This past memorial day weekend my family and I got to stay at home, it was such a great weekend, well I should say Monday as my 5 year old spent the whole Sunday puking up and I spent the WHOLE day cleaning and doing washing (laundry) and folding it!! Which was nice for Monday because it was all done, the house nice and clean as well as washing folded and put away (it's like I'm a real housewife?) And we could spend the day hanging out. So we decided to have an impromptu BBQ and I decided to make a summertime English desert from the beautiful
Nigella Lawson courtesy of the
food network. Below is the recipe, but first some step by step pictures!
Seperateing the egg yolks, measuring the balsamic vinegar using my
Anthro measuring cups and chopping the chocolate, I opted for this because my grater is too fine.
Then you beat the egg whites until they form peaks and then slowly add the sugar untill it become stiff and shiny. Then fold in all the other ingredients.
Folding the coco, chocolate and balsamic vinegar
Then you mold the mixture, sort of, onto the backing sheet. It holds okay but you don't want to mess with it too much, I started from the middle and worked outwards, if that's any help?
Left is before bakeing and Right is after... it's okay for it to sink or crack, you can fill it all in with whipped cream! (YUM)
When everything has cooled you whip up the heavy whipping cream, some people like to add sugar, but I think it makes everything way to sweet in this recipe, but to each his own... you can do what ever you like?!
Next dollop on the cream and smooth around and then add the pre-washed fruit, I used raspberries as the recipe called for, but I have had this often with other fruit and it is just as yummy
My hubby thinks he can get away with stealing some of the fruit! Naughty Naughty.
So like I said add the raspberries, I kind of pushed mine right into the cream and then heavily piled them on along with the chocolate
Not only does it look impressive, but it taste really good, just the right mixture of sweet and tart all at the same time!
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I think you guys should try it and email me a picture of the finished product :)
Recipe below...
Ingredients
For the Meringue Base:
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- 6 large egg whites
- 2 cups superfine sugar
- 3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted
- 1 teaspoon balsamic or red wine vinegar
- 2 ounces dark chocolate, finely chopped
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For the Toppings:
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- 2 cups heavy cream
- 4 cups raspberries
- 1 to 2 ounces dark chocolate
Directions
Prepare the pan: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and line a baking sheet with parchment. Draw a 9-inch-diameter circle on the paper with a pencil, tracing a round cake tin that size.
Flip the paper over so your meringue doesn't touch the pencil marks - you'll still be able to see the circle.
Make the meringue: Beat the egg whites with a mixer until satiny peaks form, and then beat in the sugar a spoonful at a time until the meringue is stiff and shiny.
Add the chocolate: Sprinkle the cocoa, vinegar and then the chopped chocolate over the egg whites. Gently fold everything with a rubber spatula until the cocoa is thoroughly mixed in.
Shape the meringue: Secure the parchment to the baking sheet with a dab of meringue under each corner. Mound the meringue onto the parchment within the circle, smoothing the sides and the top with a spatula.
Bake the meringue: Place in the oven, then immediately turn the temperature down to 300 degrees F and cook for one to one and a quarter hours. When it's ready, it should look crisp and dry on top, but when you prod the center you should feel the promise of squidginess beneath your fingers.
Let it cool: Turn off the oven and open the door slightly; let the chocolate meringue disk cool completely in the oven. When you're ready to serve, invert onto a big flat bottomed plate and peel off the parchment.
Decorate the Pavlova: Whisk the cream till thick but still soft and pile it on top of the meringue, then scatter the raspberries on top. Coarsely grate the chocolate haphazardly over the top so that you get curls of chocolate rather than rubble, as you don't want the raspberries' luscious color and form to be obscured. You want the Pavlova to look like a frosted cake.
