Nidi di meringa, fragole del mercato di Wells e una bella cucchiaiata di custard: cosa si può chiedere di meglio per merenda?

Confesso che la ricettina di oggi è una non-ricetta, anzi un collage.

Insomma, per fare questa merenda veramente poco dietetica dovete preparare per prima cosa la ricetta dell’English custard che vi ho spiegato settimana scorsa.
Mentre la vostra custard si raffredda in frigo, preparate le meringhe secondo la solita ricetta di Labna, ma fatele a forma di nido, come avevamo visto per le pavlova al cioccolato dei Daring Bakers.
Mentre le meringhe si asciugano in forno, lavate delle belle fragole (o altri frutti di bosco a vostra scelta) e mettetele da parte in una ciotola.

Quando tutti gli ingredienti della super merenda sono pronti non vi resta che godervela: ovviamente farete un primo tentativo di mangiare il tutto “civilmente” con un cucchiaio, ma sappiate che dovrete poi rassegnarvi a mangiare con le mani, e anche a leccarvi le dita.

Dunque dicevo, visto che siamo appena tornati, non è che vi sforzereste di leggere la ricetta in inglese? Giuro che poi la traduco, nel pomeriggio, ve lo prometto!
Tra l’altro è una ricetta veramente da sballo, viene fuori un dolce buono da commuoversi a ogni cucchiaiata…

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.

Recipe 1: Chocolate Meringue

• 3 large egg whites
• 
1/2 cup plus 1 tbsp (110 grams) white granulated sugar
• 
1/4 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.
Sift the confectioner’s sugar and cocoa powder over the egg whites and fold the dry ingredients into the white.
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. (Class made rounds, hearts, diamonds and an attempt at a clover was made!)
Bake for 2-3 hours until the meringues become dry and crisp. Cool and store in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

Recipe 2: Chocolate Mascarpone Mousse

• 1 and 1/2 cups (355 mls) heavy cream
• grated zest of 1 average sized lemon
• 
9 ounces (255 grams) 72% chocolate, chopped

• 1 and 2/3 cups (390 mls) mascarpone

• pinch of nutmeg

• 2 tbsp (30 mls) Grand Marnier (or orange juice)

Put ½ cup (120 mls) of the heavy cream and the lemon zest in a saucepan over medium high heat. Once warm, add the chocolate and whisk until melted and smooth. Transfer the mixture to a bowl and let sit at room temperature until cool.
Place the mascarpone, the remaining cup of cream and nutmeg in a bowl. Whip on low for a minute until the mascarpone is loose. Add the Grand Marnier and whip on medium speed until it holds soft peaks.
Mix about ¼ of the mascarpone mixture into the chocolate to lighten. Fold in the remaining mascarpone until well incorporated. Fill a pastry bag with the mousse. Again, you could just free form mousse on top of the pavlova.

Recipe 3: Crème anglaise

• 1 cup (235 mls) whole milk

• 1 cup (235 mls) heavy cream

• 1 vanilla bean, split or 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 
6 large egg yolks
• 
6 tbsp (75 grams) sugar

In a bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and sugar until the mixture turns pale yellow.
Combine the milk, cream and vanilla in a saucepan over medium high heat, bringing the mixture to a boil. Take off the heat.
Pour about ½ cup of the hot liquid into the yolk mixture, whisking constantly to keep from making scrambled eggs. Pour the yolk mixture into the pan with the remaining cream mixture and put the heat back on medium. Stir constantly with a wooden spoon until the mixture thickens enough to lightly coat the back of a wooden spoon. Do not overcook.
Remove the mixture from the heat and strain it through a fine mesh sieve into a bowl. Cover and refrigerate until the mixture is thoroughly chilled, about 2 hours or overnight.

Recipe 4: Mascarpone Cream

• 1 recipe crème anglaise

• 1/2 cup (120 mls) mascarpone
• 
2 tbsp (30 mls) Sambucca (optional)
• 
1/2 cup (120 mls) heavy cream

Slowly whisk in the mascarpone and the Sambucca and let the mixture cool. Put the cream in a bowl and beat with electric mixer until very soft peaks are formed. Fold the cream into the mascarpone mixture.

When everything is ready…


Pipe the mousse onto the pavlovas and drizzle with the mascarpone cream over the top. Dust with confectioner’s sugar and fresh fruit if desired.