JUNE 2010 - Daring Baker's Challenge:

Chocolate Pavlovas with Chocolate Mascarpone Mousse

For this challenge I had to make mascarpone but as you all know In Venezuela the food is scarse, (although more than 100 000 tons of food got rotten in containers and Rotten food containers continue to appear nationwide ...) so it was not a surprise that there was NO real cream, I found vegetable or non diary whipping cream that is very expensive (50.000Bs ) with that you can not try to make mascarpone so I bought cream cheese instead, I wanted guava shells for my dessert but surprise surprise in 6 different stores there were NO guava shells or at least natural guavas to make my own guava shells, fruits are imported now, we do not produce them because we produce petroleum ONLY…but guess what? I had problems baking because the natural gas supply was poor… and later it went off so I had to wait 8 hours to bake……………………….

I hate when this happens because I cannot enjoy my challenge and it was a great recipe, I LOVE pavlova and this was my first chocolate pavlova. Thanks Dawn Nyman from Doable and Delicious, I learnt a lot and it was so so delicious. The recipe here.

Blog-checking lines: 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

Chocolate and peach

5 Minutes Chocolate Mug Make…my way.

5 Minutes Chocolate Mug Cake…my way.

The other day, my nephew wanted to eat “something sweet but not lollipop”, he said. Then the big question came to my mind “What can I do now?” believe me the music of the psycho movie (shower scene) was heard in the kitchen, “What can I do now?” there’s no butter in the hole country so where can I buy butter to make a pound cake? , when things like this happen I tell myself “think fast” and fast the answer came: The 5 minutes mug cake that Mrs. Donna send me. I decided to make some little changes…I made two batches and doubled the amounts of the original recipe, one batch for small cakes and the other for the Latin American three milks dessert but with mocha flavor, imagine this dessert with a bit of rum or coffee liqueur…..only 5 minutes away, SINFUL

8 tablespoons self raising sugar.

8 tablespoons sugar.

4 tablespoons cocoa powder.

2 eggs.

6 tablespoons milk.

6 tablespoons corn oil.

½ teaspoon vanilla extract.

A pinch of salt.

Filling.

Chocolate fudge.

Whipped cream.

1- Mix all dry ingredients.

2- Mix all wet ingredients.

3- Pour 5 tablespoons in each ramekin and microwave for 3 ½ to 4 minutes.

4- Unmold the cakes. When cool, cut in half spread some chocolate fudge on bottom half and place a dollop of whipped cream, place the top half over the whipped cream and press it a bit, decorate with a whipped cream rose on top.

For the mocha version.

250 gr sweetened condensed milk.

1 cup milk.

¾ cup cream.

1 tablespoon instant coffee.

3 tablespoons chocolate chips.

½ teaspoon vanilla extract .

1- Dissolve the instant coffee in the milk and add the chocolate, microwave for 1 minute or until chocolate is melted, add the rest of the ingredients mix well and set aside, as soon as you take the ramekins out of the microwave oven, poke each cake with a fork or wooden stick and pour some mocha mixture into each ramekin. set aside

2- Decorate with whipped cream and pace in the refrigerator until cool.

Polvorosas, the Venezuelan Shortbread.

These cookies are incredibly delicious and if you try one you’ll keep trying…believe me. The name comes from the texture of these cookies, well I do not know how to translate it but it has to do with dust although they are not dusty, they should be named sandy because they are more like wet beach sand… The house smells so good when they are in the oven and they are so delicious especially when you dunk a cookie in hot cocoa, it is so comforting ….

Hum! now I know why the polvorosas are desappearing.

Ingredients.

250 gr vegetable shortening.

70 gr salted butter.

250 gr sugar.

500 gr self raising flour.

1 teaspoon cinnamon.

1 tablespoon vanilla extract.

A pinch of clove.

1- 1- Cream together shortening, butter and sugar with an electric mixer.

2- 2- Add the vanilla and spices.

3- 3- Add 450 gr flour, if the dough is too sticky and the rest of the flour. Let rest for about 20 minutes and make small balls of dough and with a finger or a fork press the center of the cookies. Place them on a greased jelly roll pan and bake 190°C until they are light brown on the bottom.

4- 4- Let them cool on a rack

Notes: you can dust them with icing sugar after baking or decorate them with a cherry before baking. I decorated mine with shredded peanut.

To add the flour: if you have a KA or similar there’s no problem, if you don’t add flour first with a wooden spoon and then knead with your hands.