Adele’s Crostoli with Ricotta Cream

From MasterChef Australia: The Cookbook Volume Two, HarperCollins, 2010.

I began this recipe with the intention of making the crostoli but became side tracked and ended up purchasing some ready made. I just made the ricotta cream.

I put 250g ricotta and 75g caster sugar with the zest of an orange into a mixer and beat them until well combined and smooth. Then in went 300ml cream and it was whipped until it had firmed up. Now I folded in 2 tablespoons chopped walnuts, 2 tablespoons chopped dark chocolate and 2 tablespoons chopped preserved ginger. Orange zest was called for but I liked the idea of using ginger. Now a tablespoon Grand Marnier was stirred in.

The crostoli were served with the ricotta cream. While this was a reasonable dessert I would have to say that I didn’t enjoy it over much. The crostoli were fine but the ricotta cream was over rich and somewhat sickly. I didn’t make the crostoli so I wouldn’t rate them but the cream did not go down well with me.

Taste: ✔✔

Ease of cooking: ✔✔✔✔ 

Sarah’s Mango, Strawberry and Toffeed Macadamia Pavlova

From MasteerChef Australia, Volume Two: The Cookbook, HarperCollins, 2010.

Never having made a pavlova before and having four egg whites left over from another dish I thought it was time to give it a go.

The four egg whites went into the beater and were whisked until thick. A cup of caster sugar was now added and it was all beaten until well mixed and thick. Now in went two tablespoons of cornflour and two teaspoons of white vinegar. Again it was whisked. It was now quite thick and glossy.

I lay some baking paper on an oven tray and marked out a circle by tracing around a bread-and-butter plate. It was now a simple matter to pour the mixture onto this and mould it into cake shape.

It went into a 150° oven which was then turned down to 120°. After an hour and twenty minutes the oven was turned off and the pavlova remained in there until it had completely cooled. When I eventually took it out it felt good. It had a firm crust.

It was the wrong time of the year for mangoes so I used a can. The slices were placed on an oven tray, topped with half a cup of chopped macadamia nuts and sprinkled over with about two tablespoons of brown sugar. They went in the oven until the grill until the sugar had caramelised. It was left to get cool.

At serving time a small carton of cream was whisked until thick with about a teaspoon of vanilla paste. It was spread over the top of the pavlova. On the top of this went the mango mixture, some strawberries and blueberries. The recipe called for raspberries but I already had strawberries on hand.

Well, it all turned out to be quite a success and didn’t take long to scoff it all down. The crunchy macadamias were great with the sweet fruits. The pavlova had a firm outside which cracked open to reveal the soft chewy interior. A sweet delight. I think I’ll certainly be making more of these. And I would think it would be even better in mango season.

Taste: ✔✔✔✔✔

Ease of cooking: ✔✔✔