Saffron Pavlovas with Mango Curd and Mascarpone Whipped Cream + Giveaway

UPDATE: A winner was selected via a random number generator. Congratulations to Grace from A Southern Grace who won the cookbook!

When I was asked to submit a mango recipe for a cookbook being created by the National Mango Board, I was delighted to do so. Now, you could win a copy of that cookbook! Just leave a comment on this post, and I’ll randomly pick a winner at noon Austin time on Monday June 23rd. (You must provide a US mailing address where the book will be shipped.) In case you don’t win, the recipes from the book are also available online. As I started thinking about what type of recipe to submit for the cookbook, I realized I use mangoes in a lot of different kinds of dishes. I make a Mango Dressing for salad with grilled chicken, there was a Peach and Mango Chutney that was so good with chevre, and I’ve made Flax Coconut Pancakes topped with chunks of mango. But, this time, I wanted to make a dessert. I had visions of a pretty, crunchy meringue filled with sunny, yellow mango curd with slices of mango on top. As usual, I turned to my cookbook collection for inspiration. I remembered a Saffron Pavolova from Demolition Desserts by Elizabeth Falkner, and there’s a Fig Pavlova with Lemon Mascarpone Whipped Cream in Malouf by Greg and Lucy Malouf. I mixed and matched ideas, added my own spin here and there, and the result is what you see here. The saffron turns the egg whites for the meringues a barely golden color. Although, after baking, they look brighter-white. The mango curd looks like lemon curd, but the flavor is softer with less acidity. And, adding mascarpone to whipped cream just makes it even richer tasting. All of those parts were given a fresh pop of fruitiness with the added sliced mango. 

The meringues and mango curd can be made a day in advance, the whipped cream can be made a few hours early, and the dessert can be assembled when ready. For meringues, when I’m using organic granulated sugar, I’ve learned that it needs to be pulverized in a blender or food processor to make the grains finer. Otherwise, the meringues will have a grainy look. So, step one for me is to process the sugar to give it a finer texture. For these meringues, saffron threads were placed in some Champagne vinegar while the rest of the ingredients were assembled. Egg whites were whisked in a stand mixer, sugars were sifted and added slowly, cornstarch was sprinkled over the mixture and mixed in, and last, the saffron-vinegar was carefully folded into the meringue. I transferred the mixture to a piping bag to make circles, but the meringues could also be spooned into pillow shapes. The meringues were baked and left to cool. Next, the mango curd was an easy puree of peeled and chopped mango, sugar, salt, and lemon juice. Egg yolks were added and pureed, and the mixture was strained into a heat-proof bowl. The bowl was set over a saucepan of simmering water, and the puree was whisked while cooking for about 12 to 15 minutes until thickened. Off the heat, butter was added one piece at a time while whisking. The curd was chilled overnight. For the whipped cream, some mascarpone and lemon zest were added to heavy cream before whipping. And, last but not least, more mango was sliced for the topping. 

The saffron adds a lovely layer of flavor that to me is like wildflower honey only slightly different, and it’s a nice pairing with the mango curd nestled in the meringue circles. But, this is just dessert, and there are so many other great uses for mangoes too. Leave a comment for a chance to win the book that’s full of mango dishes for every meal of the day. 

Saffron Pavlovas with Mango Curd and Mascarpone Whipped Cream

Serves 6 

For Meringues: 
1/2 teaspoon saffron threads 
1 teaspoon Champagne vinegar 
1/4 cup granulated sugar *see note if using organic sugar 
1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar 
4 large egg whites 
Pinch of salt 
1 tablespoon cornstarch 

For Mango Curd: 
1 large mango, peeled and cut from pit into cubes 
1/4 cup sugar 
Pinch of salt 
3 tablespoons lemon juice 
4 egg yolks 
4 tablespoons butter, cut into small pieces 

For Mascarpone Whipped Cream: 
1 cup cream 
1/4 cup mascarpone 
Zest of one lemon 
2 tablespoons granulated sugar or to taste
Extra sliced mango for garnish 

TO MAKE MERINGUES Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper and draw six four-inch circles on the parchment. Turn the parchment over so the pencil marks are on the back. Pre-heat the oven to 200 degrees F. 

Place the saffron threads in a small bowl or ramekin, and add the vinegar. Press the threads with a spoon and swirl them into the vinegar, and then set aside. Sift together the granulated sugar and powdered sugar in a separate bowl. In a large mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, add egg whites and salt. Beat egg whites on medium speed with a whisk attachment for about three minutes. Soft peaks should just begin to form. Slowly sprinkle the combined sugars over the egg whites while continuing to mix. Turn the mixing speed to high and whip for three to five minutes. The egg whites will form stiff peaks and become glossy. Sprinkle the cornstarch over the egg whites and mix just to combine. Using a large rubber or silicone spatula, fold in the saffron-vinegar mixture. 

Transfer the meringue mixture to a large piping bag fitted with a wide tip or place meringue mixture in a large plastic storage bag and snip off one corner. Pipe circular meringue shapes in the circles drawn on the parchment paper. If you’d rather not use a piping bag, the meringue can be spooned into pillow shapes on the parchment-lined baking sheet. If using a spoon, make an indentation in each meringue pillow. 

Bake the meringues for two hours. Then, turn off the oven without opening it, and leave the meringues in the oven for an additional four hours or overnight. Transfer the baking sheet to a cooling rack and leave meringues until completely dry. Meringues can be stored at room temperature in an airtight container for a few days, but humidity can cause them to become sticky. 

*Organic, granulated sugar tends to be of a larger grain than conventional granulated sugar, and this produces meringues with a grainy texture. You can reduce the grain size of the sugar by processing it in a blender or food processor. The sugar doesn’t need to be processed to the point of becoming powdered sugar, it just needs to be processed until the grain feels more fine in texture. 

TO MAKE MANGO CURD: Place mango chunks, sugar, salt, and lemon juice in a blender and process until smooth, scraping down sides of blender pitcher as needed. Add egg yolks to blender and puree for another 15 seconds. Pour puree through a sieve to strain. Place strained puree in a heat-proof bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water, and whisk constantly until thickened, about 12-15 minutes. Remove the bowl from the saucepan, and add butter one piece at a time while continuing to whisk. Incorporate each piece of butter before adding the next piece. Cover bowl with plastic wrap pressed directly on the surface of the mango curd, and chill the curd before using. The mango curd can be stored in the refrigerator for up to one week. 

TO MAKE MASCARPONE WHIPPED CREAM: Place all ingredients for the mascarpone whipped cream in a mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer and mix with a whisk or whisk attachment until thickened. 

TO ASSEMBLE: Place meringues on dessert plates. Spoon mango curd into center of each meringue and top with mascarpone whipped cream. Garnish each plate with sliced mango. 

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Frozen Green Tea Souffles

I’m not good at catching trends at the right time. I procrastinate, let the hype fade, and finally try the whatever-it-is when it’s not even cool anymore. For instance, I still haven’t tried a cronut. In the case of this recipe, my timing was off by decades for one trend and several years for the other. I pulled this out of my files, and it became a contender for dessert for New Year’s. I ended up making ice cream for that occasion, and this sat in a stack of recipes that I was thinking about for days and then weeks. I didn’t want to file it away again without giving it a try, so it found its way onto a menu right around Lunar New Year which was kind of appropriate. It’s made with matcha green tea, and that was such a trendy ingredient in desserts eight or nine years ago. I used to see green tea shortbread, green tea ice cream, and green tea cakes all over the place. The other no-longer-trendy ingredient in this dessert is a bit retro. Creme de menthe is used, and I want to say that’s a 70s thing. I have considered making grasshopper pie with creme de menthe but never actually did it. Yet. This recipe for Frozen Green Tea Souffles is from the May 2006 issue of Living magazine, and it’s available online. Little cups are over-filled with the airy and fluffy mixture and left to firm up in the freezer. They’re called frozen souffles, but they’re really more like frozen mousse since egg yolks are used rather than whites. Regardless of what they’re called and what time they belong to, they were delicious. 

I used small espresso cups for serving, but any little ramekin or cup will work. Keeping the serving size small is a good idea since these are more decadent than they look. Parchment paper was cut to size, wrapped around each cup, and secured with tape. Meanwhile, boiling water was added to a tablespoon of matcha tea, stirred together, and then refrigerated until cool. Next, sugar, egg yolks, and the cooled tea mixture were combined in the bowl of a stand mixer. That bowl was set over a pan of simmering water, and the contents were whisked for eight minutes. The bowl was then moved to the mixer, and the whisk attachment was used to lighten and cool the mixture. The last component is the whipped cream which was made with a tablespoon of creme de menthe. I whipped the cream in a separate bowl with a hand mixer and then folded the whipped cream into the egg yolk mixture. Although I used clear creme de menthe with no food coloring added, the dessert was still a nice shade of green from the tea. It was divided among the prepared cups, and the cups were placed in the freezer for at least four hours. The texture of the dessert improves if it’s left at room temperature for a few minutes before serving. And, it was garnished with a dusting of matcha. 

I had a slight concern heading into this that the mint flavor would overpower that of the delicate tea. Happily, I was wrong about that. There was just enough mint to know it was there, but the flavor of the tea wasn’t lost at all. It was a nice mix of the two in this light-as-air dessert. Being late to food trends isn’t so bad when the flavor stands the test of time. 

Dark and Stormy Fresh Ginger Gingerbread

On a day when I wanted to make dessert but didn’t want it to be an all-day project, this was the perfect cake. It’s from Sinfully Easy Delicious Desserts which is full of great desserts that don’t take all day to make. I was drawn to the idea of a quick gingerbread made with fresh ginger, and the variation suggested in the side-bar sealed the deal. That variation was to replace some of the water in the recipe with dark rum to match the flavors in a Dark and Stormy cocktail. So, not only was this cake whipped up in record time by mixing everything in a food processor, adding a little Gosling’s Black Seal rum took me back to that pretty, pink sand and that sparkling, blue water of Bermuda on a January day. Alice Medrich also offers all sorts of great ideas for garnishing desserts, and there’s even a page of “Things to do with gingerbread” that lists accompaniments like lemon whipped cream, dessert chutney, and fruits in syrup. Sticking with the Dark and Stormy theme, I topped mine with grated lime zest and poured a little more rum over the mascarpone whipped cream. 

The only slightly time-consuming task here was peeling some fresh ginger. You need to peel and slice enough to fill one-half cup. Then, the fresh ginger was finely minced in the food processor. Next, brown sugar, cinnamon, ground dried ginger, allspice, cardamom, salt, molasses, butter, an egg, rum, water, flour, and baking soda were added. In all of about 15 seconds, the batter was done. The cake baked in an eight-inch square pan for about 30 minutes. I whipped mascarpone and cream with a scant bit of sugar and washed a lime for zesting. Once the cake was cool, it was ready to be topped with the lime zest, some whipped cream, and a drizzle of more black rum. 

Ginger and molasses have become a couple of my favorite ingredients in recent years, and they’re especially good in the wintertime. They’re also quite good with the flavor of rum. Admittedly, our winter hasn’t been too harrowing, but still, a dessert that brought back memories of Bermuda was a welcome idea.

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Sticky Toffee Pudding

I always assumed there was a complicated secret to making sticky toffee pudding. I had never attempted it and was sure it would be messy and annoying to prepare. But, this is exactly the kind of dessert I love: a tender cake with chewy dates, a buttery toffee caramel sauce, and some whipped cream for serving. It also happens to be a classic dessert for colder weather since the cake and sauce are served warm. I decided to throw caution to the wind and give it a try for Christmas dinner, and now I’m wondering why I thought this was going to be so difficult. The cakes are easy to make in ramekins. The sauce was a simple mix of ingredients that simmered on top of the stove. And, whipping cream and toasting walnuts for garnish isn’t too hard to do. The recipe I used is from Lost Desserts by Gail Monaghan. Some of the desserts in the book are less lost than others. There are things I’d never encountered before like Siedel Torte, Pruneaux au Pichet, and Crepes Verlaine. Then, there are more familiar although somewhat old fashioned things like Carrot Cake, Baked Alaska, and Schrafft’s Famous Butterscotch Sundae. I’m certain that sticky toffee pudding isn’t one that’s lost because I ordered a delicious version of it at King’s Highway at the Ace Hotel in Palm Springs last May. I guess that was also proof that it doesn’t have to be served in cold weather. At any rate, it does make an excellent dessert for Christmas or any other special wintertime meal.

To start the cakes, or puddings, you chop the dates and remove the pits as you go. They were then covered with boiling water, and vanilla, instant espresso powder, and baking soda were added. Eight ramekins were buttered and the oven was preheated. In a stand mixer, softened butter and granulated sugar were creamed, and eggs were added. Flour and baking powder were sifted together and slowly added to the egg mixture while mixing. Last, the date mixture was folded into the batter, the batter was divided among the ramekins, and the puddings baked for 20 minutes. The cooled puddings were removed from the ramekins and stored on parchment in an airtight container. They can be made in advance and refrigerated or even frozen. For the sauce, brown sugar, butter, salt, and cream were combined in a saucepan and brought to a simmer. Once the sugar was dissolved and the sauce thickened a bit, it was ready. This step could also be done in advance, and the sauce can be refrigerated and reheated just before serving. When it was time for dessert, the broiler was set to high. The puddings were placed on a baking sheet and topped with some of the sauce. The sheet pan was placed several inches under the broiler, and the puddings were warmed until the sauce was bubbly. The puddings were transferred to serving plates, topped with more sauce, and garnished with whipped cream and toasted walnuts. 

Obviously, I was delighted with this dessert and could have eaten the sauce by itself with a spoon, but still, there seemed to be not quite enough sauce since I ended up making a second batch to serve with the leftover puddings the next day. This is no place to skimp on buttery, caramel sauce. And, I’m delighted to find out how wrong I was about making them. They’re easy enough to whip up again whenever I want. 

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Ambrosia with White Chocolate Whipped Cream

When you think of Southern food, a few classic dishes like biscuits, chicken and dumplings, pimento cheese, and shrimp and grits always come to mind. A new book called Quick-Fix Southern by Rebecca Lang sets out to make those classics and several new dishes doable when time is lacking. I received a review copy of this book, and in it I found recipes for snacking, picnics, salads, parties, casseroles, and of course, Southern sweets. There are cooking tips like chopping greens into thin ribbons to speed up cooking time or cooking everything for shrimp and grits together in the oven instead of separately on top of the stove to reduce active time. And, there are some classics like fried green tomatoes and okra fritters that don’t take long to prepare anyway. Beyond the Southern classics, there are also dishes like catfish tacos, warm curried fruit, and a key lime martini. When I got to the sweets chapter, I was drawn to the ambrosia since citrus is still in season. It’s a simple salad with supremed ruby red grapefruit and navel oranges, pineapple chunks, and a layer of whipped cream.

In the book, the ambrosia is composed as a trifle, but I served it in individual portions. I also took the liberty of garnishing with pomegranate seeds because I still had a couple of homegrown, tiny pomegranates on hand. I have a dwarf pomegranate shrub which actually produced fruits, albeit very small fruits, this year, and those fruits were packed with delightful seeds. So, to begin making this dessert, fresh pineapple was cut into chunks, and navel oranges and red grapefruits were cut into segments. The fruits were placed in a sieve and allowed to drain. Be sure to save the juice that collects for another use or mix it with a little vodka for a quick cocktail. Next, white chocolate was melted and allowed to cool, and cream was whipped. There was no added sugar as the white chocolate added just enough sweetness to the cream. The whipped cream was whisked into the melted white chocolate in two steps, and then it was time to layer it with the mixed fruits.

Coconut usually makes an appearance in ambrosia, and I missed it here a little. Some freshly grated coconut pieces that had been toasted would have been a nice addition, but that would have made this a slightly more complicated and time-consuming dish. As it was, there were certainly no complaints. The layers of fruit and rich, white chocolate whipped cream made for a Southern-style dessert full of fresh flavors with just enough decadence.

Green Chocolate Mousse

There are so many great food blogs out there that I visit regularly and that always make me hungry. One in particular that never fails to inspire is Delicious Days. I recently bought a copy of Nicole Stich's book which was released in 2008, also called Delicious Days, and I hear she's working on a second book now. Just like the blog, the book is full of beautiful photos and delectable and varied food. This green chocolate mousse is from the "sweet and irresistible" chapter where I've just marked the coffee power, coffee-topped panna cotta, to try next. The green part of the mousse is obviously the green fruit that crowns the top, but there's also a secret green ingredient hidden in the mousse itself that adds a subtle uniqueness. Extra virgin olive oil is the secret, and you would probably never guess that that's what gives the mousse a little special touch. One more element of the dessert which added sweetness and texture was chopped pieces of pine nut brittle that were sprinkled over the fruit.

I used a bar of El Rey chocolate with about 70 percent cacao, and it was chopped into chunks and melted in a double boiler. Once melted, the olive oil was stirred into the chocolate. The brittle was a simple affair of caramelized sugar to which pine nuts were added and that was poured into a flat layer and left to cool. The mousse was finished in the traditional way by adding egg yolks that had been whisked with sugar although it was raw cane sugar in this case. The egg whites were beaten until stiff with regular granulated sugar. And, last, cream was whipped. That does require three small mixing bowls, but you can use a hand mixer for the egg whites and then move it directly into the cream. You don't want to go the other way because any fat from the cream will prevent the egg whites from reaching their full volume. With everything whipped and ready, the egg yolks were added to the chocolate first, then the egg whites were folded in, and that was followed by folding in the whipped cream. The mousse was portioned into individual cups and refrigerated, and just before serving, a green apple, pear, a kiwi, and some grapes were chopped to go on top followed by broken bits of brittle.

The rich and chocolaty mousse was a divine dessert, and I found complete bliss just in licking the spoons and bowls while making it. However, the fruit and brittle topping took it to another level. The fresh, crisp flavors of the green fruits were a nice contrast to the rich, creamy layer below, and the nuts and caramel of the brittle brought sweetness and serious crunch. This is going to be a fun book to continue cooking through, and I'm already curious about what the next one will hold.

Mocha Sherbet Freeze

I spotted this sherbet on Saveur.com the other day, and it seemed like a very good antidote to our unrelenting August heat. I was ogling the frothy, icy, chocolaty beverage and wishing I had a glass of it in my hand when Cowgirl Chef all but dared me to go ahead and make it. So, I did. The recipe is also found in The Perfect Scoop, and since it’s a sherbet, it’s not terribly decadent. It’s made with espresso, cocoa powder, and milk. Once the sherbet has been churned in an ice cream maker and then left in the freezer to firm up, it’s then blended into a slurpingly good mocha freeze and topped with whipped cream making it a little more decadent than how it started. I made one change to the blended beverage by adding some Kahlua, and it did help alleviate the hot weather at least until my glass was empty.

I have to tell you a little more about the whipped cream garnish. I received a creative whip from iSi North America which makes whipping cream a very fast operation. I added a couple of teaspoons of sugar to a small container of cream, closed the top and shook the container to dissolve the sugar, and then poured the cream into the creative whip which is charged with nitrous oxide. You shake the creative whip canister a few times, and then pull the trigger for thick, whipped cream. That was so much easier than whisking for several minutes or pulling out the mixer. Obviously, you could use this tool for all kinds of creative foams or meringues, but I was thrilled to simply have effortless whipped cream on my mocha freeze. As I mentioned, I added some Kahlua. To make the freeze, you combine scoops of the sherbet with ice cubes and more espresso in a blender pitcher. I used half the suggested amount of espresso and half Kahlua. It was blended until smooth, whipped cream was piped onto it, and chopped chocolate-covered espresso beans were sprinkled on top.

Coffee and chocolate are great year-round, and in a frozen format, this fit perfectly with my criteria for summer desserts. It was cold, not heavy, and flavorful without being too sweet. Scoops of the sherbet all by itself were delicious too, but the blended beverage was a special treat.

Fresh Coconut Mousse Cake

This is the cake Kurt chose for his birthday this year. It wasn’t just any birthday, so the cake needed to be a little special. This cake was made to celebrate Kurt’s 40th birthday. We actually did quite a lot of celebrating for this momentous, milestone of a birthday. We spent a long weekend in Las Vegas and indulged in several incredible meals. Sure, there was a little gambling and we were there for Super Bowl weekend, but all those interesting restaurants in such close proximity to one another was the highlight for me. I’ve included descriptions of our meals and links to the restaurants on facebook. You can read all about it and even become a fan if you’d like while you’re there. So, after returning home, I baked this festive cake and the celebration continued. The cake is found in The Greyston Bakery Cookbook. With freshly grated coconut and coconut mousse between the layers and as frosting, I was pretty sure this was going to be good.

In the book, it’s presented as a three-layer, eight inch cake. I made two nine-inch layers instead. The cake itself is very straightforward, and the batter is made with flour, baking powder, salt, egg yolks, sugar, melted butter, milk, and vanilla extract. There was supposed to have been some coconut extract which I wasn’t able to locate, so I used coconut milk instead of cow’s milk. Maybe I should have tried a baking specialty store to find coconut extract because it was nowhere to be found at Central Market, Whole Foods, Williams Sonoma, or Sur la Table. The coconut milk was a fine substitution, and once the batter was mixed, egg whites beaten to a state of stiff peaks were folded into it. The cakes baked for about 30 minutes and were cooled. Don’t skip the parchment rounds in the pans before pouring in the batter, because these cakes were not the easiest to remove. While the cakes cooled, a very simple mousse was made with just heavy cream, confectioner’s sugar, vanilla, and freshly grated coconut. Again, there should have been some coconut extract, but I skipped it. The recipe suggests using two coconuts worth of gratings for the mousse and for decorating the cake, but I used one and had plenty. I grated the coconut finely for the mousse. Then, for the outside of the cake, I grated larger pieces of coconut and toasted them in a 400 F oven for eight minutes or so. I liked the look of the toasted coconut, and the nutty flavor and crisper texture of it were nice too.

I was a little worried the whipped cream mousse may not hold up well in the refrigerator after a day or so, but I was completely wrong about that. The cake survived well for four days with no running mousse at all. In fact, it was still light, airy, tender, and delicious right to the end. The coconut extract may have given it even more flavor, but as it was, it didn’t seem lacking to me. Kurt was happy with his birthday cake, and hopefully that’s not just because he’s so old he doesn’t even know what he’s eating anymore.