Food - Nigella's Chocolate and Raspberry Pavlova
June 04, 2015
I think this has to be my all time favourite Nigella recipe, her famous chocolate and raspberry pavlova. It's super easy too and can be prepared in advance so that it just needs assembling at the last minute. I think a lot of people are put off from making pavlova because of the connotation of meringues being notoriously hard to master. But as long as you follow a couple of golden rules - to make sure that your bowl and whisk are clean {by rinsing in boiling water} and whisk until your have super stiff peaks then you can't really go wrong. And if you do get a few cracks then it's nothing that can't be covered with your cream and fruit. If you think that regular pavlova was good then you have to try this chocolate version.
You can find the recipe on Nigella's website here.
- For the chocolate meringue base
- 6 egg whites
- 300g caster sugar
- 3tbsp cocoa powder, sieved
- 1 tsp balsamic or red wine vinegar
- 50g dark chooclate, finely chopped
for the topping
- 500ml double cream
- 500g raspberries
- dark chocolate to grate or create shavings over the top.
- Preheat your oven to 150c/Gas 4.
- Line a tray with baking parchment, and stick the corners down with some of the meringue mix when made.
- Beat the egg whites in a clean, grease free bowl until satiny peaks form. If you have an electric mixer like a KitchenAid then use it with the whisk attachment. Once the egg whites have become voluminous and start to hold their shape on the whisk then add the sugar a spoonful at a time until the merginue is stiff and shiny.
- Sprinkle over the cocoa, vinegar and chopped chocolate and gently fold in until all is incorporated.
- Mound out onto a baking sheet in a fat circle {approx 23cm in diameter} and gently smooth the sides and top.
- Place in the oven and immeditately turn the temperature down to 150/gas 2. Cook for 1 hour to 1hour and 15. Nigella says that when it's ready it should look crisp around the edges and sides but dry on top, although when prodded you should feel the promise of squidginess beneath your fingers.
- Open the oven door and leave to cool completely in the oven.
- When ready to serve, invert onto a flat bottom plate. Whisk the cream until thick but soft and pile on top of the meringue then scatter over the raspberries. Grate over your chocolate, or create shavings by scraping the back of a big knife down a bar of chocolate, and serve. {I normally make the meringue base a day or two in advance and wrap in cling film. Then when ready to serve whip your cream and add your fruit}
In the past I've always had a big baking tray and just made the regular pavlova but this time I had two smaller baking trays so made two bases, one smaller than the other and stacked on top. It tasted even better with the different layers ! And looked a little OTT but worth a try if you don't have a big enough baking sheet.
Yay for summer berries and yummy pavlovas. What are your favourite puds?
R <3 xx
1 comments
I love this recipe. I've made it several times . Yours look delish!
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