.