I remember those days. When everything went pear shaped and there was a siren blasting in your ears “Don’t make eye contact… Don’t make eye contact”.
Where walking through the busy restaurant was like navigating a minefield, trying to look calm and professional while maintaining a desperate 1000-yard stare. To make eye contact was to feel the wrath of hungry, often drunk and (where I was working at the time) a hail of self important abuse.
My lunch at Simpatico was nothing like that. It was a very quiet Saturday lunch – although we were there bang on 12 o’clock - and there was no chaos that I could see, that warranted the faraway gaze of our waitress. While we hovered at the front door waiting to be seated – she stared blankly at us for a good few minutes as if amused by our presence. And despite being told when I booked that they were full, she just waved at us and told us to choose any table we liked.
Once seated we had to find our own menus, go to the bar to request water and then wave her down to order coffee.
Our lunch wasn’t off to a great start – but it was more a case of “The lights are on but so is the answering machine…” rather than any lack of motivation or talent. Maybe she had a great date the night before?
There are two things I have noticed about the Daring Baker’s Challenges –
1. Sometimes the weather in Australia can be just as much of a challenge as the actual challenge
2. My family is getting more and more involved each month - and I love it!
This challenge was brilliant for a number of reasons. The Croquembouche was one of the challenges on MasterChef 2009 and I was DESPERATE to try it – I was convinced it wasn’t nearly as difficult as they made it look on TV.
AND because it is currently winter in Australia this was also the first challenge that I wouldn’t need to have my aircon pumping at 15C (hello, Orange Tian), freeze my dessert so I could take pictures before it melted into a pool (like I did for the Tiramisu) or throw it out the day after I made it because it brought an infestation of cockroaches into the house… (Thank you Gingerbread House!).
When I told my parents about this challenge they were so excited. We discussed how they would steal me a traffic cone in lieu of buying one of those fancy cones and when Dad’s strong morals kicked in (mine and Mum’s are obviously lacking…) he then went about thinking up options that didn’t involve roadside theft.
The caramel was an issue considering I have never made it before and most of the recipes called for glucose syrup – which I have never seen before and refused to spend my weekend tracking down. My favorite recipe included these words of advice: “Cover your ENTIRE kitchen in taped down newspaper and lock small children and animals in another room”. Yikes! I don't think so...
In the end – after one badly burnt batch of toffee and a ruined saucepan, I got it right and managed to dip my puffs without too many screamed obscenities and hastily applied Band-Aids. Success!
All in all - I LOVED this challenge - I have been wanting to make this for ages - so thank you Cat!The May 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Cat of Little Miss Cupcake. Cat challenged everyone to make a piece montée, or croquembouche, based on recipes from Peter Kump’s Baking School in Manhattan and Nick Malgieri.
Sometimes I annoy myself. There are words on menus that draw me in, like honey to a bee, a moth to a flame - a fatty to an "All you can eat Buffet"... you get the picture.
For me it's:
Scallops. Pork Belly. Chocolate.
Although it’s hard to explain – when I go out to Restaurants and I’m reading the menu – I feel a bit like the Terminator with the weird goggles. Those words just jump out at me and I’m hypnotised. It really doesn’t matter how much more appealing the other things might be – once I see those three magic words – I start to drool like Pavlov’s dog and it’s all over.
Likewise when I try a new ecipe, my immediate thought is “I wonder if it would be better in chocolate”. I know people do similar things with clothes and shoes… “I wonder if it would look better in black / red / snakeskin?” But for me – it’s all about the chocolate.
So when I tried making Pavlova for the first time not long ago – and I was moderately impressed with my efforts – I was already itching to try a Chocolate version. I also had grand plans of trying to make spun sugar to sit on top of it – but after everyone told me to make sure that I lock the cats in the bedroom and cover every surface with newspaper before trying… I somehow lost my enthusiasm!
But the Chocolate Pavlova was amazing – the Cocoa and Balsamic Vinegar made the marshmallow middle taste almost like a very light Chocolate Mousse and the Grated Chocolate sunk to the bottom giving the base a brownie-like quality. It was delicious, just as easy as a regular Pav but so much more memorable…
So here it is…
Chocolate Pavlova Recipe
6 egg whites
300g caster sugar
3 tablespoons cocoa powder, sieved
1 teaspoon Balsamic Vinegar
100g dark chocolate, grated
Topping:
600ml Whipped Cream
Fresh Berries
Torn Mint Leaves
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 180°C and line a baking tray with baking paper / greaseproof paper.
Beat the egg whites until the peaks have a satiny sheen, and then beat in the sugar a spoonful at a time until the meringue is stiff.
Sprinkle the sieved cocoa over the meringue mix and then add the vinegar and grated chocolate.
Gently fold everything until the cocoa is thoroughly mixed in with no lumps.
Scoop on to the lined baking sheet – the higher the Pav, the more marshmallowy middle – the wider the Pav the more crispy edges.
Place in the oven, then immediately turn the temperature down to 150°C and cook for about 75 mins.
Turn off the oven and open the door slightly, and let the chocolate meringue cool completely before dressing it with cream and fruit.
To serve: Whisk the cream till thick and pile on top of the Pavlova, scatter with the fresh berries and torn mint and then dust with icing sugar. To give it an adult edge – you could even soak the berries in Cointreau for 20mins before arranging.
