Friday, May 27, 2011

Daring Bakers Challenge: Chocolate Marquise

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.

This was a fun one to make, and delicious to eat. This would be a perfect dessert to serve at at a party since it does make a lot, so be prepared for that. If you want you could halve or even quarter the recipe, if it makes anything come out uneven I would suggest just rounding up, it won't make a true difference in the dessert.

Make sure that you read this several times before you start, there are a lot of steps and you don't want to have to start over, I hate that. Also assemble all of your ingredients, make sure you have everything out and ready to go. Once you have that it really won't take long to do. The longest part is the chilling and that is one of the best parts since  you can make it ahead of time or even the day before.

My boys were a bit wary at first since I haven't served them something like this before, but after the first bite they were hooked and loved it. I am sure I will make this again.

I did substitute rum for the tequila since I am not a fan. Next time I will substitute my coffee liqueur for the rum (homemade with rum) as chocolate and coffee are always a good combination. Either way though you need to add some sort of liquor to it, so pick you favorite and go with that. 

I also neglected to roll mine in the cocoa powder, it isn't because I didn't have any, I did first time then took a bite and for me it was to bitter, so I left it off.





Chocolate Marquise

11 large egg yolks at room temperature
4 large whole eggs
2/3 cup  sugar
1/3 cup water
Chocolate Base, barely warm (recipe follows)
2 cups heavy cream
2 cups Dutch process or extra dark cocoa powder (for rolling)



Directions:

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the egg yolks and whole eggs. Whip on high speed until very thick and pale, about 10 - 15 minutes.

2. When the eggs are getting close to finishing, make a sugar syrup by combining the sugar and water in a small saucepan. Bring the syrup to a boil and then cook to softball stage (235F/115C).  

3. With the mixer running on low speed, drizzle the sugar syrup into the fluffy eggs, trying to hit that magic spot between the mixing bowl and the whisk.

4.When all of the syrup has been added (do it fairly quickly), turn the mixer back on high and whip until the bowl is cool to the touch. This will take at least 10 minutes.
5. In a separate mixing bowl, whip the heavy cream to soft peaks. Set aside.

6. When the egg mixture has cooled, add the chocolate base to the egg mixture and whisk to combine. Try to get it as consistent as possible without losing all of the air you've whipped into the eggs. We used the stand mixer for this, and it took about 1 minute.
 
7. Fold 1/3 of the reserved whipped cream into the chocolate mixture to loosen it, and then fold in the remaining whipped cream.
8. Pour into the prepared pans and cover with plastic wrap (directly touching the mixture so it doesn't allow in any air).

9. Freeze until very firm, at least 2 - 4 hours (preferably 6 – 8 hours).

10.When you're ready to plate, remove the marquise from the freezer at least 15 minutes before serving. While it's still hard, remove it from the pan by pulling on the parchment 'handles' or by flipping it over onto another piece of parchment.
 
11. Cut it into cubes and roll the cubes in cocoa powder. These will start to melt almost immediately, so don't do this step until all of your other plating components (meringue, caramel, spiced nuts, cocoa nibs) are ready. The cubes need to sit in the fridge to slowly thaw so plating components can be done during that time. They don’t need to be ready before the cubes are rolled in the cocoa powder.
12. Plate with the torched meringue and drizzled caramel sauce, and toss spiced almonds and cocoa nibs around for garnish. You want to handle the cubes as little as possible because they get messy quickly and are difficult to move. However, you want to wait to serve them until they've softened completely. The soft pillows of chocolate are what make this dessert so unusual and when combined with the other elements, you'll get creamy and crunchy textures with cool, spicy, salty, bitter, and sweet sensations on your palate.
Chocolate Base

12 ounces (1 bag) bittersweet chocolate chips 60-70% cacoa
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
1/4 cup tequila
1/4 cup light corn syrup
3/4 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup dutch process or extra dark cocoa powder

1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 Tablespoons unsalted butter, softened


Directions:
1. Place the chocolate in a small mixing bowl.

2. In a double-boiler, warm the cream until it is hot to the touch (but is not boiling). Remove from the heat and pour over the chocolate.

3. Allow it to sit for a minute or two before stirring. Stir until the chocolate is melted completely and is smooth throughout.

4. Add the remaining ingredients and stir to combine.

5. Set aside until cooled to room temperature. Do not refrigerate, as the base needs to be soft when added to the marquise mixture. If you make it the day before, you may need to warm it slightly. Whisk it until it is smooth again before using it in the marquise recipe.


Torched Meringue

11 large egg whites
1 ¾ cups sugar
Splash of apple cider vinegar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla


Directions:
1. Combine the egg whites, sugar and vinegar in the bowl of a stand mixer. Using your (clean, washed) hand, reach in the bowl and stir the three together, making sure the sugar is moistened evenly by the egg whites and they make a homogeneous liquid.
2. Over a saucepan of simmering water, warm the egg white mixture. Use one hand to stir the mixture continuously, feeling for grains of sugar in the egg whites. As the liquid heats up, the sugar will slowly dissolve and the egg whites will thicken. This step is complete when you don't feel any more sugar crystals in the liquid and it is uniformly warm, nearly hot.
3. Remove the mixing bowl from the saucepan and return it to the stand mixer with the whisk attachment. Whisk until you reach soft peaks. In the last 10 seconds of mixing, add the vanilla to the meringue and mix thoroughly.
4. When you're ready to plate the dessert, spoon the meringue onto a plate (or use a piping bag) and use a blowtorch to broil.


Tequila Caramel

1 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
1 cup heavy cream
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons tequila


Directions:
1. In a heavy-bottomed saucepan, combine the sugar and water on medium-high heat. Boil until the water completely evaporates and the sugar caramelizes to a dark mahogany color.
2. Working quickly, add the cream to the darkened caramel. It will bubble and pop vigorously, so add only as much cream as you can without overflowing the pot.
3. Return the pot to the stove on low heat and whisk gently to break up any hardened sugar. Add any remaining cream and continue stirring. Gradually, the hard sugar will dissolve and the caramel sauce will continue to darken. When the caramel has darkened to the point you want it, remove it from the heat. Add the salt and tequila and stir to combine. Set aside until ready to serve.



Enjoy!

5 comments:

  1. WOW. Does this ever look divine! Fantastic presentation, great photo! Maybe I'll try this sometime, though I don't have a blow torch, lol.

    Hope you have a wonderful Memorial Day weekend.

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  2. ooh. la. la. :)
    this is oh-so-elegant, and you did a wonderful job with it. i love the serving dish as well!

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  3. Looks so gooey and yum! Well done

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  4. Oh my goodness, this looks fantastic.

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