Say it again with me. Pavlova. . .
Doesn’t that roll off your tongue like the most decadent of words
giving justice to this gorgeous Instagram-worthy dessert?
I have always been a sucker for beautiful waist-thickening, rich,
creamy desserts. Whipped cream and meringue are my weakness. If a stranger on
the street offered me whipped cream and meringue to sit in his van with
blackened windows, I would probably do it. Ok, no, but you get the idea.
My obsession with Pavlova supersedes my signature laziness (why do
you think all my recipes are super simple? :)). So much so that there came an
instance when I endured an hour and a half of frenziedly whipping - by hand! - egg-whites
and sugar for a pavlova. Thankfully, my best friend took pity on me and bought the
Hungry Family a gorgeous Candy Apple Red Kitchenaid stand-up mixer. Cut down
the egg-white whipping time to a fraction!
The recipe I use is a bastardized version of the one found on Once
Upon a Chef. The original version calls for Mascarpone Cheese and raspberries
which are a luxury where we live; so, since I’m penny pinching for additional
attachments to The Kitchenaid (YES-WITH-A-CAPITAL-T-THANK-YOU-VERY-MUCH), I
substituted it for a cream cheese-butter-whipped cream mixture and sifted
cocoa. Also, I use regular granulated sugar instead of super-fine or caster
sugar which I heat in the oven before adding to the whites. The hot sugar
partially cooks the egg whites which forms a smooth, shiny, stable mixture:
fool-proof as promised! :)
DOUBLE CHOCOLATE PAVLOVA
Pavlova Base
3 Egg Whites (room temperature)
Pinch of salt
1 Cup Granulated Sugar
1½ tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted
1 tsp vinegar
1/3 cups bittersweet chocolate chips
Cream
4 oz cream cheese
2 tbsp whipping cream
2 tbsp unsalted butter, softened
¾ cups whipping cream, cold
¼ cups sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
Topping
½ tbsp unsweetened cocoa
Preheat oven to 300°F. Line baking sheet
with parchment paper.
On stovetop, in a large saucepan, pour in
the granulated sugar and heat over a medium flame until just before it begins
to melt. Take off of heat.
In the bowl of electric mixer, whisk the egg
whites and salt on medium speed until foamy soft peaks form. Increase the
speed to medium-high and gradually add the hot sugar; continue beating until
stiff peaks form. The meringue should look glossy.
Add sifted cocoa, vinegar and chocolate
chips to the meringue. Using a spatula, fold the mixture until well combined
with a uniform mocha color no white streaks.
Mound the meringue onto the parchment paper
and, using the spatula, spread the meringue into a circle. It doesn’t need to
be perfectly smooth, just roughly in the shape of a circular cake. Place in
the oven and cook for 1 hour and 15 minutes. If the top is cracked, don’t
panic -- that's normal and gets covered with whipped cream later.
Turn off the oven, open the oven door, and
leave the meringue in the oven to cool to room temperature for at least 30
minutes to about an hour.
Once completely cool, place on serving
platter.
In a medium bowl, beat together the cream
cheese, 2 tbsp whipping cream and the unsalted butter until well combined.
Add the remaining whipping cream and vanilla and, using the whip attachment,
mix well. Gradually add the sugar and continue beating until it holds soft peaks.
Mound the cream onto the meringue and gently
spread out about an inch from the edge. Dust the pavlova with the cocoa powder,
and serve.
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