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.

Meringue Tips

Meringues are foams that combine stiffly beaten egg whites, sugar and an acid. The consistency of a meringue depends on its sugar content and how it’s cooked, and it can range from soft to chewy to brittle. 

It’s typically a topping for pies, as in lemon meringue pie, but it can also be more cakelike and used as a base for a dish like pavlova.

Some important points to keep in mind when making meringue:

• Fat interferes with the formation of a good foam, so keep fat away at all costs. Never use a plastic bowl for whipping egg whites. Fat clings to plastic, and no matter how well you’ve cleaned that bowl, chances are some grease remains. Always use a glass or stainless steel bowl for making meringues.

•  Yolk contains fat, so don’t let even a drop of yolk get in your egg whites. Break your egg whites individually into a separate bowl to ensure each one is clean before you combine them in your larger bowl.

• Leave the egg whites at room temperature for about half an hour before beating them; cold egg whites don’t beat into a foam as easily.

• Whip your egg whites into soft peaks before adding the sugar. Adding it in the beginning can double your whipping time. The sugar molecules get in the way of the egg proteins, and it takes longer for the proteins to find each other and form bonds. Ah, that sounds so sweet, doesn’t it?

•  Why add vinegar? Acid helps avoid lumpiness, loss of water and collapse. Scientifically speaking, by adding acid, you’re adding positively charged particles, or hydrogen ions, that hop onto charged portions of the proteins and leave them uncharged. Electrically neutral proteins are less likely to react with other proteins. In other words, vinegar = good.

Cherry Muffins

If you like cherries, try these babies. They're moist and flavourful with just a hint of tart.

Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. each of baking soda and baking powder
1/2 tsp. each of salt and cinnamon
1/2 cup softened butter
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup full-fat cherry yogurt (I like Liberte)
2/3 cup sun-dried cherries


Step 1
Preheat the oven to 350 F. Sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon.

Step 2
Blend thoroughly the butter, sugar, egg, vanilla and yogurt in a separate bowl.

Step 3
Pour the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and mix until just combined. Fold in the sun-dried cherries.

Step 4
Line a muffin tin with paper liners. Divide the batter into 12 portions. Bake for about 20 minutes, or until the tops spring back up when touched.

Lemon Blueberry Muffins

These are my favourite muffins in the universe. They're a beautiful, sweet complement to an afternoon cup of tea, and will bring you piles of compliments. I like to use the Liberte Méditerranée Lemon Yogurt, but beware, it's just as delicious and fattening as ice cream. Also, I prefer wild to cultivated blueberries, because they’re smaller and sweeter, and have more antioxidants to boot.

I'm going to serve these at an upcoming teacher-appreciation event at my kids' school; hopefully they'll earn them some undeserved As.

Enjoy!


Ingredients
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. each of baking powder and baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup sugar
1/2 c butter, softened
1 tsp. vanilla
2 eggs
1 cup lemon yogurt
The zest of one small lemon
1 cup wild blueberries


Step 1
Preheat oven to 350°F.

Step 2
Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a medium-sized mixing bowl.

Step 3
Mix the sugar, butter, vanilla, eggs, yogurt and lemon zest in a large mixing bowl.

Step 4
Mix the dry ingredients with the wet ingredients until just combined. Toss the blueberries in a bit of flour, then fold them into the batter. The batter will be thick.

Step 5
Place paper liners in your muffin tin. Divide the batter into 12 muffin liners. Bake for about 20 minutes, or until done. You can test doneness by pressing down on your largest muffin: if it’s underdone, it won’t spring back up.

Eggless Chocolate Mousse

I don't know about you, but I'm not big on raw eggs in my desserts. Sometimes it can't be avoided. For example, I wouldn't turn down a traditional chocolate mousse handed to me by anyone for anything...EVER. But when I make mousse, I prefer to make it simple: chocolate, heavy cream, sugar, vanilla and a touch of butter. Use the best quality chocolate you can.





Ingredients:
10 oz. heavy cream (35%)
2 tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
5 oz. semi-sweet chocolate
1 tsp. butter

Step 1
Break up chocolate into small pieces and place it in a double boiler. (Fill a pot with about an inch of water and turn it onto medium heat. Place a stainless steel bowl overtop, and you've got a double boiler). Make sure there is absolutely NO water in the chocolate bowl or nasty things will happen. Water and chocolate do not friends make.

Step 2
Pour the whipping cream in a mixer and set it on high. Whip it until it's nice and stiff (about 2 minutes), adding the vanilla and sugar about halfway through the process.

Step 3
Remove the bowl of chocolate from the double boiler once it's thoroughly melted. Add butter to the chocolate and mix well with a rubber spatula.

Step 4
Fold the whipped cream into the chocolate carefully until just incorporated. Garnish with shaved chocolate and whipped cream if you're so inclined.

Lemon Pudding

I’m sharing my late mother-in-law’s recipe for the most amazing dessert ever. And I must add I’m an extreme chocolate lover, almost an addict. And this lemon pudding – even with no chocolate – is better than brownies. There, I said it. My husband always makes two batches, so he can nosh on one by himself in the basement while the rest of us are sleeping.

I present this recipe just as she had it written down, thus the unusual baker’s measurements.

Ingredients

Butter, the size of an egg

Scant cup of sugar

2 eggs, separated

1 cup milk

The juice and zest of 1 lemon

3 tbsp. all-purpose flour

Step 1

Beat the butter and sugar. Once combined, add egg yolks, milk, lemon juice and zest and whip for two to three minutes. Stir in flour.

Step 2

Whip the egg whites in a separate bowl.

Step 3

Fold in the egg whites and scoop into a glass casserole dish. The batter should be 1 1/2 to 2 inches deep.

Step 4

Bake at 325F in a bain-marie (water bath) for 25 to 30 minutes, or until golden brown. Allow it to sit for at least five minutes. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream.

Tip:
For best results, don't convection bake this lemon pudding.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients

1 cup butter, softened

¾ cup brown sugar

¾ cup granulated sugar

2 eggs

1 tbsp. vanilla

½ tsp. water

2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp. each of baking soda and baking powder

½ tsp. salt (if using unsalted butter)

2 cups chocolate chips

Step 1

Preheat oven to 375 F.

Step 2

Cream the butter and sugars together. Add the eggs, one at a time, then the vanilla and water. Mix thoroughly.

Step 3

Mix the flour, baking soda. baking powder and salt in a small bowl. Pour dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and mix until just combined. Now stir in the chocolate chips.

Step 4

On parchment-lined cookie sheets, place evenly sized dollops of cookie batter down, leaving space around each for expansion. Bake for about 10 minutes, or until golden brown.

The Ultimate Carrot Cake

If there’s a heaven, its inhabitants would spend their days watching reruns of Six Feet Under and noshing on this fabulous cake. It’s that good. Moist and delicate with a hint of citrus, this carrot cake is one for the books. 

Ingredients

 5 or 6 medium-sized carrots

4 eggs
1 ¼ cups granulated sugar
2/3 cup brown sugar
1 cup canola oil
1 small container of orange, lemon or vanilla yogurt
2 tsp. vanilla extract
The zest of one orange
2 ¼ cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 ½ tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. each of baking soda and cinnamon
½ tsp. salt
¼ tsp. nutmeg

8 oz. plain cream cheese, room temperature
¼ cup of unsalted butter, room temperature
2 tsp. vanilla extract
The zest of one lemon
2 ½ cups of confectioners’ sugar

Step 1     

Preheat your oven to 350 F.

Grate the carrots and place them in a large mixing bowl. We like a fine grate here at The Kitchen Geeks, but if you like them coarser, with big hunks of carrot, that’s a matter of choice. In a separate bowl, beat the eggs.

Step 2

Pour the eggs in the large bowl with the grated carrots and add the sugars, oil, vanilla and zest. Mix well.

Step 3

Mix all the dry ingredients in a separate bowl, careful not to overmix.

Step 4

Pour the dry mixture slowly into the wet mixture and mix until just combined.

Step 5

Get your baking vessels ready. We like to use 3 8-inch square pans for a triple layer cake – mostly because that maximizes the cream cheese frosting surface. You can use two round pans, one large round pan or even a 9-by-13 rectangular pan.

Cover the bottom of the baking pans with parchment paper, then cover the sides and parchment with a thin layer of butter. If you don’t have parchment, just use butter. Use some butter from the ¼ cup deligated for the icing; your frosting won’t need quite that much.

Step 6

Bake in a preheated oven until the center pops to the touch. If you touch the top and it sinks without popping up, it’s not done. For the three small pans, that’s about 20 minutes. For one large pan, it’s more like 45. Keep a close eye and don’t overbake or you’ll lose some of that heavenly moistness. 

Step 7

Mix the cream cheese and ¼ cup butter (less the amount you used to grease the pans) together using a standing mixer. Once smooth, add the vanilla. Reduce the speed of your mixer to low, and slowly add the sugar in batches. Mix for about five minutes, or until all the lumps are gone. Stir in the lemon zest and it’s ready to go!

Now just ice the cake and you’re ready to go!

Healthy Oatmeal Cookies

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

Even if you’re not planning to hike up a mountain, try these cookies for a delicious treat without the guilt. Our kids all love them, and that really says something considering all the healthy crap in them.

Ingredients

1 cup oats

2/3 cup slivered almonds

¼ cup canola oil

½ cup butter, softened

¼ cup molasses

¼ cup turbinado sugar

1 egg         

1 tsp baking soda

1 ¼ cup whole wheat flour

1 tbsp. ground flax seed

¼ cup coconut

1 cup chocolate chips

Step 1

Preheat your oven to 375 F. Mix butter, oil, molassses, egg and sugar.

Step 2

Mix flour, flax, baking soda in a separate bowl. Pour the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and stir until just mixed.

Step 3

Add oats, almonds, coconut and chocolate chips to the mixture, and stir until just mixed.

Step 4

Form the dough into cookies, big is okay. Place each flat cirlce on a parchment-lined cookie sheet and bake until done, about 15 minutes.