Sunday, June 27, 2010

Daring Bakers: Pavlovas, Chocolate Mascarpone Mousse, and Crème Anglaise

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 did it! Even in the midst of the yellow cake experiment, two upcoming giveaways (yes, you read right!), and a frustrating, DB experience last month, I was able to pop out this lovely dessert for the DB Challenge! Woohoo! Go me!
Okay, with the exception of my favorite white cake, I abhor, detest, can't stand, don't like anything made of primarily egg whites.That includes macarons, meringues on top of pies, angel cake, and ...pavlovas. Needless to say, I didn't make that part of the dessert, but I did make everything else, including the mascarpone.
 This mascarpone was so smooth. Can you tell?

Unlike last month's challenge, everything progressed quite smoothly for this challenge. I made the mascarpone last night, and then I made all of the other components today. The only things that went wrong were the piping of the mousse and whipping of the heavy cream for the crème anglaise mixture.
For some reason, the mousse would not come out completely out of my (new) #1M piping tip. It kept clogging up the nozzle. So, I just spooned out the mousses into the goblets. In regard to the heavy cream, it wouldn't whip up completely for some reason. I've never had that problem before so I ended up making three batches of the stuff until it finally whipped up right.
 Egg Yolks and Sugar: The Beginning of the Crème Anglaise
Clockwise: Mascarpone added to crème; whipped together; whipped cream added; done...I guess.
 
ADJUSTMENTS TO THE RECIPE: I never post the recipe to DB challenges on here because they are so long, and are available everywhere by this time of the month haha. I only post adjustments or additional recipes I used not included on the challenge. Anyway, I added some powdered sugar to the whipped cream that was added to the crème anglaise. Also, after seeing what Barbara did to her mousse, I added some mint extract to my mousse, but I accidentally added too much, which leads me to my impressions of this dessert...
Clockwise: cream, milk and lemon zest; chopped chocolate courtesy of Guittard; chocolate added to milk mixture; chocolate base done
TASTE: This dessert is EXTREMELY rich as you would expect with all the heavy cream in it. I completely understand why this is more of a topping for pavlovas - to contrast with the lightness of it. I think it still tastes good the way I did it; I just won't be able to eat all of one goblet in one sitting, though. I'm not typically a fan of chocolate with fruit, so I just put the blueberries on top for decoration and moved the fruit aside hehe. 
Folding process of the mousse

Thanks for a great challenge, Dawn. To see what the others have done and the recipe, go here.

37 comments:

  1. gorgeous, one of the best I have seen today!

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  2. Gorgeous! Great job with this month's challenge.

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  3. Your dessert cups look pretty. I don't like meringues and I positively dislike macarons.
    But my daughter likes meringues so I make them.
    I'm thinking I can tolerate meringue in a pavlova, though.:)

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  4. Those look great! I had never made meringues before and found out that I actually like them (and gobbled up quite a few on their own). Nice job on the challenge!

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  5. Feliz te inspira. They look so lovely in your beautiful glasses. Sorry the mint was too strong.

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  6. Wonderful presentation! You are so creative.

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  7. Wow wow wow all the pictures are amazing.. wonderful job!!!

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  8. Mamma mia! Un dessert da favola, per veri golosi! Grazie per l'idea :-)

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  9. Simplemente una tentación. Saludos

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  10. That is one astounding looks dessert and yes cooked egg whites can be echy for some people a clever way to the challenge. Cheers from Audax in Sydney Australia.

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  11. such a beautiful treat to tuck into, it looks really yum!

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  12. Those goblets look divine. Wonderful work with the photography too. It's outstanding! Love it! Have a wonderful week. :) Petra

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  13. Wow, those look so beautiful and delicious! I really like your take on the recipe. Marvelous!

    Cheers,

    Rosa

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  14. What a lovely, lovely dessert, Memoria! You have done an exquisite job with this DB challenge, and I adore your use of the goblets--how apropos; they really enhance your photos! You are awesome and sweet :o)

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  15. You presented beautifully as well ... they are gorgeous and mouth watering looking dessert Memoria.

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  16. Looks beautiful, Memoria!

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  17. WOW!!!!! lovely looking pav....

    even my last DB was a disaster but guess we learn to move on...

    cheers,
    The Variable, Crazy Over Desserts - Nachiketa
    Catch me on facebook @ Crazy Over Desserts

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  18. This looks so beautiful and elegant... Your mouse came together beautifully, even if it wouldn't pipe well. Great adaptation of the challenge!

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  19. Yours look amazing! I love your interpretation and how you worked around your dislike of egg white type dishes. Great job on this challenge!

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  20. holy crap that looks delicious!!

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  21. Oh Memoria, what a beautiful and elegant dessert! Love the way you presented, the pictures are awesome ;-)

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  22. Looks wonderful! Congrats for the pics!

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  23. Wow - look at that mascarpone! Gorgeous. You did a great job. Beautiful dessert.

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  24. The lighting is perfect on the photographs and I love how the black background make them stand out.

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  25. Memoria, these look beautiful! I don't like meringues either so I didn't make this. But now I'm wishing I did something as creative as you. Maybe I still will... ;) Better late than never, no?

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  26. Hi Memoria, these looks absolutely chocolatey and yummilicious!I'm drooling away looking at your pics :)

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  27. I love making mascarpone. So easy and so amazingly good. I'm going to have to give this DB challenge a go...despite being so late with it.

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  28. Que maravilhoso aspecto!
    Estive de férias e gostei de ter ver por aqui mais animada! Já vi os Yellow Cakes que andáste a testar! O último é o favorito? Ainda vai haver mais?
    Beijinhos.

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  29. Your pavlova parfaits are gorgeous!! I had some crumbled pavlova pieces and was thinking of doing the same thing BUT - I ate them in a matter of seconds lol Beautifully done!

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  30. Really beautiful presentation! So much neater and cleaner than a traditional pavlova. :)

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  31. I totally would have ditched the meringue too. ha ha! I'll eat it but it's not my favorite. The chocolate mascarpone mousse on the other hand looks amazing.

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  32. Despite the fact that this is chocolate it is in fact a love dessert...I'm a sucker for the look of trifles and layered desserts. So pretty.
    ~ingrid

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  33. Gorgeous presentation!! Looks wonderful!

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  34. Chocolate cupcakes are mostly have it on functions and parties .these cup cakes are small in size and and so delicious.

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