Fancy Meringues

ummm...how creepy is this?

 This Summer I am taking Pastries, a class that builds on what I learned in Baking Basics.

Out of all the classes I'm taking this Summer this one might be the one I'm enjoying most because it allows for a certainly level of personal creativity.

And, this class more that any other I've taken is exposing me to a wide variety of desserts that I've certainly never tasted and quite often have never even knew existed. Fun!

Recently we had a class that focused on baked aerated desserts.

I signed up to make a chocolate souffle and a plated dessert called "Pink Peppercorn Pavlova with Passion Fruit Curd and Berries."

Chocolate souffles certainly aren't all that exotic but I don't think I had ever eaten on and they are hella difficult to get right.

The most helpful tip I learned while making this souffle is that this is one dessert that should be served wet in the center and to the edges. If the souffle looks like cake, it is over baked.

My addition to this recipe was a vanilla clove creme anglaise.  The souffle recipe called for dark chocolate, orange juice, and orange liqueur for flavoring and I think clove and orange complement one another nicely.

The Pink Peppercorn Pavlova caught my eye because I always like desserts that incorporate  traditionally savory flavors.

The dessert is a free form meringue disk that has ground up pink peppercorns in it. Since it is a pavlova the inside should be chewy not dry/crisp like a traditional baked meringue. 

The curd is made with a passion fruit puree the same way you'd make lemon curd.

The berries were macerated in vanilla, sugar, and aged basalmic vinegar for 20 or 30 minutes.

The pavlova is very sweet and the spiciness of the peppercorns really works well in this dish. The curd added a nice sweet tang and the berries bought some much needed freshness and an additional texture to the dessert.