May 2011 Challenge - A Walk on The Wild Side

The May 2011 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Emma of CookCraftGrow and Jenny of Purple House Dirt. They chose to challenge everyone to make a Chocolate Marquise. The inspiration for this recipe comes from a dessert they prepared at a restaurant in Seattle.

The original recipe was HUGE and served a lot more people than my one person household could ever feed, so I made a 1/4 recipe which happily serves 6. Only the marquise and torched meringue were mandatory, but I felt I may as well go the whole hog and make the caramel and nuts too! I changed the spicing from the original recipes to suit what I had to hand, so I'll give my own adapted recipes (as usual) and you can no doubt find the originals on either Emma or Jennys blogs. :)

Part 1 : Spiced Walnuts

Ingredients :

1 cup walnuts
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg 1/2 cup caster sugar
1 large egg white1/4 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp salt

Method :

01. Preheat oven to 170 degrees Celsius.

02. Add sugar, salt and spices to a bowl and combine thoroughly.

03. Beat egg whites until thick and frothy.

04. Add sugar and spice mix to whisked egg white.

05. Whisk until a smooth even consistency.

06. Add in nuts.

07. Coat completely.

08. Line a pan with parchment paper / greaseproof paper / foil.

09. Spread coated nuts in a single layer across the pan.

10. Bake for 30 minutes or until light brown.

11. Set aside to cool, can be stored in airtight container overnight.

Part 2 : Spiced Chocolate Base

Ingredients :

3 oz chocolate chips (I used both milk and dark)
1/2 tbsp unsalted butter
1/8 tsp salt
1 tbsp cocoa powder
1/3 cup + 2 tbsp heavy cream
1 tbsp light corn syrup
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp mixed spice
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1 tbsp instant coffee

Method :

01. Place chocolate in a small bowl and set aside.

02. Over a double boiler warm the cream until it is hot to touch but not boiling.

03. Remove the cream from the heat and pour into the bowl with the chocolate.

04. Sit for 1 to 2 minutes then stir to melt the chocolate totally and you have a smooth consistency.

05. Add butter and corn syrup and stir to melt.

06. Add salt and stir.

07. Add spices, coffee and cocoa powder and mix until smooth.

08. Set aside to cool for use in the marquise recipe.

Part 3 : Chocolate Marquise

Ingredients :

1 chocolate base as given above
1/2 cup cocoa powder
3 large egg yolks
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 tsp + 2 tbsp caster sugar
1 tsp + 1 tbsp water
1 whole egg

Method :

01. Combine egg yolks and egg in a large bowl.

02. In a seperate bowl, whip the cream and set aside for later.

03. Whip eggs on high speed for 10 to 15 minutes until thick and pale.

04. Combine sugar and water in a pan.

05. Boil and cook to soft ball stage (115 degrees Celsius).

06. On a slow speed, drizzle the sugar syrup into the eggs, avoiding the whisk.

07. When all of the sugar syrup is added, turn the beaters back up to a high speed and whisk for another 10 minutes (until mix is cool).

08. Add in chocolate base.

09. Whisk for about a minute until mixture is homogeneous.

10. Stir in 1/3 of the cream to slacken the mixture.

11. Fold in the remaining cream.

12. Pour into moulds and freeze overnight.

13. About 2 hours before serving, remove from freezer.

14. Coat completely in cocoa powder while still frozen solid.

15. Rest in the fridge until ready to plate up.

Part 4 : Coffee Caramel Sauce

Ingredients :

1/4 cup caster sugar
2 tbsp water
1/2 tbsp instant coffee
1/4 cup heavy cream
1/4 tsp salt

Method :

01. Combine sugar and water in a pan and place on medium heat.

02. Bring to the boil.

03. Cook until darkening in colour.

04. Remove from the heat and add in some of the cream, whisking. (It will bubble up, so only add as much cream as you can)

05. Return to a low heat and whisk to dissolve any hardened sugar, adding any remaining cream.

06. When dark and smooth, remove from the heat.

07. Add coffee and salt, and stir to dissolve.

08. Set aside until ready to plate up.

Part 5 : Torched Mocha Meringue

Ingredients :

3 large egg whites
Splash of white vinegar
1/2 cup - 1 tbsp caster sugar
1/8 tsp instant mocha mix

Method :

01. Combine sugar, egg whites and vinegar in a bowl.

02. Mix until you have a moist, homogeneous liquid.

03. Place over a double boiler and stir until warm and all the sugar has dissolved.

04. Whisk to soft peaks.

05. Near the end of the whisking, add the mocha mix.

06. Pipe meringue into desired shape onto a bed of cocoa powder. (This makes it easier to move later)

07. Using a blowtorch / kitchen lighter / grill, torch the outside of the meringue.

08. Set aside for plating.

Part 6 : Put it all together and what have you got? Deliciousness!

01. Drizzle a generous amount of caramel sauce onto plate, along with some of the spiced nuts.

02. Add marquise, topped with meringue!