Sunday, June 27, 2010

CHOCOLATE PAVLOVAS - DARING BAKERS

The summer solstice has just passed and July is close. I can't believe that half of the year has already flyed by... And once again, the end of the month is the time when we are asked to share our Daring Bakers' creations with the rest of the world. It is just insane to see how time goes by and how many challenges I have already completed (33) since I started in October 2007.

The June 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was ho
sted by Dawn of "Doable and Delicious" who 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.

Although I am generally prone to be a little stressed and psyched out by the things we have to bake, this challenge didn't make me panicky. On the contrary, I felt comfortable with it and totally confident when it came to executing the recipe given. The reason for my unusual confidence is that I have made meringue, chocolate mousse, crème anglaise and mascarpone more than once and I felt totally at ease with the process of making all the components of the "Chocolate Pavlovas". No big deal!

As a matter of fact, my "Chocolate Pavlovas" were made in a very relaxed atmosphere. The meringue shells were baked in whiz a few days before I prepared the rest of the elements composing this dessert. Then, on Friday, while listening to my favorite music I very cooly got the challenge finished...

I didn't change much to the original recipe. Instead of flavoring the chocolate mousse with lemon zest and nutmeg, I decided to add some ground tonka (bean) instead and as I had no Sambucca for the crème anglaise, I replaced it with good ol' Whisky.

Those "Chocolate Pavlovas" looked very cute and tasted just
exquisite. Contrarily to what I believed at first they were really not too sweet and absolutely not cloying. In fact, this dessert is really refined. The meringue shells have a exhaliratingly deep taste of cocoa, the chocolate mousse is not sugary at all, light, smooth, delicate lusciously chocolaty, and the crème anglaise gives just the right flavor contrast with it's voluptuous aromas of vanilla and whisky. Just splendid.

I wish to thanks Dawn for having chosen that divine. This recipe is definitely a keeper!

~ Chocolate Pavlovas ~
Recipe from Francois Payard's "Chocolate Epiphany".

Preparation time:

The recipe can be made in one day althoug
h there are several steps involved.
While the pavlovas are baking, the crème anglaise should be mad
e which will take about 15 minutes.
While it is cooling, the chocolate mascarpone mousse can be made which will take about 15 minutes.
There will be a bit of a wait time for the mascarpone cream because of
the cooling time for the Crème Anglaise.
If you make the Crème Anglaise the day before, the dessert should take about 2 hours including cooking time for the pavlovas.


Equipment required:

• Baking sheet(s) with parchment or silpat

• Several bowls
• Piping bag with pastry tip

• Hand or stand mixer

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


CHOCOLATE MERINGUE

Ingredients:
3 Large egg whites
1/2 Cup plus 1 Tbs (110g) White granulated sugar

1/4 Cup (30g) Confectioner’s (icing) sugar
1/3 Cup (30g) Cocoa powder

Method:
1. Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 200º F (95º C) degrees.
2. Line two baking sheets with silpat or parchment and set aside.

3. Put the egg whites in a bowl and whip until soft peaks form.
4. Increase speed to high and gradually add granulated sugar about 1 tbsp at a
time until stiff peaks form. (The whites should be firm but moist.)
5. Sift the confectioner’s sugar and cocoa powder over the egg whites and fold the dry ingredients into the white. (This looks like it will not happen. Fold gently and it will eventually come together.)

6. 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!)
7. Bake for 2-3 hours until the meringues become dry and crisp.
8. Cool and store in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


CHOCOLATE MASCARPONE MOUSSE

Ingredients
:
1 1/2 Cups (355ml) Heavy cream (cream with a milk fat content of between 36 and 40 %)
9 Ounces (255g) 72% Chocolate, chopped
1 2/3 Cups (390ml) Mascarpone (homemade version here)
1/3 Tsp Ground tonka bean

Directions:
1. Put 1/2 cup (120 mls) of the heavy cream an
d the ground tonka bean in a saucepan over medium high heat.
2. Once warm, add the chocolate and whisk until melted and smooth.
3. Transfer the mixture to a bowl and let sit at room temperature until cool.
4. Place the mascarpone and the remaining cup of cream in a bowl.
5. Whip on low for a minute until the mascarpone is loose, then
whip on medium speed until it holds soft peaks. (DO NOT OVERBEAT AS THE MASCARPONE WILL BREAK.)
6. Mix about 1/4 of the mascarpone mixture into the chocolate to lighten.
7. Fold in the remaining mascarpone until well incorporated.
8. Fill a pastry bag with the mousse. ( Again,
you could just free form mousse on top of the pavlova.)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


MASCARPONE CREAM

Ingredients:
1 Recipe Crème anglaise
(see recipe below)
1/2 Cup (120ml) Mascarpone (homemade version here)
2 Tbs (30ml) Whisky
1/2 Cup (120ml) Heavy cream

Method:
1. Prepare the crème anglaise.
2. Slowly whisk in the mascarpone and the Whisky a
nd let the mixture cool.
3. Put the cream in a bowl and beat with electric mixer until very soft peaks are
formed.
4. Fold the cream into the mascarpone mixture.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


CRÈME ANGLAISE

Ingredients:
1 Cup (235ml) Whole milk
1 Cup (235ml) Heavy cream
1 Vanilla bean, split or 1 Tsp Pure vanilla extract

6 Large egg yolks
6 Tbs (75 g) Sugar

Method:
1. In a bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and sugar until the mix
ture turns pale yellow.
2. Combine the milk, cream and vanilla in a saucepan over medium high hea
t, bringing the mixture to a boil. Take off the heat.
3. Pour about 1/2 cup of the hot liquid into the yolk mixture, whisking constantly to keep from making scrambled eggs.

4. Pour the yolk mixture into the pan with the remaining cream mixture and put the heat back on medium.
5. Stir constantly with a wooden spoon until the mixture thickens enough to lightly coat the back of a wooden spoon. (DO NOT OVERCOOK.)
6. Remove the mixture from the heat and strain it through a fine mesh sieve into a bowl.
7. Cover and refrigerate until the mixture is thor
oughly chilled, about 2 hours or overnight.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


ASSEMBLY

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.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Etant donné la longueur du texte original, je n'ai malheureusement pas pu faire une traduction française de ce billet et je m'en excuse auprès de tous mes amis lecteurs et blogueurs francophones!

C'est pourquoi je vous suggère de vous rendre sur le blog mentionné ci-dessous. Vous y trouverez cette recette en version française.

Chez Isa de "Les Gourmandises d'Isa" (Canada)
Chez Vibi de "La Casserole Carrée" (Canada)

106 comments:

  1. Great flavor choice for the merengue!

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  2. Looks great and I love the pics with the flowers.

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  3. Love...love this challenge you participated in...with of course your excellent signature of screaming creativity.
    The gorgeous accompanying flowers to me symbolized what portrayed in these pastries.
    Molta Brava Rosa!!! They look absolutely sublime ;o)
    Alright, now I'm off going to find out what a Tonka bean is?
    Very inspiring baking indeed.
    Flavourful wishes,
    Claudia

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  4. It's beautiful, Rosa! and I love the presentation with the flower photos.

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  5. This chocolate pavlova looks delightful...a great idea Rosa!

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  6. Just can't take my eyes out from the lovely looking flowers and yummy pavlovas, looks so delicious with chocolate mousse on top.

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  7. This looks delciious Rosa - and I love the sprinkles on top.

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  8. Gorgeous pavlova and beautiful flowers too Rosa.

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  9. What amazing photographs you have Rosa and everything looks so perfect and as you say an exquisite results it is nice on the odd occasion to have a challenge where every is familiar. Cheers from Audax in Sydney Australia.

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  10. Les photos sont superbes Rosa :)
    Ce n'était pas un défi compliqué mais c'était vraiment très bon !

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  11. I am so in awe of you daring bakers who churn out these luscious desserts on command. What are those little beady things that look so pretty decorated the meringues?

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  12. This is one grand dish... the rich marscarpone and the meringues are such a lovely pairing.. YUM!! I think the whiskey is a great idea!

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  13. Never had chocolate Pavlova before. Looks great.

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  14. Excelent job Rosa and so glad you were not stressed:D

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  15. That's a lot of work! Looks very pretty!

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  16. Heavenly is absolutety the right word for your pavlovas! They look wonderful!

    Greetings,
    Tiina

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  17. Luscious dessert,all the elements look perfectly done :D

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  18. Beautiful pavlovas, great falvours and amazing photos! All in all a great job!

    Slàinte! Anula.

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  19. Great job, looks absolutely gorgeous.

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  20. Decadent, delicious and divine. well done indeed Rosa! Your pavs are gorgeous!

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  21. Just delicious, Zorra! I love the final presentation. I can't believe it's been 33 challenges for you!!! Wow!!!

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  22. Ciao Rosa ! Great pavlova ! I love all of your photos !!

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  23. Rosa, these are decadent and delicious...would love one now!

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  24. Oh, Rosa! Your chocolate pavlovas look fabulous. Great plating and photography.

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  25. Rosa,
    Your pavlova looks really delicous and beautiful.

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  26. I recently made white chocolate mascarpone mousse and that was outstanding so I am sure a classic chocolate version paired with pavlova would be a sure winner! Your photos look so beautiful, as usual. :)

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  27. It does look heavenly! Also, devilishly delicious!!

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  28. Hi Rosa,
    Your pavlova looks so scrumptious and delicious. Amazing choice and wonderful participation!!
    Hope you are having a lovely Sunday,
    Lia.

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  29. I love the addition of the tonka beans, your pavlova looks so delicious :)

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  30. Looks so so beautiful and creamy, love the balls deco on top.

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  31. Very creative twist to the old favourite! :)

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  32. I've never heard of tonka before, but they go perfectly with your pavlovas. THey look amazing, and great photography and picture-pairing!

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  33. Your photos seem to get better and better and look so professional. Congrats on the challenge, everything looks perfect and using whisky sounds like a great idea.

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  34. I've never had chocoalte pavolvas, I'm dying to make them! They look perfect Rosa!

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  35. Beautiful photos!! Your pavlovas look georgous and delicious. Nice job on the challenge.

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  36. Wonderful job on the challenge. Your pavlovas look so amazing :)

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  37. Wow u have done so well..the clicks are gorgeous too...Nice job.

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  38. You did splendid job on the meringue Rosa. They are beautiful!

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  39. Wow! Nice job on the challenge, and all your photography along the way :)

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  40. Awesome recipe and amazing pics. I am drooling here.

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  41. 33 challenges you are a DB goddess. Your photography is amazing, a feast for the eyes!

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  42. Once more... Deine Pavlovas sind die Schönsten.

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  43. I love your range of images here and also how unctous your mousse looks. Make me wanna dive right in. I agree with you, I was pleased at the balance of sweetness with this recipe. And I also agree with how easy it was given that I also have made most of elements before.

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  44. Excellent job! Your pavlova looks delightful!

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  45. terrible !
    toujours aussi terrible chez t !
    comment résister ?
    hummmmmm !
    merci pour cette recette

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  46. I, too, felt very comfortable with this challenge. I also played music while making the mascarpone and the mousse.

    Anyway, you did an amazing job on this challenge. I love the one you made with the squiggly line. That's so cute! I've never heard of those Tonka beans. I will have to look into those. Great job again!

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  47. looks absolutely wonderful rosa!
    well done!

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  48. Wow, impressionnant. C'est pas trop mon truc mais c'est de toute beaute.

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  49. les pavlovas au chocolat sont mes les seules dont je rafolle et tes photos me font carrément BAVER!

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  50. Gorgeous presentation! It's a perfect dessert to enjoy on a hot summer day! Especially like the idea of topping with crème anglaise...

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  51. Très jolie pavlova!
    Avec la crème anglaise en plus ce doit etre excellent!

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  52. Wow, 33 challenges! This was my first, fun!. Yours looks fabulous!

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  53. Stunning! I first had Tonka Beans when I was with Helen (Tartelette) and she sent me home with a few. love them! Sadly, haven't had them since. This looks delish!

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  54. Gorgeous pavlovas! Great job on the challenge!

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  55. beautiful photos...
    http://biscottirosaetralala.blogspot.com

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  56. You had my mouth..open looks so delicious ..Wow! lovely :)

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  57. Beautiful! I want to have a bite!

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  58. Oh Rosa, so beautiful...one nicer than the other...great great pictures!

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  59. Oooooh, bellissima ricetta e bellissimo dolce!!!! Complimenti!
    Un bacione

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  60. Great job! I like the little chocolate balls you used to decorate them.

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  61. CIAO CHOW LINDA: Thanks! They are chocolate sprinkles (cereal ball covered with chocolate)...

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  62. Heavenly is a good way to describe these! I've never made a flavored meringue, and the cocoa sounds delicious.

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  63. Rosa your photographs brighten my day.

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  64. That Mousse & mascarpone, looks so amazing and devine! Ahh I can't wait to try it tonight...however, ground tonka bean? I'm not sure what that is...

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  65. Love your photos with your delicious pavlovas! As always, brilliant!

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  66. Homemade mascrpone! Wow - I'm going to have to look into that one. Your Pavlovas look elegant and scrumptious. Time for chocolate ;P

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  67. the flowers are so beautiful and the chocolate pavlovas look cloudlike and delicious... especially drizzled with creamy sauce!

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  68. Yes, totally agree with you regarding the liking for the deep taste of cocoa in the meringue. And if you haven't mentioned it, I like to add I was so overwhelmed with the lemon (or in my case, lime) zest flavor in the mousse!

    These flower shots just brightened up my day, thanks!

    Sawadee from Bangkok,
    Kris

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  69. Les photos sont un suplice. Encore une fois, tu relèves les défis les doigts dans le nez. Il faudrait que je teste les meringues aux chocolats. C'est vraiment un dessert d'été le pavlova.

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  70. how wise of you to take your time and spread things out over a few days. rushed, stressful baking is never fun. great results!

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  71. Rosa, your pavlova looks delicious; love the photos too :-)

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  72. Wonderful pavlovas! Great flavor choice for the meringue. Lovely!

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  73. Marvelous, Rosa! Such a delicious, dessert. It looks divine. (Is there anything better than creme anglaise? I could eat a bowl of it!)
    I love your photos...food among the flowers!

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  74. Hi sweetheart,
    this looks mouthwatering gorgeous!!!

    love the idea of using mascarpone cheese in this recipe, I have two tubs of it in my fridge wondering what to do with it. Now I know! thanks.
    great photos, too. :)

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  75. If only I could make something so lovely, delicious, and gorgeous. Excellent work!

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  76. wow rosa this sweet treat looks heavenly, and the presentation is beautiful...great job

    sweetlife

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  77. How nice to bake peacefully, without stressing, Rosa. :-) You did a splendid job and I absolutely love the little flower pictures you sprinkled throughout. So cheery and pretty. :-)

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  78. Yes, half a year has flown by already. Time sure zooms by this year. I love chocolate mouse. As a matter of fact, one of my fave cakes is double chocolate mouse at our local French baker. I think they're French. The Chocolate Pavlovas sound delicious! And not too sweet? That's even better.

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  79. Ouah, tes photos sont à croquer! ;)
    Bravo pour cette jolie présentation!
    Bisous & Bonne journée

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  80. Your photos are completely breathtaking! Fantastic job...

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  81. bravo! You ahd it done with perfection, just love your pavlova! mine turn out really funny the other day, the blue colour turn out grey atfer visiting the oven! it was a laugh! yellow turned orangy brown! my little niece went totally freak out and we all had a laugh! :)

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  82. Tes photos sont magnifiques et bien savoureuses!!

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  83. I like the flavor you chose too...what a wonderful dessert you made...
    Great pictures, I like your style...
    I'd like to participate to daring bakers too, it seems so funny, but I'm too busy right now, maybe one day, when I will learn to organize myself ^_^

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  84. Oh my WORD - don't those look incredible?? Clearly the product of an evil genus mins - so much deliciousness in one dish :) Thanks for sharing!

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  85. Awesome pictures :) Decadent is the only word that comes to mind seeing your pavs :)

    cheers,
    The Variable, Crazy Over Desserts - Nachiketa
    Catch me on facebook @ Crazy Over Desserts

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  86. :o
    well done


    http://www.bakingwithfrench.blogspot.com

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  87. Rosa, what lovely and delicious look the pavlova I love it! xx gloria

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  88. Rosa..gorgeous pavlovas!! Impeccable piping..so beautiful and your photos are just spectacular!

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  89. eautiful blog...photogaphy...recipes...a feast for the eye!
    ronelle

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  90. hey Rosa,

    your pav looks realy yummy i would like to have all.

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  91. Chocolate upon more chocolate. It doesn't get better than that!

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  92. Hi Rosie, this is heavenly as you say!!!!

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  93. Tu as l'art de nous tenter avec tes incroyables photos:))

    Bon week-end Rosa!!xxx

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  94. Wow, this looks absolutely amazing and so much fun to assemble.

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  95. Great job on the challenge!!

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  96. Never made pavlovas but they are on my long bakery list. They really good superb and that mascarpone cream just divine, love it. Thanks for the post, nice picts by the way my sister used to live in Geneva, beautiful...

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