Double Chocolate Pavlova

Pavlova is a meringue, cream and fruit dessert that originated in Australia. It’s named after the Russian ballerina Anna Pavlova, and was invented when she visited the land down under in 1920.

This recipe is rich and delicious, with sweet, velvety chocolate cream smothering the light chewy disks of chocolate meringue. The tart bite of the berries is just icing on the cake, so to speak. I decided to make individually sized pavlovas rather than one large dessert, but you could easily alter this recipe to make one big one.

The recipe for the meringue comes from the blog What Katie Ate, altered slightly for an American audience.

I decided to switch up the regular pavlova thing, though, and try pastry cream instead of whipped cream, a lighter choice because it’s made with milk rather than 35 percent. And fear not, just because it’s lighter, it doesn't taste any less decadent. Chocolate pastry cream is like chocolate pudding, thick, sweet and delicious. 

Another reason I chose pastry cream over whipping cream was to use up the six egg yolks that were left after making the meringue. The Kitchen Geeks hate waste and this chocolate cream recipe calls for exactly six yolks. Pretty sweet coincidence...pardon the pun.

Click here to read some important meringue-making tips before you begin.

Ingredients
For the Meringue:
6 egg whites
1 1/3 cups white sugar
3 tbsp. cocoa powder
1 tbsp. balsamic vinegar
50 g of good-quality chocolate chopped into small pieces

For the Chocolate Cream:
2 ½ cups of milk
2 tsp. vanilla
6 yolks
½ cup sugar
4 tbsp. flour
4 tbsp. corn starch

Fruit, whichever combination you like, cleaned and cut

Step 1
Preheat the oven to 350 F. Whip the egg whites until they reach the soft peak stage, either by hand and whisk or with an electric mixer. Slowly add the sugar, and continue beating until the mixture is stiff and glossy. You’ll know it’s done when you can hold the bowl upside down without spillage.

Step 2

Sift in the cocoa, and fold in the vinegar and chopped chocolate. Mix until just combined.

Step 3

Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Scoop even portions of the mixture onto the tray, evenly spaced out. Six or eight per tray, depending on how big you want them. Put a little butter on a small flat spatula and flatten the blobs into disks a little less than an inch thick.

Step 4

Reduce the oven heat to 275 F, and place the baking trays in. Bake them for about 40 minutes, or until they have are crisp around the edges, which will have little cracks. The top will be dry, but the inside will still be soft. Turn off the oven and allow them to cool inside with the door slightly ajar.

Step 5

Heat the milk and vanilla over medium-high heat until it starts to bubble around the edges. While the milk is heating, mix the egg yolks with the sugar. Stir the flour and cornstarch into the yolk mixture to form a paste. Once the milk is hot, pour it slowly into the paste, mixing constantly to avoid curdling.

Step 6

Add the mixture back into the pan and heat it up on medium, stirring constantly until it thickens. It’s done when the consistency is like mayonnaise. Remove the cream from the heat and stir in the chocolate, mixing until smooth.

Step 7

To assemble, place a meringue disk on a plate, add pastry cream, then fruit, top with another disk, more cream and fruit. Decorate with a little icing sugar and shaved chocolate if you like.

Tips:

To store the chocolate pastry cream until you’re ready to assemble, place plastic wrap directly on its surface and put it in the fridge. When you’re ready to assemble, stir it thoroughly.