Chocolate Raspberry Pavlova

Updated February 23, 2016

Chef

Cookbook

Forever Summer

Published by Hyperion

View

This image courtesy of Joseph DeLeo

You just cannot beat a pav in summer, and in particular this dark beauty. The crisp and chewy chocolate meringue base, rich in cocoa and beaded nuggets of chopped plain chocolate, provides a somber, almost purple-brown layer beneath the fat whiteness of the cream and matte, glowering crimson raspberries on top: it is a killer combination.

Serves10

CostInexpensive

Total Timeunder 4 hours

OccasionFormal Dinner Party

Recipe Coursedessert

Mealdinner, lunch, tea

Moodromantic

Taste and Texturechocolatey, creamy, crunchy, light, rich

Type of Dishcake, chocolate dessert, dessert

Ingredients

6 egg whites
1 cup granulated sugar
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted
1 teaspoon balsamic or red wine vinegar
2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
2¼ cups heavy cream
1 very full pint raspberries
2-3 tablespoons coarsely grated bittersweet chocolate

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350°F and line a baking sheet with baking parchment.
Beat the egg whites until satiny peaks form, and then beat in the sugar a spoonful at a time until the meringue is stiff and shiny. Sprinkle over the cocoa and vinegar, and the chopped chocolate. Then gently fold everything until the cocoa is thoroughly mixed in. Mound onto a baking sheet in a fat circle approximately 9 inches in diameter, smoothing the sides and top. Place in the oven, then immediately turn the temperature down to 300°F and cook for about one to one and a quarter hours. When it’s ready it should look crisp around the edges and on the sides and be dry on top, but when you prod the center you should feel the promise of squidginess beneath your fingers. Turn off the oven and open the door slightly, and let the chocolate meringue disk cool completely.
When you’re ready to serve, invert onto a big, flat-bottomed plate. Whisk the cream till thick but still soft and pile it on top of the meringue, then scatter over the raspberries. Coarsely grate the chocolate so that you get curls rather than rubble, as you don’t want the raspberries’ luscious color and form to be obscured, and sprinkle haphazardly over the top, letting some fall, as it will, on the plate’s rim.

2003 Nigella Lawson

Share This Recipe

This is an incredibly special dessert to be saved for some very meaningful occasions. Much love and time go into the preparation, but a masterpiece of beauty awaits at the end of this process. For this incredible dessert, it is suggested that you use peeled white peaches or nectarines for their significant look that adds to the dessert. Yellow peaches, however, can be used for a Golden Wedding party. With these you can get a desired look of bulging meringue that drips with gold in cases where you remove the blue-black seeds. Shaved coconut can also be a nice touch for special occasions.