Chocolate Marquise on Meringue - Daring Bakers May 2011

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 recipe has quite a few different parts:
- Chocolate Base
- Chocolate Marquise
- Torched Meringue
- Tequila Caramel
- Spiced Almonds

 ... so you can make the Chocolate Base and Marquise (allowing time for it to freeze at least overnight) and then make the rest when you're going to serve.

I really liked the spice/chocolate/tequila combo although I'd probably suggest going a little lighter on the cayenne in the chocolate base and spiced almonds.

The great thing is that the Chocolate Marquise lasts in the freezer, well wrapped for months, so it's been a handy dessert to pull out of the freezer when needed.  I can also attest to the fact that it'a a great tasting,  easy mid week dessert with a dollop of vanilla ice cream.

What you'll need:
8"x8" square pan
Parchment paper
Stand mixer or a hand mixer and someone to stand over it for 15 – 20 minutes uninterrupted Parchment/wax/baking paper
Whisk
Blowtorch
Saucepan
Sheet pan
Candy thermometer or cake tester (although I didn't have one so I just eye-balled it)
Spatulas for folding, spooning, scraping
Mixing bowls
Plastic wrap

CHOCOLATE BASE
Note:  this is an ingredient for the chocolate marquise, not meant to be used separately

6 oz (170 grams/ ¾ cups) bittersweet chocolate (about 70% cocoa)
¾ cups (180 ml/6 fluid oz.) heavy cream
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon cayenne (I'd probably even go lighter on the cayenne though cause you can definitely taste it in the final product).
1/8 cup (30 ml/ 1 fluid oz.) tequila
1/8 cup (30 ml/ 1 fluid oz.) light corn syrup
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/8 cup (2 tablespoons/less than 1/2 ounce) dutch pressed cocoa powder (do not substitute natural cocoa powder.)
1/16 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 oz unsalted butter (1 tablespoon/15 grams), softened

1. Line the square pan with 2 sheets of baking paper of a generous length so that the baking paper is quite long on the sides (these will be your 'handles' to make it easier to remove the Marquise later).
2. Place the chocolate in a small mixing bowl.
3. 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.
4. Allow it to sit for a minute or two before stirring. Stir until the chocolate is melted completely and is smooth throughout.
5. Add the remaining ingredients and stir to combine.
6. 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. 
7. Whisk it until it is smooth again before using it in the marquise recipe. 

CHOCOLATE MARQUISE
Servings: 9 2"x2" cubes

6 large egg yolks at room temperature
2 large eggs
1/3 cup (75 grams/ 2⅔ oz) sugar
2 tablespoons + 2 teaspoons (1⅓ fluid oz/ 40 ml.) water
Chocolate Base, barely warm (recipe above)
1 cup (8 fluid oz./ 250 ml.) heavy cream
1 cup Dutch process cocoa powder (for dusting)

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.
3. Bring the syrup to a boil and then cook to softball stage (235F/115C). If you have a cake tester with a metal loop for a handle, the right stage for the syrup is reached when you can blow a bubble through the loop. 
4. 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.
5. 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.
6. In a separate mixing bowl, whip the heavy cream to soft peaks. Set aside.
7. 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.
8. Fold 1/3 of the reserved whipped cream into the chocolate mixture to loosen it, and then fold in the remaining whipped cream.  
9. Pour into the prepared pans and cover with plastic wrap (directly touching the mixture so it doesn't allow in any air). 
10. Freeze until very firm, at least 2 - 4 hours (preferably overnight).

TORCHED MERINGUE
Servings: Makes about 1 cup of meringue which is fine for 3 or 4 servings.  Double if needed.

3 large egg whites
1/2 cup less 1 tablespoon (105 ml) (3½ oz or 100 gms) sugar
Splash of apple cider vinegar
1/8 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. Combine the egg whites, sugar and vinegar in the bowl of a stand mixer. 
2. Wash your hands!
3. 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.
4. Over a saucepan of simmering water, warm the egg white mixture. 
5. 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.
6. Remove the mixing bowl from the saucepan and return it to the stand mixer with the whisk attachment.
7. Whisk until you reach soft peaks. In the last 10 seconds of mixing, add the vanilla to the meringue and mix thoroughly.
8. Leave the meringue until your ready to plate.

TEQUILA CARAMEL
Servings: Makes about 1/4 cup of caramel, again good for 3 or 4 servings.

1/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons water
1/4 cup (60 ml.) heavy cream
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 tablespoon tequila

1. In a heavy-bottomed saucepan, combine the sugar and water on medium-high heat. 
2. Boil until the water completely evaporates and the sugar caramelizes to a dark mahogany color.
3. 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.
4. 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. 
5. Gradually, the hard sugar will dissolve and the caramel sauce will continue to darken. 
6. When the caramel has darkened to the point you want it, remove it from the heat. 
7. Add the salt and tequila and stir to combine. 
8. Set aside until ready to serve.

SPICED NUTS
1/2 cup (4 oz.) sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 large egg white
1 cup (145 grams/ 5 oz.) blanched whole almonds

1. Preheat the oven to 350F. 
2. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper or foil.
3. In a small bowl, combine the sugar, cinnamon, cayenne, and salt.
4. In a larger mixing bowl whisk the egg white until it's frothy and thick.
5. Add the spice mix to the egg white and whisk to combine completely.
6. Add the nuts to the egg white mixture and toss with a spoon.
7. Spoon the coated nuts onto the parchment paper-lined baking sheet.
8. Bake the nuts for 30 minutes, or until they turn light brown. 
9. Allow the nuts to cool completely and they will get very crunchy. 
10. Set aside until ready to serve.

When everything is done and you're ready to plate:

1. Spoon the meringue onto a plate and use a blowtorch to broil.
2. Remove the marquise from the freezer ~ 15 minutes before serving.
3. While it's still hard, remove it from the pan by pulling on the baking paper 'handles' or by flipping it over onto another piece of parchment.
4. Cut it into cubes and dust the cubes with cocoa powder.  Note:  handle the cubes as little as possible because they melt, get messy quickly and become difficult to move. However, you want to wait to serve them until they've softened completely.  If you need time to put the plating components together put the cubes in the fridge so they slowly thaw
5. Plate the cubes with the torched meringue.
6. Drizzle over the caramel sauce.
7. Toss the spiced almonds on the plate for garnish.
8. Enjoy the soft, sweet, crunchy, smooth, spicy, cold goodness!