Chocolate Pavlova Topped with Strawberries and Whipped Cream
This pavlova is crispy on the outside and it’s sweet, chocolatey and melts in your mouth. When you reach the center, it’s airy and it both looks and tastes similar to chocolate mousse.
Calories:
Ingredients
- !Pavlova Ingredients:
- 2 large egg whites
- ⅛ teaspoon of freshly squeezed lemon or lime juice I used lime
- 6 tablespoons of moscavado sugar Pulse in the food processor for a minute to make is a smoother texture
- ¼ teaspoon of good quality pure vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon of cranberry balsamic vinegar you can also use raspberry or apple cider or regular white vingear
- 1 teaspoon of cocoa powder I used Hershey's powder
- 1 teaspoon of cornstarch
- !Topping Ingredients:
- whipped cream
- strawberries
- chocolate shavings optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 300°F and line a baking sheet with parchement paper.
- You will need either a stand or handheld mixer. Make sure the bowl is very clean and that there isn't any grease on it. Place the lime juice and the egg whites into your mixer's bowl and beat using a medium to high speed just until soft peaks form or when it begins to look fluffy.
- As you continue, add one tablespoon at a time of the sugar and continue to beat until stiff peaks form. After the stiff peaks form grab a little of the meringue with your fingers and rub it between your thumb and index finger to feel for any grainiess that can be left by the sugar. If you can still feel the sugar then you'll need to continue to beat the egg whites. This step is ready when the meringue has a shiny gloss to it.
- Now add the vanilla extract and the balsamic vinegar and continue to beat until well incorporated. Lastly add the cocoa powder and cornstarch and beat for a minute just to incorporate them into the meringue.
- Spoon the mix onto the parchment paper to form either 2 or 4 small circles, or even just one — the circles don't have to be perfect, just try your best. Addiditionally you also can slightly make the centres more shallow so that the whipping cream can be placed easire when topping.
- Place in centre of oven and turn heat down to 250°F and bake for 60 to 70 minutes or until they feel crisp on the outside. Once done, turn the oven off and place a wooden spoon in the door to allow the oven to cool down gradually — leave the pavlova in there for at least 2 hours before serving.
- The pavlova tastes best when eaten the day made, but you can leave it in a cool dry place in a sealed container overnight. Topping the pavlova with the whipped cream should not be done until right before serving. Decorate as desired and serve immideately.
Notes
To help stablilze your pavlova and to assure that crispy outside and airy moist inside, you'll need to use the following ingredients called for in the recipe: lemon juice, vinegar, and cornstarch. Please read the ingredients lists and instructions throughly before begining.
This recipe is adapted from the following sources: http://www.dessertfortwo.com/cranberry-orange-pavlova/ & http://www.joyofbaking.com/PavlovaChocolate.html
