Chocolate Pavlovas with White Chocolate Mint Mousse

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. The recipe is comprised of three parts, four if you include the crème anglaise. We had to make the chocolate pavlovas, the mascarpone mousse and the mascarpone cream using the recipes provided.

I made a white chocolate mint mascarpone mousse with a chocolate mascarpone cream. I’ve only had dry tasteless meringues in the past and wasn’t expecting to love this challenge, but these were divine. My family loved them, my neighbors loved them and I took them to a fabulous food bloggers garden party and they loved them too.

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) cocoa powder
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.

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.)

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.)
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. (I used a macaron template to make bite sized pavlovas.)

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 baked my bite sized meringues 1 hour.)

White Chocolate Mint Mascarpone Mousse (for the top of the Pavlova base)

1/2 cup heavy cream  – divided
1/2 teaspoon dried mint leaves
4 ounces white chocolate chips
1 cup mascarpone (the Daring Bakers made this a few months ago – get the printable .pdf HERE)

Put 1/4 cup of the heavy cream and the dried mint leaves in a saucepan over medium high heat. Cook over low heat for 2 minutes. Remove from heat. (Or heat in microwave on 50% power until warm.) Cover and steep 15 minutes. Strain the cream and discard the mint leaves.

In a double boiler over hot water, melt the chocolate, stirring occasionally. Add the mint infused cream to the chocolate and stir until smooth. (Or combined chocolate and mint infused cream and heat in microwave on 50% power until chips start to melt, stir until the chocolate is smooth and creamy.) Set aside to cool completely.

Place the mascarpone and the remaining 1/4 cup of cream in a bowl. Whip on low for one minute until the mascarpone is loose. Whip on medium speed until it holds soft peaks. (DO NOT OVERBEAT AS THE MASCARPONE WILL BREAK.)

Mix the mascarpone mixture into the chocolate until well incorporated. Chill.

Chocolate Mascarpone Cream (for drizzling)

1 recipe chocolate crème anglaise (I only made half the amount)
1/4 cup mascarpone
1/4 cup heavy cream

Prepare the crème anglaise. Gently stir in the mascarpone. Put the cream in a separate 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 the mascarpone cream over the top. Garnish with a fresh mint leaf. (Note: I would pipe the mousse onto the pavlovas and drizzle the mascarpone cream just before serving so that the meringues stay crisp and chewy.)

Print Recipe

Visit the Daring Kitchen Recipe Achieve for additional recipes, instructions and step by step photographs. Visit the Daring Bakers Blogroll to see the creative pavlovas the other Daring Bakers created.