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.
I was really happy when I saw this month's challenge since it is another gluten free recipe selected for the Daring Bakers. It is a fairly involved dessert, but it can be easily broken down in two days of preparation. The marquise and the caramel can be done the day before, but the meringue has to be made right before plating the dessert, and that is one of this dessert flaws in my opinion. As I experimented with the plating for the photo the meringue lost its body and I had to whip it again.
The presentation is really elegant, however the dessert was so sweet that I could only eat one spoonful. This concoction belongs to those desserts that make me want to drink a gallon of water afterwards, not sure why, years of sugar overload? I would have served it without the caramel and the meringue as they are also really sweet. I loved the crunchiness of the sesame brittle but that too was sweet.
The other drawback of this dessert is that it is really difficult to handle once you remove it from the freezer and toss it in cocoa powder, you have to move quickly.
My notes:
*I made the quarter recipe and I had plenty of marquise, again a little goes a long way with this dessert, so with a quarter recipe I got 8 portions.
*I piped the marquise into 6 oz cans I have been saving with both top and bottom removed. Each portion was probably coming up to 2/3 of the can. The frozen marquise came out easily while still frozen.
*I used ground star anise in the marquise, not chili, and I was pleased with the results, but next time I would only add 1 tsp of ground star anise to the chocolate base.
I wish you could smell these flowers, their fragrance is so sweet.*I made the quarter recipe and I had plenty of marquise, again a little goes a long way with this dessert, so with a quarter recipe I got 8 portions.
*I piped the marquise into 6 oz cans I have been saving with both top and bottom removed. Each portion was probably coming up to 2/3 of the can. The frozen marquise came out easily while still frozen.
*I used ground star anise in the marquise, not chili, and I was pleased with the results, but next time I would only add 1 tsp of ground star anise to the chocolate base.
Thank you Emma and Jenny for challenging this month, and to Lisa of La Mia Cucina and Ivonne of Cream Puffs in Venice, the creators of the Daring Bakers' challenge. To see the recipe and more of the daring bakers' creations click here.