Chocolate raspberry pavlova

Oh the irony of trying to get to grips with running and blogging about it and interspersing it with blogs of calorie-filled delights like a chocolate raspberry pavlova.

This is delicious.  And easy.  All of which makes it a winner in my book.  Maybe I should write a book.

This is a Nigella recipe.  I don’t think I’ve gone wrong with a Nigella.  I find her a little frustrating though because I like oodles of detail in a recipe and I think this is an area where she can be deficient.

Serves 8-10

Ingredients

For meringue

• 6 large egg whites
• 300g caster sugar
• 3 tbsp cocoa
• 1 tsp balsamic vinegar or red wine vinegar (I used the latter)
• 50g dark choc finely chopped (I just used dark choice chips)

For the topping 

• 500ml double or whipping cream (I used whipping)
• 500g fresh raspberries
• 3 tbsp dark chocolate in curls or coarsely grated - I used a crumbled mini Cadbury Twirl but you could also use 
• a crumbled Flake

Method

• Before you pop the meringue in the oven the oven needs to be at fan 160C.
• Beat egg whites until satiny peaks form.  I took this to mean solidly silky peaks.
• Add the sugar a spoon at a time whilst beating and stop when peaks are stiff and shiny.
• Add chopped chocolate, vinegar and sieved cocoa.  Fold until combined.
• Pop a piece of baking parchment onto a baking tray and draw around a plate or similar to add a 9” circle to the baking parchment.
• Turn the baking parchment drawn circle facing down and elegantly plonk the meringue mixture onto your circle.  Gently try and create a 9” circle using your drawn guide and try and make the top flat ish.
• Bung in oven and reduce oven temperature to 140C.  Leave for about an hour and a quarter.  When cooked the edge should be crispy but the centre should feel a tad squidgy.  Turn the oven off at this point, slightly open the oven door but leave your gorgeous meringue in the oven until it is completely cooled.
• Once your meringue is made you can store it in an airtight container for a week before using or you can freeze for longer.  If you do freeze it you can use it straight from the freezer (and this is what I did).
• When you are ready to load up your pav then whip cream until thick but soft.  Nigella insists you put your meringue on the serving plate with the bottom uppermost.  I think this is daft, but you do whatever makes you happy.  Plop the cream atop your meringue and then scatter raspberries with gay abandon.  Crush/crumble/chop your chocolate and sprinkle over the top.
• Consume with passion.

This is what my meringue looked like before its adornments.  I made it a bit bigger than the nine inches which was a mistake because it grew in the oven - worth bearing in mind.